More Updates
Hey everyone,
So as you could tell by the box score from my last outing it was a struggle. I gave up four runs in the first inning and threw 31 pitches in the process. I then went 5 innings throwing only 54 pitches after that. The most upsetting part about the outing was that I was informed that I had reverted back to old mechanics. That is something that is unacceptable to me, and something that I will make sure to fix. Today I had a very good bullpen session in which we corrected those problems. Hopefully I can take them from the bullpen out to the mound. A few encouraging things from the outing were that I broke like 8 bats, unfortuanately a few of them were hits. And I also got better as the outing went on, which led my pitching coach to the idea that I need to do a better job before the game, in order to make sure that I am ready to pitch from the first inning.
So that is it for baseball talk for this post. One thing that I would like to talk about is reading. I am pretty sure we talked about favorite authors earlier this year. However, I just started reading this book that is awesome. One of the best reads so far. So without judging me, it is entitled The Electric Koolaid Acid Test and is written by Tom Wolfe. If anybody has any must read books please feel free to let me know.
Ok last topic before I take off, is the NBA playoffs, and more specifically the Celtics and Bulls. How insane was that series? I mean every game except for the one blowout was a great game. This is coming from someone who very rarely watches pro basketball and couldn’t even tell you every team’s starting line ups that are still left in the playoffs. But so far these games have ignited an interest in pro basketball. Anybody else that has an opinion feel free to reply.
Well thats all for now so until later,
Moskie
Moskie Madness 
I live in the Boston area and the Celtics-Bulls series has been way too intense! I don’t think my blood pressure has liked it though! I hope the C’s-Heat series is calmer with the same result!
I know it must be hard not to get discourage, but keep the faith and keep working hard.
Books – I love to read! Is there a genre that you like especially? I’m a big historical fiction fan, but I don’t know if you have any interest in that. Let us know.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
If you enjoyed Tom Wolfe, you really should read “The Right Stuff”. Highly recommended.
Keep up the posts!
I was disappointed the Bulls couldn’t win. I thought it’d be pretty sweet if they could take a series from the defending champions. Oh well, I have seen them win six NBA Championships in my life time, so it’s no big deal. They’ll be better next year.
Also, how about Brad Lincoln pitching five scoreless innings? It must have been frustrating to see the bullpen go out and promptly give up 7 runs after he did so well. Why did they take him out so soon? Did he exceed his pitch count?
Thanks for the insight on how your coaches work with you. The good news out of all that is you know what you have to do and you have a plan to reach your goals. I will eagerly await your posts on your starts.
I recommend The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson. I finished this recently on audio book (checked out of the library) and listened to it in the car on long trips. Very intense thriller about a cop who joins the FBI and ends up on the trail of a leader in the Russian Mafia while trying to protect his children from danger and ex’s and fight the red tape of the Bureau. I bet audio books would work well on your long bus trips.
I haven’t been following the NBA, but let’s go Penguins!
I’ve actually read an excerpt from The Electric Koolaid Acid Test that was included in an anthology of literary journalism. Wolfe’s a good writer. He definitely has a very distinct style. He was kind of a pioneer in the genre of literary journalism / creative nonfiction, when writers were starting to figure out that nonfiction writing CAN be artistic and incorporate elements of literature etc.
As for the baseball stuff, it sounds like you’re continuing to learn about yourself as a pitcher, and that’s definitely a positive thing.
Once you discover what you need to do to optimize performance (in terms of mechanics, preparation etc), it will stay with you throughout your career. It sounds like you’re well on your way. =0)
You should all really stop blogging or supporting the Pirates in any way until Nutting decides to stop fielding profitable losing teams by having no overhead with AAA level players and attracting fans to the ball park with food concessions and activities for the kids. Maybe my hometown peeps don’t realize it, but this is exactly what AAA teams in the middle of nowhere with no MLB teams in traveling distance do.
Nutting is a joke and he has made the Pirates, one of the oldest and formerly most storied teams in professional baseball a joke. This guy is pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.
Stop going to games, stop giving him your money! Stop supporting the Pirates in any way and maybe he will sell the team to someone that actually cares about baseball and cares about winning. Or maybe he will just move them, which is fine by me because there are a lot of people out there that would love to start a new franchise with the best ball park in the country to play in.
I have supported the Pirates for years through thick and thin and they have broken my heart too many times. The Bay deal was the icing on the cake. Not so much that they traded him, but more so because we got nothing for a guy that is now batting 5’th in one of the best lineups in baseball.
I could go on forever, I just wish that true Pirate fans would totally abandon the team until Nutting does something to get them back or the city asks him to please sell the team or take them and leave so they can lease the park to a real franchise committed to winning, not just earning.
You should all really stop blogging or supporting the Pirates in any way until Nutting decides to stop fielding profitable losing teams by having no overhead with AAA level players and attracting fans to the ball park with food concessions and activities for the kids. Maybe my hometown peeps don’t realize it, but this is exactly what AAA teams in the middle of nowhere with no MLB teams in traveling distance do.
Nutting is a joke and he has made the Pirates, one of the oldest and formerly most storied teams in professional baseball a joke. This guy is pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.
Stop going to games, stop giving him your money! Stop supporting the Pirates in any way and maybe he will sell the team to someone that actually cares about baseball and cares about winning. Or maybe he will just move them, which is fine by me because there are a lot of people out there that would love to start a new franchise with the best ball park in the country to play in.
I have supported the Pirates for years through thick and thin and they have broken my heart too many times. The Bay deal was the icing on the cake. Not so much that they traded him, but more so because we got nothing for a guy that is now batting 5’th in one of the best lineups in baseball.
I could go on forever, I just wish that true Pirate fans would totally abandon the team until Nutting does something to get them back or the city asks him to please sell the team or take them and leave so they can lease the park to a real franchise committed to winning, not just earning.
Frank, where do I begin? I see a totally different team than you do, I guess. I see a Pirates team that is actually moving in the right direction. When Neil Huntington came in, the system was depleted with the exception of a few good prospects and some veteran players. These past 2 years have been about how to restock the minors with talent, develop that talent and field a championship caliber team in as little time as possible. In order to do that, the Pirates had to trade some good, popular players while they still could get something for them in return (Bay, Nady, Marte).
I have noticed a difference, though you cannot erase a decade plus of neglect in a year or two. Will the Pirates’ season end above .500 this year? Maybe…. maybe not…. but I can tell you that Pedro Alvarez would not be a Pirate had David Littlefield been running the show, and that story alone should prove that Nutting will open his wallet when it’s an investment that adds value. Check other Pirates locked into longer term deals, too, and you have to admit things are different now than they were.
The Pirates are a small market team, and the economics are much different that for the NFL or NHL. As such, they cannot spend like the Yankees, but rather they must go through the cycle of drafting and developing their own talent, signing players of value with upside potential and then trading players at the peak of their value to build for the future. As the Rays have proven, every so often this strategy pays off.
I am more hopeful this year with the prospects coming up than I have ever been, and the major league club has been a good competitive product (just take the starting pitching for example). I have enjoyed the games I have seen this year, and see no sense in punishing the owner or current GM or managers or players over the lingering effects of the prior regime. I plan to enjoy MLB in Pittsburgh while we are fortunate to have such a team and will continue to enjoy watching this work in progress.
Julia- I figured you would like that one, be it that you are a Boston fan. Looks like its gonna be the Cavs and the Hawks though, don’t see that being much of a series. As far as books go, I like alot of action, but also some mystery. Dan Brown books are awesome. Also Kurt Vonnegutt, not sure what his genre would be entitled. Possibly historical fiction though.
Mark- I have heard that is a must read if you enjoy Tom Wolfe. When I get done with this one I will probably go purchase that one.
Crow- I honestly have no sympathy for that, my only reasoning is because you have enjoyed a lot of championships with the Bulls. But man did they put together a heck of a series. Brad looked good the other night, but he did throw alot of pitches. Like 85 through 5, which is our limit right now. Too many deep counts and alot of strikeouts. He is definitely starting to put it together though.
Brian- I have a ton of audio books. My roommate on the road suggests James Patterson books all the time. He says they are awesome. And you are correct, it is good to know what I have to work on.
Diamond- He definitely has a distinct style, it is very descriptive. Yea, it is a game that requires constant learning, that never stops. But I do feel like I am acquiring alot of really good information.
Frank- Well I said I will respond to everybodies posts, and so I will respond to yours. You fail to realize that baseball is a business, which requires some of the things that you mentioned( concessions and on field activities). I am not going to tell you that you asre wrong because you are entitled to your opinion.
Well said Brian, you provide some very good points.
Hey — awesome pitching last night!!
Best start of the season so far, right? Now, you’ve just got to work on your swing a little. Haha. 😉
Nice numbers yesterday, Daniel. Glad to see it. 0 ER? You really deserved to get another W out of that performance. Were you doing anything significantly different out there or was it just a matter of everything coming together this time?
Good luck out there. I hope to catch a few games in Altoona this summer, then maybe I’ll catch you in Pittsburgh one day.
Diamond- The pitching was definitely alot better than the hitting. I have alot of work to do on my swing, hopefully next time i hit there is as sacrifice bunt opportunity so I don’t embarass myself again, hahahah.
Blzr- I was actually doing something that was significantly different. This week during my bullpen sessions we tweaked my mechanics a little bit. Adding a twist to my leg lift, it really gives me some deception, and allows me to load with my back leg. As well as making it easier to have a consistent arm slot. So far it has really paid off, and hopefully it will continue.