Pirates Franchise

[UKPiratesFan]

I have decided to start a new franchise on MLB 11: The Show, and I have decided to chose the Pittsburgh Pirates, because I really want to rebuild them and finally bring a winning season to Pittsburgh that they so badly deserve.

I am really looking forward to playing with (I will be playing some of the games, mostly home ones) and managing this team around a good nucleus of young players like McCutchen, Garratt, Doumit and Overbay.

However, I knew that there was work to be done before the Buccos became competetive, so I decided to rebuild the starting rotation. I knew we had a young and talented offense that could produce for the next few season, so I opted to go for more experienced pitchers because I knew they could perform the best when given runs to work with.

Since no team was willing to trade any decent pitchers to me, I shopped around in the free agency market and acquired Andy Pettite, Duchscherer, John Maine, Ben Sheets and RPs Cruz and Aceves. I know that the SPs I picked up are old, however I feel they have a few years left (except Pettite maybe) and with us already having a good bullpen, we don't need any of them to pitch more than 5 or 6 innings. I also signed Orlando Cabrera at SS to fill in a gap, whilst also providing us with offensive fire-power and experience.

I am aware that we are no longer a 'young' team so much, but I feel the acquisitions we made really help boost the areas we needed them.

So it was to the pre-season, with optimism running high. However, this was soon tarnished.

The Pirates finished the preseason 2nd last in their division (grapefruit I think) but picked up in the last third, which included a memorable win over the Phillies at home in the last game.

Exciting times in the Steel city, and I expect a good run out of the squad I have created. We have a nice mix in the starting rotation of young talent and experienced players with proven quality, as well as an explosive offense that should provide a lot of runs and excitement throughout this 2011 season.

Next update: The opening series at Chicago

[UKPiratesFan]

It was time for opening day in this 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates team, as 2 optimistic teams locked horns to see who would gain supremacy and momentum to kick off the season.

Game 1 @ Cubs - L 2-3

To be honest it was an anti-climatic, disappointing game where only 2 runs were produced from 9 hits.However, Jones went 3/4 with a RBI. It was an amazing pitching performance from Pettite that on most day would have won us the game, pitching 6.2 shutout innings for just 4 hits. However, we were let down by the newly acquired Cruz, who pitched 0.1 innings for 2 runs. Veras also gave up a run on 0.1 innings.

Not the start we were looking for but no need to worry, great stuff from Pettite but the offense needs to step up a bit to give him something to work with. The key to us losing this game was unfortunately the bullpen, who blew a great start from Pettite. We really cannot afford for the bullpen to be inconsistent because then more innings are demanded from pitchers such as Pettite and Duchscherer who have less stamina. However, there are young eager starters ready for a shot if one of the starting rotation becomes tired.

Game 2 @ Cubs - W 6-5

Better from the offense, epitimised by a great all round batting effort with Cedeno being key going 3/4 with 3 RBIs. However, in a reversal from Game 1, the pitcher Maine struggleda bit, pitching 5 innings for 5 runs on 7 hits.
Also in a reversal from Game 1, the bullpen was stellar, giving up 0 runs on 4 hits through 5 innings (went to extra innings). Hanrahan picked up his first save, hopefully with many to come.

Game 3 @ Cubs - L 7-6

In a tough loss, Overbay went 3/5 with 2 RBIs leading the offense. Cedeno and Tabata both managed 2 hits with a RBI each on offense, which performed well in the late stretch tonight. The Bucs scored all 6 runs in the 8th to pull back to 7-6 but we couldn't complete the comeback. On the pitching side of the game, McDonald was average at 5.2 innings for 3 runs on 7 hits, whereas Cruz was woeful again, pitching 0.1 innings for 3 runs with all three coming on a Byrd three run homer.

Not exactly what we wanted results wise, however its an encouraging start from a team that is only going to learn.We've got potential on both sides of the game and I'm sure it will be shown in upcoming games. It's only a matter of time before the W's start coming I hope.

Record: 1-2

Next edition: Series @ Cardinals

P.S. Feel free to post any comments with ideas or suggestions, look forward to hearing feedback from you

[UKPiratesFan]

Game 4 @ Cards - W 7-3

The offense was firing tonight, led by Overbay, who went 2/5 with three RBIs, however it was a good all round batting performance with everyone apart from McCutchen (amazing, I know) getting hits. Ben Sheets was fantastic on debut, giving up just 2 runs in 8 innings on 7 hits.*Meek was mediocre with 1 inning, 1 run on 1 hit, but it is tough to judge his performance tonight on 1 inning*

Game 5 @ Cards - W 4-3

Well, the pitching was again magnificent holding STL for 3 for second straight game. Field, Doumit and Cabrera each got 2 hits. The bullpen improved, with a combined effort of 3.2 shutout innings from Cruz, Veras, Gallagher and Hanrahans second save. The offense took a while to get going but they did, scoring twice in the 8th and twice in the 9th for the dramatic, come-from-behind win.

Game 6 @ Cards - W 11-9

The offense bounced back from a lackluster start in Game 5, scoring above 10 for first time and against a great pitcher in Wainwright. Cutch recovered from being hitless in Game 4 by going 3/5 with 3 RBIs. Doumit, Alvares and Overbay also chipped in with 2 hits each. Andy Pettite struggled at first but recovered, pitching 5 innings for 5 runs on 8 hits. Meek and Cruz were stellar out of the bullpen, but Karstens blew the lead late on and Hanrahan blew his first save of the season, meaning Gallagher got his second win of the season. Oh yeah, and we scored 3 times in 10th to win game. CLUTCH.

An AMAZING sweep spearheaded by dominant offensive performances in games 5 and 6 against a top class St. Louis pitching rotation. The pitching was also great in games 4 and 5, with Pettite improving enough to maintain the number 1 spot. Tough homestand coming up beginning with a 4 game series at home to the Rockies followed by a short 2 game series against the Brewers. I want and believe that we can win both series, but its an odd homestand as we have the potential to split both. Taking the mound for the home opener is John Maine, a prime-aged pitcher I am hopeful can do well for us this season.

Record: 4-2

Next edition: Rockies home series

[UKPiratesFan]

I made a flyer (on paint so bad quality) advertising the upcoming homestand vs. the Rockies. Tickets are still available for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday games (the Thursday home opener is a sellout as expected). This is also a chance to promote the new Pepsi Family Pack, with details on the flyer of what it includes.

Updates on the homestand will be coming soon, likely tomorrow night.



Give me feedback on the flyer and whether you think I should do more