State Of The Ramblings

Wednesday marked the 9th anniversary (yes 9th!) of Sean's Ramblings, so it's time for my annual State of the Ramblings. Although I had fewer posts in 2013 compared to any other year of this blog, I still averaged slightly more than a blog post every other day. Not too shabby.

(Get it? For 9 years of Sean's Ramblings.)

A big part of this blog over the past year was community. I got more involved with the Pittsburgh blogger community by participating in a Pittsburgh Guest Blogger event, becoming the Commissioner of the Pittsburgh Blogger fantasy football league, and I was encouraged to do NaBloPoMo in November from some Pittsburgh bloggers. Meanwhile, while I didn't hold the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog tournament this year, the Pittsburgh Sports Blogger Interview Series was fun and something that I'm proud of. I plan on continuing the series in 2013. Meanwhile, I attended my first ever Northern Virginia blogger event (since I don't actually live in Pittsburgh anymore), and I questioned if the DC blogging community is dead.

Fatherhood posts continue to be a big part of my blog and with a second child on the way (let's call the baby Jim Paek or Jack Wilson for #2), there's a good chance that there will be more fatherhood posts in 2014. Of course, with a second child there may be fewer posts in 2014 since I expect to be a little busy and a lot tired.

2013 was the year of famous visitors. Sally Wiggin, Edgar Snyder, John Ross Bowie (aka Kripke on The Big Bang Theory) and at least one of The Birthday Boys all read a post on Sean's Ramblings. This was confirmed based on Twitter correspondence. Unconfirmed visitors to my blog last year included President Obama, Mike Tomlin, Mila Kunis and Kevin Pittsnogle's mom.

On a completely different topic, these are some of my favorite blog posts of 2013:

Paul McCartney Concert Review
Return to Pittsburgh
Hockey Road Trip

So what will 2014 bring? Besides fatherhood posts, I hope to have entertaining posts about the Olympics and World Cup. I also hope to write all about winning my fantasy baseball league for the first time in the 20+ years I have been in the league.

I'm also contemplating making Sean's Ramblings its own site instead of using the Blogspot address. However, I want to make sure that I keep my archives and I don't really want to pay for a domain. Plus, I feel like making a new site could be a lot of work. Basically, I probably won't do anything about this.

Finally, I want to thank you for reading and for commenting over the past year and past 9 years. I really appreciate your support, feedback and encouragement!

Notes From Bradenton

Before I write about my trip to Pirates' Spring Training, Don of Mondesi's House deserves props for writing this last week:

In a way, Fields has a bit of Ben Roethlisberger in him, in that he always seems to save his best for last. If ever I see Fields lining up a three-pointer with, say, three minutes or less, I'm going to say that's probably a high-percentage shot.

Don proved prophetic as Levance did it again Thursday night in leading the Panthers over Xavier. Go Pitt!

Anyway,I have talked about attending Spring Training for many years, but this week, I finally made it to Bradenton, Florida to see the Pittsburgh Pirates in action. Here are notes and pictures from my trip:

I arrived at the Bradenton/Sarasota airport from Washington via Atlanta (and my favorite airport) and went directly to McKechnie Field in time to see the Pirates warm-up.

This is Pirates super-prospect Andrew McCutchen (the guy with a bag on his shoulder) along with Pirate great Bill Virdon on the left.



Ian Snell in the bullpen.



Andy LaRoche playing catch.



As for the game, Aaron Harang pitched six scoreless and hitless innings for the Reds as the Bucs couldn't do anything offensively other than Freddy Sanchez walking twice. Meanwhile, Ian Snell gave up six runs in 4 & 1/3 innings and left the game with a blister on his toe. To make matters worse, he had some wonderful things to say about Bradenton: (h/t Raise the Jolly Roger)

"Nothing against Bradenton but there are all old people here," Snell said. "They don’t really cheer or do anything. The WBC was crazy. You had people from Venezuela and Puerto Rico dancing in the stands, setting off whistles constantly shaking maracas. It was loud and it was crazy. You can’t at all compare the atmosphere. It was nuts there."

I like Ian Snell. I like his competitiveness and I really, really want him to succeed. However, let's review what I wrote above. Ian - you got lit up by giving up 5 runs in the 2nd inning. The Pirates offense didn't get their first hit until the 7th inning and finished with no runs and two hits. So you expect dancing in the stands from Pirates fans during an exhibition game where the Reds didn't even bring your regulars? Actually, the crowd did get excited for the T-shirt toss:



Here's a brief summary of the game from Chuck Finder of the P-G. Meanwhile, I have a few more pictures:

Freddy Sanchez.



Nate McLouth (do any of his teammates call him M.C. Louth?).



Matt Capps, who along with Sean Burnett and Jason Davis, pitched great in relief.



The picture may not do it justice, but this is a flock of seagulls at the field. The seagulls were present during both games I attended, but only for about ten minutes each game. I have no idea how an outfielder could concentrate with the seagulls flying around and then landing and walking around the grass. I ran. I ran so far away! That's what I would do if I was an outfielder in this situation. Seriously, I hate seagulls!



Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays was completely different. Zach Duke pitched great and the Pirates offense woke-up led by two doubles by Jack Wilson and an Eric Hinske triple.

My thoughts:

- Andrew McCutchen was amazing in walking three times (please note the sarcasm).
- I realize that everyone is clubbing Nyjer Morgan about his Spring Training performance; however, he played great leading off in this game. Morgan was 1-3 with a walk and stole two bases.
- Jack Wilson seems to be exclusively pulling the ball. He hit four balls, two doubles against Tampa Bay and two fly-outs in the Cincinnati game, to deep left.
- If Duke pitches like he did Monday during the rest of the year, well, that would be good!

I only took one picture from the Tampa game. 5 points if you tell me what's wrong in this picture.




Finally, I visited Pirate City where there are over 100 minor league players on four fields.

- It is extremely difficult to track the players since they have numbers, but no names on their jerseys. Actually, there was one man (player) with the name on the back of his jersey: Phil Dumatrit. He has a serious fastball.

- Among those on the minor league roster, there are 4 Gonzalezs (Angel, Benjamin, Elevys, and Gemmy Gonzalez), 3 Penas (Eduardo, Ronald and Silvio Pena), 3 Rodriguezs (Chris, Dionis and Gerlis Rodriguez), 3 Garcias (Diomedes, Edward and Juan Garcia plus Infield Coordinator, Carlos Garcia) and 2 Walkers (Andrew & Edwin; Neil was with the major league team when this list was printed, although I saw him play in a AAA game. He had a triple). There is also a Jose L. de los Santos and a Jose R. de los Santos.

- Did you know the Pirates have a player named Brian Leach (I hated him on the Rangers) and another named Henry Henry?

- In addition, if RHP Sean Giblin or RHP Sean Smith ever want to write a guest post (since this is Sean's Ramblings), they are more than welcome to do so.

- #99 Calvin Anderson is a very tall man.

- Kyle Stark, Director of Player Development, walked from field to field watching batting practice. Apparently, his predecessor, Brian Graham, would just ride a golf cart around the facility.

- Jeremy Powell is the only player on the minor league spring training roster over the age of 30 at 32. I'd guess that his prospects to make the majors isn't very good.

Finally, I did not see Dinesh and Rinku.

Spring Training Question

We’re in the middle of the NCAA Tournament’s first round with Pitt and Robert Morris both playing today and the Penguins are continuing their hot streak trying to make the NHL playoffs. So today seems to be a perfect time to write about the Pittsburgh Pirates! I’m heading to Bradenton, Florida on Sunday for my first ever Spring Training, and I figured I would ask a few people what I should look for while I’m there. Here are some serious and not-so-serious responses:


Nick of Decibel Magazine and of the defunct McClendon's Folly:

Dejan Kovacevic has suggested that the Pirates may open the season with Craig Monroe in RF and Erik Hinske in LF. I seem to recall that Monroe is a below-average defender and Hinske is on a one year deal. Add in Nyjer Morgan and the Pirates could have one of the worst starting outfields in the major leagues. With Brandon Moss' ongoing injury woes and Tabata reassigned to the minors, is there any hope for this outfield? Also: is there anywhere in Bradenton to get a Primanti's sandwich? Considering the added value of fries + slaw, I could see the oldsters actually lining up for an early-bird special.


Ryan of Three River Sports:

Serious - What are your impressions of Andrew McCutchen and does he look comfortable and like he can play in the majors just yet. Does he look comfortable at the plate and in the field? Like a guy who is just about ready to come up to the majors as soon as the arbitration date passes? Or does he still look raw like a guy who needs more time in AAA and shouldn't be rushed?

Non-serious - First of all, who in the hell is Virgil Vasquez? I'd never heard of the guy and now all of a sudden he is one of the final 6 or so guys competing for a spot in the starting rotation and is evidently better than Tom Gorzelanny! Did he come from the California Penal League or something? And if you happen to see him, is he any good? His lofty status really confuses me.

My other question: Does anyone down there resemble the infamous Jimmy Anderson picture from two years ago? Now that my leading candidate, Gorzelanny, is gone I doubt it, but I'd be curious all the same. If you can't remember what I'm talking about, here's the picture:



Don of Mondesi's House:

-Check to see if Jack Wilson still has a pulse. 2 for 28 this spring?

-Who's taking time to sign autographs and who seems to be less interested in that part of spring training?


Brian of Raise the Jolly Roger:

Serious thing to look for: Andrew McCutchen has been playing nearly every day this spring, even though the club insists he will not be on the Opening Day roster. Look to see how he handles the tough major league starting pitchers (who only pitch for the first half of the game, or less, then minor league scrubs come in). Is he ready (or close to being ready) to face these guys on a regular basis?

Not so serious thing: This seems like a perfect place for a Rinku and Dinesh (the new Indian pitchers) reference, but their story has been beat to death. So, see if you can find out if they Raise a Jolly Roger at McKechnie when the Bucs win. Oh, and since we're in the mix this spring, are there any "Grapefruit League Champs" banners around from past years?


Messiah of White Nerdy Wonks (I hope the site isn't done):

For serious, I'd focus more on the economy and baseball rather than the Pirates themselves, namely: Are there any fans at the park? And does anyone really care?

For less serious, I'd go with: Which pierogi had the best off-season workouts?


Dave of Bucs Trade Winds:

Donnie Veal, how does he look? Does the velocity seem to be there? Sues, I hear he is throwing some serious gas. I'd like to know how his control is and if his other stuff is as MLB caliber as his heater?

(Sean’s note: Pitcher Jeff Sues was reassigned to Altoona after I received Dave's email.)

Last question. Does the local Pizza Hut close at 6:00 like it does in Homosassa?


Brad of This Is Getting Old:

I haven't been to Bradenton in years. Instead of focusing on the Pirates, I would love to see pics of Pirate City, the field, and and the city. You must go to this orange grove called Mixion's. It will be the highlight of the trip (and I want pics). Also if you are in Tampa, go to eat at BD's Mongolian Grill. You will not be disappointed. Florida in March, you lucky bastard. I'll still have my Snuggie on here in Scranton.


Thanks to everyone who responded! Happy first day of Spring and Go Pitt!

Photo from Deadspin.