Bucco Fever

Posts Tagged Andrew McCutchen

Game Notes – August 25th – Phillies @ Pirates

Aug 26

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I’m moving so I didn’t see last nights game.  I was however, as luck would have it, near a radio for every exciting moment of the game.  I took a break from packing to hear the bottom of the second when Doumit went deep to tie it, then I stayed around for the top of the 3rd when JRoll hit his second Dinger of the game.  After some more packing, I took a break to go to Target to get some things, and it happened to be the 6th inning when Pearce hit his 2 run shot to take the lead.  Then, after eating dinner, we got back to the car and put on the radio to hear the top of the 9th and the inevitable Matt Capps’ blowup inning.  Finally, after I got home and finished one last thing for the night, I heard the Pirates make one of the most terrific comebacks ever.

Since I didn’t see any of the game, and only heard bits and pieces, I’m not going to try to provide any deep analysis.  I have 2 points I want to make here though.  First, Matt Capps is not the same pitcher right now as he has been in the past.  I think I’ve said this before on this blog, but I’ve never really been a believer in Capps.  At his best, he has good velocity and great control on his fastball, but he doesn’t really have a second pitch.  I like that in an 8th inning guy, but you can’t be an elite closer without an out pitch.  Right now, and for large stretches of this year though, he has not been at his best.  That control has been largely missing this year.  Add to that a decrease in velocity and what you have is a guy out there throwing meatballs.  There are 2 key numbers that illustrate the difference from this year to last.  First, he is throwing far fewer fastballs this year when compared to last.  Last year, he threw his fastball 78.6% of the time.  This year, its down to 70.9%.  That’s a huge difference, which indicats that he doesn’t trust his fastball as much this year.  The second number is his BB/9 rate.  Last year it was .84, this year its 3.19, almost 4 times higher.

Essentially, my point here is this.  Matt Capps should not be the closer for this team right now.  One of the things this management group has harped on over and over again is accountability.  This is a perfect opportunity to show they are serious about it.   Capps isn’t good right now and both Joel Hanrahan and Jesse Chavez are pitching well.  One of those two should be given the chance to close and perhaps a move like that would take some pressure off of Capps and allow him to figure out what is wrong.

The second point I want to make is about Andrew McCutchen.  He may end up being the savior of this franchise.  OK, I realize that’s premature, and that it will take much more than one player to make this team a contender.  Seriously though, his play has been nothing short of spectacular, way exceeding the expectations I had for a 22 year old rookie on a bad baseball team.  He absolutely deserves to be the NL rookie of the year, and when you look at his numbers compared to the other contenders (Dexter Fowler, Colby Rasmus), he should be the only position player in the discussion.  If your a fantasy player, take him early next year, because he’s going to give you 20/20 with a .290 average and 90 or so RBI’s.

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Game Notes – June 25th – Indians @ Pirates

Jun 26

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I was at this game with a Cleveland friend of mine, and it turned out to be a good one, and a win for our buccos, even if attendance wise, there seemed to be more support for the road side.  Starting pitchers Ross Ohlendorf and Cliff Lee were both solid, each allowing 2 earned over 7 innings.  Andrew McCutchen was the real star on this night though.  He went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs.  Forget about the walkoff single.  It was impressive, but his best at bat was the walk he drew in the seventh against Lee with the bases loaded.  Lee got ahead early 0-2, but from there ‘Cutch settled in, fouling off several pitches and taking a few other close ones to draw the walk and score the tying run.  All I have to say is wow.  To not get rushed, not get over agressive, against a cy young winner in that situation, wow!  At just 22, he has been nothing short of amazing so far.

I was at the concessions when Nyjer Morgan came to bat in the 6th, was hit by a pitch, and then JR was run for arguing it.  But even from the concessions, the fans were deafeningly loud when it happened.  Its a good thing JR was ejected and not T-Plush.  The HR Nyjer pulled back in the 8th clearly saved this game for the bucs.

The win moved the Pirates to 33-39 on the year as we head into a weekend series against KC.

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Links – June 23rd

Jun 23

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

The Pirates begin a 10 game homestand tonight against Cleveland…I’m working on a long form piece about who in the current system is likely to be part of the future, expect that tomorrow.  Also a note on twitter.  I tend to use my personal account @shsteimer most, and it  includes lots of Pirates thoughts.  The @buccofever account is mostly just a feed of my writing here, with an occasional tweet about the current game.  To get the full effect of my twittering, follow both accounts.  Lets hit the links…

WHYGAVS on Miguel Angel Sano and his age

The post-gazette on the promotion of Pedro Alvarez

Peter Gammons on the Indians’ managerial situation

Jason Grey on the fantasy prospects of the best rookie center fielder in baseball

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Game Notes – June 8th – Pirates @ Braves

Jun 9

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I’m adding a new type of post beyond the links and long form stuff, as the title would indicate, game notes.  My schedule isn’t going to allow me to post these for every game, and don’t expect a game story ever, for that go to the Pirates website, or your favorite local paper, my intention is for this to be short, with a brief overview pointing out players and events that are notable and weaving in my thought sand opinions.

Last night the Pirates lost to former teammate Nate McLouth and the Atlanta braves in 15 Innings, 7-6.  McLouth was 3-7 with a HR, his tenth, while his Pirates CF counterpart, Andrew McCutchen went 4-7 with 2 triples and a double.  Through 5 games he is now hitting .400 with an OPS over 1.000.  While it is a small sample size, count me as a believer, his speed is ridiculous, and he doesn’t seem nervous out there at all, so look for him to only get better.

Zach Duke had a poor outing, giving up 6 runs in 6 innings.  Over the course of the 15 inning affair, the Pirates used their entire bullpen except for closer Matt Capps.  Jeff Karstens, who is scheduled to start Wednesday, took the loss in the 15th, but only threw 18 pitches, so it likely won’t affect the order of the rotation.  I know its probably too early for it, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Chaz Morton called up to make a spot start on Wednesday.  Morton last pitched on Friday, and is scheduled to pitch again on Thurday for Indy, which means he could make the start.  It seems unlikely that he would be called up so quickly after a trade though, only to be sent back down after one start.

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Reaction to the McLouth trade

Jun 5

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

First of all, I wanna start by saying that Nate McLouth was one of my favorite Pirates, and that I wish him nothing but the best of luck in Atlanta.  But with that being said, I believe almost all of the reaction by the fan base to this trade is wrong.  This trade was not salary dump like the infamous Aramis Ramirez trade.  This was not a move where we had to get rid of a player in a contract year, and were forced to take less than peak value for him.  This move, unlike so many moves made over the last 16+ years of Pirates misfortune, was made for the best of reasons, to give the team a better chance to win long term.  Now if the goal is simply to finish above .500, then yes, I agree with the general concensus that the Pirates should not have traded McLouth.  But for me as a fan, that isn’t the goal.  When you see the big picture, the goal is to win a World Series title.  To do that, because of the financial system Major LEague Baseball has in place, the Pirates need to make trades like this McLouth trade, even if they are unpopular moves.

Now I’m not a scout, and I don’t pretend to be one.   So I’m not really in a position to analyze the loot we got in Return for Nate McAwesome.  But I can say this much; prospects are coveted now more than ever by big league GMs.  With that in mind, what the Pirates got is substantial.  The return of 2 of the top ten prospects(according to baseball america) from one of the best minor league systems in baseball, and a starter who is considered major league ready is quite a haul for one player.  In this case, a player who won a gold glove despite what the advanced defensive metrics say.  According to fangraphs.com writer Dave Cameron

Despite winning a gold glove last season, the glove isn’t as valuable. McLouth has consistently ranked as a below average defensive center fielder, compiling a -10.6 UZR/150 over his career. He’s a corner outfielder playing out of position in center, but he’s not an atrocity out there.

Nate is basically at his peak.  Yes, he will hit 20-25 long balls a year, and steal 20 bases.  But he doesn’t have the power or speed to ever go far beyond those numbers, and his obp isn’t high enough to make him truly great.  As Keith Olbemann pointed out you can make the case quite easily that Andrew McCutchen, the pirates star prospect CF called up to replace McLouth, is an upgrade over Nate right away.  He is certainly a defensive upgrade today, and projects to be a far superior offensive player soon.

But really, the reason the Pirates made this trade wasn’t because McLouth was a sub par player, and It isn’t because they needed to make room for McCutchen today, that certainly could have waited.  The reason this trade was made for the same reason the Bay and Nady trades were made last year.  Its because when Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly took over, they were handed an empty closet talent wise.  The Pirates minor league system was in shambles and was in dire need of restocking if this franchise is ever going to compete for a World Series and be a consistent contender in the NL Central and for NL Pennants.  This move, paired with the moves made last year and the moves that will be made later this year, likely trades of Adam Laroche, Jack Wilson, John Grabow, and possibly Freddy Sanchez, are moving this franchise one step closer to that ultimate goal of a World Series.

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