2008 Pittsburgh Pirates

[WiffleBaller]

A Look into the Divisional Series

With the Pirates posting their first winning record since 1992, They look to push deep into the post season. Right now Chase Utley and the Phillies stand in their way.

Probable Starters:

Game 1:
8:30pm October 1st, in Philadelphia

PIT: Ian Snell (92/93) R

PHI: Cole Hamels (93/94) L


Game 2:
8:30pm October 2nd, in Philadelphia

PIT: Paul Maholm (81) L

PHI: Jamie Moyer (78) L


Game 3:
8:30pm October 4th, in Pittsburgh

PIT: Jon Lester (81/89) L

PHI: Kyle Kendrick (75/80) R


Game 4 (If Necessary):
8:30pm October 5th, in Pittsburgh

PIT: Tom Gorzelanny (88/90) L

PHI: Kris Benson (74) R


Game 5 (If Necessary):
8:30pm October 7th, in Philadelphia

PIT: Ian Snell (92/93) R

PHI: Cole Hamels (93/94) L


Projected Line-ups:

Pittsburgh:




Philadelphia

[WiffleBaller]

Hamels and Phillies take game 1.

A valiant effort but Hamel's pitching, Phillies Offense too much for Pirates

Tough game, Gotta give credit to Hamels, the kid can pitch.

[WiffleBaller]

Game 2 is a Heart Breaker as Zimmerman commits costly error

Bad luck pirates go down 0-2, look to right ship at home.

Wow, another tough game, Their bigbats were able to go deep tonight, and we caught a bad break on a ball hit to team captian Ryan Zimmerman. As we head back to Pittsburgh we look to Jon Lester to keep the season alive.

[WiffleBaller]

Lester's Performance gives Pirates new life.

Lester dominates Phillies line-up to force a game 4.

Jon Lester and Brandon League combine for a 9 inning shut out of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jason Bay's homer was enough to put the Phillies away but the Pirates are able to score 5 in game 3 to earn their first post season win of the year.

Lester: "I'm glad that we won today and that I was able to contribute to that, but, Im not quite ready to celebrate, we arent out of the woods yet."

[WiffleBaller]

Pirates Even Series at 2-2 With Home Win.

Gorzelanny and Doumit mark their return with an impressive 13-5 win.

With their line-up back to full strength the Pirates bring themselves from the brink of elimination to an even series with the Philadelphia Phillies.










Game 5 in Philadelphia is scheduled for October 7th. Snell, Maholm, and Weaver are all available to pitch. Snell is obviously the front-runner, but look for the Pirates to pull out all the stops in this elimination game. The entire, dream season for the pirates is on the line.

[WiffleBaller]

The Series, The Season, The Dream... Is over.

A nineth inning rally falls short for the pirates as the Phillies win game 5 by a score of 4-3 and advance to the NLCS. Thanks to Geoff Jenkins and his two dingers the Pirates ship has been sunk.

A heart-breaker, pure and simple. So close.

Reporters capture reactions for Pirate Players.

Zimmerman: "Well. What a ride. We'll be back. This has been a great experience, I'm obviously dissappointed that we lost, this team has a lot of heart, but you gotta hand it to them (the phillies), they came out and out-played us. I give philly all the credit in the world, they are a very talented team and they played that way."

Bay: "I've been here (Pittsburgh) a while now, and i have to say that this is the best I have seen this team play. The ending this year sucked. It sucked hard. But I'm incredibly optimistic about next year. We'll be back."

Snell: "My God. What a year. We came so far, I don't think any of us expected to get this far. Don't misunderstand me, we all had faith in each other, but to look back on it now, it was a magical run."

Capps: "Amazing. I don't think I will sleep, or be sober for a couple of weeks. This was a tough one to swallow."

McLouth: "I have a long road ahead of me. My agent is calling me already about contract negotiation, and man, I don't know if I am ready to move on, I keep thinking about the games we lost, and what I did wrong. We are a young team and I believe this year will benefit everyone in the long run."

Lester: "What a ride and what a finish, This off-season is gonna be a long one, but hey, this is just gonna fire us up for next season, we will all be a year older and a year wiser."

Kinsler: "Ouch, this was rough... We will be thinking about this one for a while. I can't wait to get back on the field. It is gonna be strange not playing with these guys everyday for a couple of months. I've only been here half a year, but I feel a huge connection to the team, the fans, and the management. Every time I put this jersey on this season I felt honored. Next year we are gonna come out slinging and I feel like we are gonna put on a show."

LaRoche: "What the ****. I mean seriously? So close man. I can't ****ing believe it. **** **** ****. **** the Phillies, **** all this. I am so pissed. We made a good ****ing run but we fell short. We will **** sure be back next year, and we will be hungry." LaRoche abruptly leaves the conference.








To Be Continued...

[stl2006cardinal]

tough loss.. **** of a year though.. good job getting Pittsburgh back on top.. i'll keep reading.

[WiffleBaller]

ya, it was a really fun year, i didnt expect to get this far. im sure this off-season will be really interesting

[PotatoOfCouch13]

So close, and yet so far. Great, great season. No one expected you to make the playoffs.

A few notes that I've been meaning to post...

1) you might want to consider dropping Zimmerman to the cleanup spot. It seems to me that his RBI totals will jump if he has another high OBP guy ahead of him. Plus, I'm not too scared of Pearce. I know it might not provide much of a team difference, but if you want to boost Zim's stats, you should drop him to cleanup.

2) is anyone surprised by Lester's performance? The guy is a big-game pitcher. I mean, he won Game 4 of the Series last season, and he's been the most consistent starter for the Red Sox this season, and there was that no-hitter.

3) after getting beat twice by Cole Hamels, I hope you now know what you need to take that next step: a true ace. As good as Ian Snell has been for you this season, you need a true #1 starter than can dominate an opposing lineup. Hopefully you can grab one in free agency, or maybe Scherzer or Masterson can step up.

and finally, 4) what the likelihood of seeing McCutheon in the majors next season?

[WiffleBaller]

Potato:

1. Actually, the majority of the season i had Zim in the 4 hole, and bay at the three spot, but when i realized Bay was not going to be good i dropped him down. When i had LaRoche in the clean-up spot he did terrible and i dont know why, I will play with it more next year.

2. I guess i shouldnt be surprised but you always gotta love a clutch performance, i dont want to expect it to put to much pressure on the kid

3. When we get to free agency we will see what our financials look like, one of our weak spots is top-tier starting/pitching and depth.

4. I'm going to be doing a few posts on evaluating if McCutcheon, Masterson, and Scherzer are ready for the bigs, One thing McCutcheon has going for him is the McLouth is in a contract year, seeing as how he lead our team in several categories it will be hard to let him go but if he asks for too much money my hands will be tied. Ive been playing the scenario out and i have also considered converting one of them to LF and dealing Bay in the offseason. A lot of this depends on whats happens during contract negotiations.

[WiffleBaller]

ALDS Review

The Yankees and Red Sox each respectively advanace to the ALCS

Yankees (95-68) and Tigers (87-75)

Game 1: Yankees win 7-5 in eleven innings

Game 2: Tigers win 7-6

Game 3: Yankees win 14-4

Game 4: Yankees win 7-1




Red Sox (97-66) and Angels (84-79)

Game 1: Red Sox win 6-3

Game 2: Red Sox win 11-4

Game 3: Red Sox win 6-4

[filihok]

Good season bro, that Phillies lineup is an absolute killer.

If the Yankees beat the Red Sox I'm blaming you though

[WiffleBaller]

If the Yankees beat the Red Sox I'll be pissed. although if i had made it to the WS i would wanna beat the yankees...

[WiffleBaller]

NLDS Review

Arizona advances as well as Phillies in two 5 game series.

Diamondbacks (98-65) and Mets (100-63)

Game 1: Diamondbacks win 4-2

Game 2: Mets win 14-13 in ten innings

Game 3: Diamonbacks win 4-3

Game 4: Mets win 4-3

Game 5: Diamondbacks win 4-0





Pirates (88-74) and Phillies (101-61)

Game 1: Phillies win 4-2

Game 2: Phillies win 5-4

Game 3: Pirates win 5-0

Game 4: Pirates win 13-5

Game 5: Phillies win 4-3

[filihok]

If the Yankees beat the Red Sox I'll be pissed

Then you shoulda traded for Joba and ARod