Do you remember when the Pittsburgh Pirates were above .500? Som of you may not have been born yet. It was 1992 when the Pirates were 96 and 66. That was 16 full baseball seasons ago. What has happened to them?

Back in the 70's the Pirates were a force to all other National League teams. With players like Maz, the Cobra, Pops, Blass..ok you know them. It was a team that was together for many years. They won a few World Series rings and most of the time had a winning record. Their slogan was " We are Family"...cause they were together!!!!

 

In the 80's they put a good quality team on the filed, making the playoffs and entertaining their fans. Players like Bonds, Bream, Spanky, Van Slyke etc. This team was also together for a few years as well, with only couple of role players being traded.

Fast forward to now.  Going on 17 years of under .500 baseball (which hey they will have the record then) and I think it will be alot closer to 20 than fans think. I talk to a lot of older Pirates fans and they are getting sick of the ways of the owners here in Pittsburgh. Once a player becomes an ALL-STAR, they trade them. Within the last year..they traded away an ALL-STAR outfield...Bay, Nady, and now McClouth.

Nate lead every offensive category you could lead last year and was a Gold Glover. He was a reason fans went to the ballpark. You could have built around him. With Freddy and Jack, those are 3 players that brought production to the team. People are high on Adam LaRoach this year. I dont know why..he is have a normal year (but for him it is amazing). The only reason why people are..cause he is not batting his normal .190 with 4 homers and 10 Rbis. This was a terrible pickup for them.

Nate was traded to the Braves for prospects. The Pirates should have the most prospects every cause that is all they trade for. It has been 16 years so far...going on 17...that you have been under .500. For Gods sake...putting a winning team on the field. You have said the team is rebuilding for years...other teams have rebuilt, dismantled, and rebuilt again to win a championship. Just come out and say your new slogan that will be there forever: " We are the best Quad A team in baseball" ( yes I know there is no Quad A...but I believe alot of Triple A teams can beat them) Pittsburgh has become the rookie team for the major league...go there get your batting, fielding, or pitching down..and they will trade you to a better team.

Ok so some will say it is money...whatever. You gotta spend some money to make some money. If you keep trading away your team, the fans will not come. I will not go to another game this year, and looking forward I will not drink from the glass of a winning April or May...cause by July they team you know from Opening Day will not be there. Look for Freddy, Jack, and Ryan to get looks at this year by other teams too...and the Pirates will trade them away for........

Ok so you want to make some money this year...sign these to player..hell you will get fans at least...I know I would go..

They both will play for nothing...all they want to do is pad their stats...and all ownership wants to do is pad their pockets...both win

If I were a betting man...I would put money on the Washington Nats to win a champioship before the Pirates do..

Good thing Pittsburgh has 2 teams that keep their players and try to make headways.

 

Those are my thoughts of Pirate baseball..I am JustAFan...what do I know!!!!!

Lets start with the history of today...June 2 has seen so much for baseball.

 

Today is the day that the greatest baseball player, in my mind...not that I actually saw a game, retired from the game. Not only did he CRUSH the ball..he also pitched alot of great games. Babe Ruth called it quits!!!

Today is when another great was drafted.  If this man didnt have all the injuries from his wreckless play in Centerfield, I think we would be talking about him breaking the Homerun Record. At one time he was one of the greatest player to watch in the outfield, and he also has a SWEET swing!! Ken Griffey Jr. enters the league.

Today is also when a baseball great..made a huge choice in his life and his country. This man is a Red Sox Idol. He won more games for them and carried them on his back several years. He also cut his baseball career short, so he could enlist in the military. Ted Williams..baseball hero..AMERICAN HERO!!!

Today was also one of the saddest days in baseball. This man has the GREATEST speech and even non-fans know it, which I cant believe there are non-fans out there. " Today I consider myself one of the luckiest men..."  I hope you know the rest...today Lou Gerhig past away. He would have had many more records. RIP Lou!!!

Ok before I move on..quick trivia...I never would have guessed this. Ok here we go...The Pittsburgh Pirates have had 3 Overall #1 picks in their history. Can you name their 1st #1 pick?  (answer at end of blog)

I gotta say great playing by the NY Yankees. As of last night they have played 18 straight games without and error. During that 18 games, they are 14 and 4. I know this will make some SOX fans upset....They are also in First place in the AL East.

With the All-Star game a month away, they story from last years Homerun Derby may be on the DL. Josh Hamilton won over alot of people with his story last year...and his BASHES.  Josh was place on the DL on Tuesday with an abdominal strain. It is said it could be 2 weeks up to 2 months.  I hope it is the shorter..he is a huge part of the Rangers offense.

In other All-Star news....KEEP VOTING FOR MANNY!!!!  I love it!!  I know some may be upset, but I am a HUGE FAN...I said this before...I dont like what he did..but LET him PLAY if the Fans vote him in!!!!

Congrats to Ichiro for hitting in 25 straight games. This is the second time in his career he had a streak this long. He is part of a short list that has done this feat in their career. I know the list has Ichiro, George Brett, Nomar, and Vlad. I think there is one more..but I lost track..sorry.

Trivia Question answer....

JEFF KING ( really?)

Ok it is Game 3 and the PENS need this one...LETS GO PENS!!!!!   score is 1 to 1 as we speak>>>>

Remeber..I am JustAFan...ranting and rooting!!!!

I forgot to put this on last blog...nothing big..but another way to **** chat..about sports and such.

I am now on Twiter...hit me up....JustAFan99

untitled.bmp

First I am gonna start with nothing to do about baseball...How aboout the Pittsburgh Pengiuns, they can clinch back to back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals tonight by defeating the Canes. I am not slamming any Canes fans, but the series has not been close so I would bet on the Pens going again. I say it is over tonight, but if not Canes not winning in Da' Burgh. Lets go Pens..Bring the CUP home this year!!!

Ok back to baseball..Big Papi is going to be dropped in the Red Sox lineup to the 6th spot tonight. Dave is batting a terrible .195 with 18 RBIs and only 1 homer on the year. I dont know what is going on with Ortiz, but maybe a move will help. He has been one of the most feared bats in the Red Sox lineup for the past few years. I hope he can get it together so later in the year the Sox and Yanks have their classic series...he is always a BIG part of them.

Their are a few Rumors going around, that Jack Wilson will be heading to the St Louis Cardinals. I guess the Cards arent high on Khaili Greene anymore..which they picked up in the offseason. Jack, when healthy, will give steady defense and a decent bat at times. Ok there has been rumors about Jack for the last 2 years and nothing happens. I wont believe this till something happens. He is a fan fav in Pittsburgh, and with another disappointing season on its way..keep him if you want fans.

Another story I found interesting, which had a ton of talk behind it, was Jose Canseco's debut in MMA. Ok so I dont watch MMA..but I had to watch this one on the NET and as I type this the match was over. You see I am a slower typer, and Jose match lasted only 1 minute and 17 seconds. Hong Man Choi landed a punch which knocked Jose down, and it was over from there. Choi jump on him and pounded him. Jose says he had a bum knee and doesnt know if he will do this again. He will find something to do for money, so dont worry fans we will hear from him again.

 

Ok so on Friday, I finally got to see a Altoona Curve game after triing 3 times. I gotta tell ya we made out wonderfully. My girlfriend and I got there 1 hour early and signed up for all the giveaways. ( Yes we forgot the camera..like idiots) So during the first inning we get call to the customer service tent-thingy. We were like wow..what did we do? We got upgraded from our seats to which is called " Couch Potatoes". It is a couch right behind the fence behind homeplate. It was sweet. So we were pumped aboout that. ( I didnt win this, my lovely lady did..so I was happy she took me with her) During the 8th inning, my name was annouced to come back to the tent again...it was my turn. I was going to get the chance to play " Smarter than a 5th grader"...I was like great of all the ones. Well I went over and stood on the visiter dugout, and bam here is my question: What is the only planet to rotate around the sun clockwise?  A) earth B) Mars C) Venus...now I only had like 15 seconds to pick and I had no idea...So I looked to the crowd and 1 lady yelled Earth...so I said Earth...wrong..wrong wrong. I forgot that the sun rises in the East and sets in West...that takes care of that one..so Mars or Venus...it was Venus...hey I never said I was smarter than a 5th grader...I know 1 thing...I am JustAFan

 

As I leave..Pens are winning 2 to 1

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Scott Schoeneweis. Scott and his wife, Gabrielle, were married 10 years this Jan and have 3 children. This is the worst thing that could happen to anyone. I feel so bad and just want to wish the family well.  Scott's new coach said it best with this quote I found on Yahoo. 

"Are we playing with heavy hearts? Yes. Are we playing with one of our own struggling through one of the worst tragedies you can imagine for your family? Yes. But these guys will show up and be ready to play."

 

Finally, David Ortiz got the monkey off his back with his 1st homer of the year. I dont know if this will get him back into the groove, but he is one of my fav players, like Manny. So I hope he gets it together. I love his approach at the plate. The big Spit in the Hands and whammo.

I think it is time to take notice of the Yankees in the AL East...All things are getting together. Last week they won 3 games in a row on walkoffs and last night they had back to back to back homers. If they get a little more pitching I think my predictions will come true cause the offense is healthy.

 

Breaking News Today was that Jake Peavy  is going to be traded to White Sox...well Peavy just rejected that offer. He has a no trade close and wants to stay in the National League. If I were the White Sox I would offer the house after getting CREAMED 20-1 today from the TWINS.

Ok It is hard blogging, sitting with my friend SAM ADAMS, and watching the Penguins. Till Saturday. Peace Out, I am JustAFan..ranting on baseball...Hey I am Trying this ALTOONA CURVE baseball game again Friday night.

 

Pens 2 -1 in 1st Period

Ok just checking in to say Hello to everyone...I have not had a second to BLOG...Work has been busy taking all the OT I can..plus broadcasting high school playoffs for Baseball...Tonight I thought I would say hello..and write a Blog Wednesday night about things going on and stuff I see happening...PLUS tonight is IDOL...gotta watch it..Ok Peace Out to all..and catch up with random thoughts later....Go Kris!!  How about my Penguins too...wooo

The sun has set in Mannywood for 50 games as Manny Ramirez was caught using some type of illegal substance.  The Dodgers, who are leading the NL West, were undefeated at home this year winning the first 13 games until the " Natinals" rolled into town. Maybe that was not the main reason, but they put the stop to the streak last night without Manny Ramirez in LA starting lineup.

I was reading a story online and I can understand big time, cause I put myself in the same boat. A father and his 3 year old went to the game, and the son asked where is Manny. The father didnt know what to say. He pondered what to tell his son, the son asked again. Finally the father said he is on vacation, he had to take a trip, but he will be back later on in the year. I feel his pain, cause I cant wait till I get to take my son to see his favorite player. If he is not in the lineup for the night he would be crushed, as I think this boy was.

 

With Manny out until at least July 3rd, the Dodgers will have to play a different game. They will become a speed team with Furcal and Pierre.  Last night in the lose to DC, Juan batted in the 9th spot. I understand this move and I like it, use him to roll over your lineup and with the steady hitting Furcal, Pierre should score some runs.  Juan will be happy about getting playing time and he is hoping for the best for Manny. Pierre and his family are praying for Manny.

My thoughts are that Andre Either and Matt Kemp will have to step up their game to carry the Dodgers until Manny returns.

Doug Mientkiewicz, who has stood beside Manny the whole time, said the team will be fine. He said we are a team...Not Manny and 24 other players.  He is right, the team has alot of great pitching and players that could have breakout years. On a side note, I think the NL West is the weakest in baseball this year. With Manny the whole year, I figured they would lock up the playoffs in early August. It may be a little later now, but they dont need to sweat anything.

 

Manny was my first round pick in my fantasy draft this year. This is going to put a little hurtin on my team, but I know when he comes back all will be fine. I will still follow Manny as I love the way he plays, yes steriods are an issue and I dont go for that, but he is just fun to watch too. My fav play as I said before was him "Hi 5ing" a fan in the outfield and doubling the guy off at first. So to all the LA Dodgers fans and Alyssa Milano (love that you bleed Blue) that were happy Manny was having a great year, he will be back and he will carry your team and my team to the playoffs...heck I have them going to the World Series this year.

 

Chalk this up to another Manny being Manny story...He comes out fine most of the time...this time may have cost him way to much in Hall of Fame chances. I will still watch him being Manny...I just got his jersey so I need to represent some what...and I will see him in Da'Burgh laster in the year...hey I am JustAFan...I love the quote in last weeks SI about him dropping a fly ball..."Torii Hunter, he's got like 10 Gold Gloves and he misses sometimes. What about me? I dont even have a silver one."

We start tonight's blog with sad news from Boston. Early this morning Red Sox Nation lost one of their heros. Thoughts and Prayers go out to the family of Dom DiMaggio who passed away around 1 am this morning, with the replay of last nights Red Sox game playing in the background. Dom was battling pneumonia. During his baseball career, he was a 7 time AllStar. He holds the longest hitting streak for the Red Sox with 34 games. His brother Joe came along to break the major league record while playing for rival New York Yankees. On August 9th 1949, Dom's streak came to an end playing those Yanks. In his last at bat that day he hit a blooper and just by fate his brother made a great catch to end his streak at 34. Dom was a founding member of the Boston Patriots (New England). Dom game many more memories to the Red Sox, he will be missed by baseball fans all over without a doubt.

 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to youth to get their team headed in the right direction. Bob Melvin was fired from his duties as manager of the squad. The youthful team was under achieving with a 12-19 record in the NL West. A.J Hinch was named new manger of the team. A.J is only 34 years of age without every managing a game. This could be a great move for the team if the team can jell under the rookie leadership and get a spark...or this could be a move to question for years to come. The thing is I dont understand is how can you hire someone without any time coaching.

 

Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs complete a trade today of 2 players, which may have been unhappy with their roles on the teams. Ryan Freel, utilty player, was dealt to Chicago for Joey Gathright, outfielder.  Stories are that Freel was upset with the playing time he was getting in Baltimore and asked for a trade. Earlier in the day the Cubs sent Gathright to the minors. My thoughts about this...yawn...both will be used the same on their new teams.

                                           

Now a story that makes you go...HMMMMMM!

If you are a baseball fan you know the name Scott Boras.

 

He is the super agent to the super stars some may say. Well he is also the agent to a bunch of players linked to steriods, 10 that have been in the news recently. Here is a list of players that have been linked  in different steriod issues that he represents: Barry Bonds, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, Rick Ankiel, Scott Schoenewis, Ron Villone, Ivan Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Arod, and Manny. With some "legends" "superstars" whatever you want to call them on this list, you gotta look into what is going on with Boras. I dont think this just happened to all fall in place like this. Major League Baseball look into the way Boras does business, it may bring something to light.

As I said earlier this week, I was to attend an Altoona Curve on Tuesday and I did. They only thing is Mother Nature did want there to be a game on Tuesday, or Wednesday for that matter. So I traded in my tickets for the game on May 22. I am going to get a game reported on here sometime this year..ha ha.  Until next time I am JustAFan...

Go vote for the Fan Vote Bobblehead at Pirates.com

 

I wanted it to be Lanny Frattare, but I guess I didnt lobby enoough for him to make the cut. Now the final 5 are posted and I am backing Paul Maholm...he doesnt have a bobble yet go help him out.

 

I am heading to Altoona again Tuesday, so this time I will get some pics and the break down of the game as long as it doesnt rain. Ok, I will touch base Wednesday with details of the game and my thoughts on this and that...I am JustAFan...that is swamped in crazyiness!! 

The Boston Red Sox have been on one heck of a roll recently winning 11 in a row. As we all know All good things must come to an end. Last night the streak ended at 11 as the Sox lost to the Indians. Another story with an 11 in it concerns the Yankees beating on the Tigers, 11-0. Besides the 11, I see no signs..

I was barely in the door at work today and I quote.." Here we come baby..here we come".(Like he was an owner or had stock)  A buddy at work believes whole hearted that the 11 in both games was a sign that the Yanks season is going to do a turn around at they will leap...jump...spring board over the rest of the AL East.  Well...it may be, BUT lets look at everything else.  Wang is now on DL, Arod "MAY" be back in 10 days, and CC not looking to good yet. I touched on 2 of the 3 with him.  Yes Arod may be back in 10 days...but he is not going to be slamming game winning homers the day he comes back. Arod can be a slow starter from time to time...he will help, BUT they need a little more pitching help, their bullpen has logged alot of innings already.  As for CC...last year when he went to the Brewers, it was a half a season and his first time in the NL and many players never faced him before. If we all remember he got smacked around last year in Cleveland many games before he went to the Brew Crew...Now he is back for more.  The Red Sox are having a few injuries now as well, but an 11 game winning streak coming to an end and winning 1 game by 11 does not mean they are coming back within 2 weeks...Sorry for the news Don!!

Carlos Zambrono had a great game last night as well. Not only did he have a great outing on the mound..he was a triple away from the cycle. I am not one to go back into the histroy books...but if anyone can tell me the last time a pitcher in the modern era has hit for the cycle I would like to know. A Pitcher...wow. I want Zams bat on my fantasy team for his bat.

If I could give a vote for Cy Young (right now), I would pick Zack Greinke. He is 4-0 with 29 scoreless innings so far this year. Plus a little footnote, his last 13 innings last year were scoreless too...I am telling you..the Royals will be a team to watch for in a few years.

 

Now for some of greatest stuff I have seen on tv for the longest time. This morning, as I do every morning before work, I watch a little Mike and Mike on ESPN 2. Today Golic had to pay up on his bet he made with Greeny on the NCAA brackets. If you get a chance find it online it was the funniest thing...Golic had to get his arms and legs waxed. Now I have never done it, or dont plan on it anytime soon, but he looked like he was in some pain. I didnt get to watch it till later after work, thanks to DVR, but oh my gosh I laughed so much. Golic was the all-mighty football player and he had some weird looks as they ripped the wax and hair from his body.I love those guys.  I stood in line to watch one of their shows for 3 hours when they were in Pittsburgh during football season. Yes, I was in line at 3am and the show starts at 6...I was right up front and on the local news for being there that early....I Love my sports...I am JustAFan of anything with sports.  

Heres the website at bottom...sorry I didnt put it on the first time

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnYicodCxbI