Big Lead Sports Bar

6/24/2007

My Pirate Solution: Start Armas in an Intrasquad Game

PROBLEM:
The Pirates have some struggling pitchers, among them:
Paul Maholm 3-10, 5.01
Zach Duke 3-6, 5.44
Tony Armas 0-3, 8.92
SOLUTION:
The Pirates' lineup seems to be the elixir for a struggling pitcher. For instance, check out this comprehensive list of pitchers that shut them down this season. Not exactly a gallery of all-stars:
Opponents who have held the Pirates to 1 or 0 runs:
4/6 Matt Belisle, Reds. ERA: 4.73. Loss 6-1
4/9 Braden Looper, Cardinals. ERA: 4.66. SHUTOUT 3-0
4/28 Matt Belisle, Reds. ERA: 4.73. Loss 8-1
5/2 Jason Marquis, Cubs. ERA: 3.38. Loss 7-1
5/4 Claudio Vargas, Brewers. ERA: 4.09. SHUTOUT 10-0
5/9 Jason Marquis, Cubs. ERA: 3.38. SHUTOUT 1-0
5/11 Kyle Davies, Braves. ERA: 5.42. Loss 4-1
5/24 Braden Looper, Cardinals. ERA: 4.66. Loss 3-1
5/28 Kyle Lohse, Reds. ERA: 5.02. SHUTOUT 4-0
5/30 Chris Young, Padres. ERA: 2.08. SHUTOUT 9-0
6/14 Kameron Loe, Rangers. ERA: 6.34. SHUTOUT 6-0
6/16 Mark Buerhle, White Sox. ERA: 3.39. Loss 6-1
6/20 Jeff Weaver, Mariners. ERA: 8.56. SHUTOUT 7-0
6/21 Felix Hernandez, Mariners. ERA: 4.00. SHUTOUT 3-0
6/23 Kelvim Escobar, Angels. ERA: 2.81. Loss 10-1
Other peformances of note:
4/10 Randy Keisler, Cardinals. ERA: 5.65. 2 ER in 6 IP. Loss 3-2
5/12 Chuck James, Braves. ERA: 4.01. 1 Hit, 0 ER in 7 IP. Loss 9-2
5/23 Kip Wells, Cardinals. ERA: 6.45. 2 ER in 7 IP. Loss 5-3
6/24 Bartolo Colon, Angels. ERA: 5.90. 2 ER in 6 IP. Loss 4-3
The solution is now simple. The Pirates are off today. So I suggest they use the day to play an intrasquad game with Armas and Duke as the starting pitchers. And then make it a doubleheader. The second game would pit Maholm against a combination of Salomon Torres (5.14), John Grabow (6.27), and Jonah Bayliss (7.53).
Facing the Pirates' anemic lineup, the pitchers would regain any confidence that they lost the minute they put on that Bucco uniform for the first time. It's worked for Jeff Weaver, why not Zach Duke? And since the Pirates' hitters couldn't possibly feel any lower, there's no drop off to even worry about- they're already at rock bottom! It's a win-win! Who's with me?

1 comment:

Briwatt said...

That is pure genuis. Pitting the much ballyhooed acquisitions, LaRoche and Armas, against each other - someone could actually prevail.