Random Quotes

- Although we've already discussed Selena Gomez singing about Mr. T in her song Slow Down, there's another line that I wanted to bring to your attention.

You know I'm good with mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Does that mean that Selena Gomez has her CPR license? Has she actually saved someone from drowning in her previous job as a lifeguard? Is there a rating system of mouth to mouth resuscitation and how do we know that Selena is on the good side?

- I recently completed Billy Crystal's book Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? I found the book entertaining and found many of his stories, including any interaction with Muhammad Ali, fascinating. Of course, I needed to share his experience playing in a Spring Training game as a member of the New York Yankees against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"The Pirates pitcher was Paul Maholm: six foot two, 220 pounds, from Mississippi. Never been to a Seder."

"The windup, the pitch. It's a cutter. The nastiest cutter I've seen since my bris."

Ha!

- A few weeks ago, Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a blog post about how aggressive the St. Louis Cardinals had been in upgrading their roster. Commentor Bill Maloni wrote my favorite reply.

Um, because he's a prospect for the Pirates?

They don't have the money to sign Byrd; they don't have the money to sign Peralta; they bailed at giving AJ an offer sheet; and they missed out on Jack Johnson.

How could the Pirates miss out on Jack Johnson? Clearly, the team needed to get the laid-back, Hawaiian musician on their roster!

- Unlike Lady Gaga in her new song with R Kelly, I have never told anyone that they can do what they want with my body. Have you?

Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Rambo

After a 22-year absence from the organization, the Pittsburgh Pirates resigned outfielder Mike Diaz to a two-year, $4.25 million deal. Although I’m concerned about Diaz’s age and the fact that he hasn’t played in 20+ years, I’m excited that “Rambo” is back! Either my brother or I (or both of us) had a “Rambo” poster where instead of Stallone and guns, the picture was of Mike Diaz and baseballs. It was awesome, but sadly, I can’t find a picture online. I hope they create a 2010 version.



I’m sorry. I just learned that the Pirates actually signed Matt Diaz (pronounced Dye-As) formerly of the Atlanta Braves. I am less excited since he seems to pronounce his name incorrectly. However, if we all agree to call the new Diaz, Rambo, Rambo II or Rambo Jr., I think I’ll be okay with this. There’s more about this signing in the Post-Gazette.


Since I’m already on the subject of the Pirates, let’s look back at some predictions for the 2010 season made back in April. Our experts were Matt of Pittsburgh Lumber Co., Brad of This is Getting Old, Captain Easychord of Corsairs Affairs. Rob of my fantasy baseball league and me.

Andrew McCutchen’s stats (batting average, HRs, RBIs, stolen bases)
Actual: .286, 16 HRs, 56 RBIs, 33 SBs. I’ll give Captain the edge here with his prediction of .277/13/63/33

What current player will be traded before the end of the season?Captain and Rob both predicted Dotel. Rob also guessed Church. No credit given for the guesses of Iwamura and Donnelly.

Who will lead the team in wins?
Matt, Rob & I all correctly predicted Paul Maholm. Unfortunately, for us Maholm, and the Pirates, he only had 9 wins. Brad probably wants his pick of Charlie Morton stricken from the records.

Will John Russell get ejected during the season?
He actually got ejected twice. Matt was the only one of us to guess that this would happen, though he predicted only once.

Season prediction
The Bucs finished 57-105. Rob was closest with a guess of 65-97. The rest of us were way too optimistic in guessing 73 to 77 wins.

This will likely be my last Pittsburgh Pirates post in a while, unless the team signs someone named Matt LaValliere. I think we need another Spanky!

2010 Pittsburgh Pirates Predictions

The Pittsburgh Pirates season begins today so I thought I would ask Pirates experts their predictions of the 2010 season. Unfortunately, many of them did not reply. Therefore, you're stuck with this cast of characters:

Matt of Pittsburgh Lumber Co. Matt started blogging about the Pirates in 2006 (or during the Josh Sharpless era).

Brad of This is Getting Old. His e-mail address isn't yahoo.com or gmail.com; it is pittsburghpirates.net. That's dedication!

Captain Easychord of Corsairs Affairs. I'm not sure I can accurately share his Pirates credentials, but naming a blog Corsairs Affairs shows his commitment.

Rob of my fantasy baseball league. I've actually known Rob since 1st or 2nd grade and played against him in Little League baseball.

Sean of Sean's Ramblings (you don't need to click since you're already here). I once had a special shorts/T-shirts Pirates outfit that I got specifically to wear to Kennywood Day. I miss Kennywood Day!

1. Andrew McCutchen’s stats (batting average, HRs, RBIs, stolen bases)

Matt - McCutchen will go .292, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 28 SB.
Brad - Cutch will be solid again this year. I would still rather him bat lead-off but what do I know. My guess is .290, 11, 66, 25
Captain - Since I don't play roto/fantasy baseball anymore, I haven't really paid much attention to all the numbers anymore... so let's take what he did last year, reduce the rate stats because of sophomore slumps and because he played a little over his projection... then bump up the raw stats because of extra PT (assuming no injuries) with a few extra steals thrown in because he says he plans to run more this year....277/13/63/33

Rob - .268 13 68 31
Sean - .280, 20 HR, 70 RBIs, 24 SB.



2. What current player will be traded before the end of the season?

Matt - Zach Duke, especially if he has a good start to the season.
Brad - Ryan Doumit. Fingers crossed
Captain - One of the bullpen arms, in all likelihood... let's say octavio dotel...
Rob - Dotel, Iwamura, and Ryan Church
Sean – Brendan Donnelly

3. Who will lead the team in wins?

Matt- Paul Maholm, with 14.
Brad - Charlie Morton. After watching him last year I feel he can take huge strides.
Captain - ok, I'm going to be the stats curmudgeon here and say whatever starter gets the most run support... (see what I did there? it's all on you, offense!) ... but really, among the top four starters, they all look kinda similar-ish to me, at least in terms of results... so staying healthy and getting good run support will probably be the difference...

Rob - I would like to say someone will break 10 wins, I'm guessing Maholm
Sean – Since he’s on my fantasy team, I’ll go with Maholm with 13 wins.

4. Will John Russell get ejected during the season?

Matt - Yes, once.
Brad - I just don't see it.
Captain - John Russell won't get ejected from a game, but he'll get suspended for the season after bringing a gun to pnc park to threaten an assistant coach (Don Long? Carlos Garcia?) as a "joke"... no wait, that won't happen... nobody would be stupid enough to do *that*...

Rob - No, he'll be let go before he gets a chance
Sean – No. He got his one ejection out his system last season.



5. What promotional event would you like to see at PNC Park?

Matt - I have been saying it for years. Get a Pirate ship in the Allegheny River already.

Brad - I love bobbleheads so I'm good with the SGAs. I think with the 20 year anniversary of the successful early '90's teams we need Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke and Drabek bobbleheads. Just not a Belinda one.

Captain - Guaranteed winner night... everyone who buys a ticket to the game that night gets to see the pirates win, guaranteed... if it doesn't happen that night, fans in attendance get vouchers for a free ticket to a game of their choice... as long as the team keeps losing when any particular fan shows up, that fan's voucher can continue to be redeemed for a ticket to yet another game... these vouchers only expire when they're redeemed for tickets to a game that the pirates win... the pirates are known for their losing, and hey... wouldn't you go to the park if you got to see 'em win? besides, it's not like they're filling the seats as it is... plenty of spare capacity at most games (all games?)...

Rob - Disco Demolition night, Take your Dog to the game, or Tiger's Mistresses get in free night.

Sean – Turner Ward bobble fence night.



6. Season prediction (please include the team’s record and place in the standings) and any other thoughts.

Matt - 77-85, 4th place. The 100-loss predictions are misguided, as this team is better than the 2009 version. While the team is not quite to the point of relevancy, it will at least approach competency in 2010.

Brad - We're not there yet, but soon. The Bucs will finish in 5th, ahead of Houston. 74-88. Another losing season. Next year we shock the world!

Captain - 74-88, fifth place. I'm on board with what neal huntington is doing with the franchise... they're headed in the right direction even if it might not show up in the wins and losses this year or next...

Rob - 65 - 97, last place ; bright side they can make fun of [my fantasy team] who has a more pathetic roster

Sean – 73 wins. Fifth place ahead of Houston. .500 in 2011!


Please feel free to share your own predictions in the comments section. Yes, I'll come back to this in October to see how we did.

Photos of Cutch and Russell via Peter Diana/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I don't remember where I found the Turner Ward pic.