-First off, I really need to improve my pennant-race conditioning. I'm simply not used to the marathon that a 162 game schedule is. It's been so long since the Pirates were in the hunt for a postseason berth this late in the year, and all I'm used to these days is living and dying for Steelers games. Of course, any single NFL game is pretty crucial because there are only 16 of them. Each win is a reason to celebrate. Each loss is a reason to be a little concerned. In baseball, however, it's a marathon, not an intense sprint. Lately, I've been catching myself getting too high after every Pirates' win and too low after a loss like yesterday's. Oh well, I guess, like the young players, the fans must learn how to handle the ups and downs of a pennant race.
-Speaking of that, I was listening to the Pirates' postgame show yesterday, and the host was promoting the weekend series with the Cardinals. He called it the biggest series in PNC Park history. When I heard that, I got goosebumps. If nothing else, it's nice to hear that kind of stuff again.
-How about Jeff Karstens? The guy has been lights-out. He was named the player of the week in the National League, and it was based totally on his complete game shutout in Houston the first game after the All-star break. It's pretty impressive to be voted the best player of an entire week based-on 9-innings. But Kartens' game was just a masterpiece. He only needed 83 pitches to get through 9-innings, and he didn't walk a single batter. I've always liked Karstens. If I was a pitcher, I'd be like him. He's not very big, he doesn't have great stuff, but he is fearless out there, and he changes speeds better than any Pirates' pitcher I've seen in a long time. His fastball is around 90mph, and his curveball has been clocked in the 60's. Having a rocket arm is a great advantage for a pitcher, but changing speeds and keeping the hitters off balance has always been the key to pitching. Karstens does nothing fancy out there, he just lets his defense do the work. I think it's easy to forget that even the best hitters in the world still fail close to 70% of the time. It's nice to see guys like Karstens succeed. The Pirates are going to need to continue finding and developing guys like Karstens if they're going to grow as a team. Not every great major league player was a top 5 prospect.
-I'm still a little worried about what the Pirates might do at the trade-deadline. When you hear some of the names floated around as potential Pirates--Hunter Pence, Carlos Pena and Carlos Beltran--I have to admit, it's kind of intriguing. But I'm still of the belief that the Pirates should not sell the farm to rent a player for only a few months. If they can get a Pena for a mid-range prospect, I say go for it. However, if it's going to cost them too much of the future, I would just go with what they have. Pence is the only one I would consider trading a valuable commodity for, but that's only because he has at least two-years before he's a free-agent. However, I don't think the Astros are going to part with Pence unless they get a King's Ransom in return, and I don't think the Pirates are at the point yet where they can just give away top prospects. They have to continue to build their system from the bottom on up.
That's it for now. Let's see how this weekend series with the Cardinals plays out. If it goes well, there may be a few more big series at PNC Park before the season is over.
Let's Go Bucs!
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