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As they say, baseball is a funny game ...
You look over the road trip that just ended, and the Pirates somehow went 3-4 despite an almost total lack of offense until yesterday, despite the sky-is-falling feeling that never seemed to lift until the very end, despite facing maybe the two teams that will be their most important opponents all summer.
Go figure.
The one tangible factor that results from yesterday: The inbox went from 250-300 emails a day to ... four.
So, congratulations to all four of you for your fair outlook on the club ...
Q: He is alive!
Tracy tweaked the lineup! Tracy tweaked the lineup! Tracy tweaked the lineup!
(And they scored six runs!)
Jim Krugh of Philadelphia
KOVACEVIC: Oh, never mind. All of you are downright evil, even when you are trying to be nice.
Q: I've generally been extremely negative, but I'll actually be positive today: I loved that lineup. Jack Wilson is not a No. 2 hitter, Chris Duffy just doesn't get on base enough, and the lefty-righty-lefty combo of Ryan Doumit, Xavier Nady and Adam LaRoche is a bonus.
What are the odds they decide to stick with this lineup and sacrifice a little defense?
Dave Paserba of Butler
KOVACEVIC: The odds are excellent after seeing that little outburst yesterday, one would think. The iffiest component would appear to be Jose Bautista at No. 2, so it could be expected that Duffy will work his way back into that mix with maybe Sanchez batting second. But Wilson probably will remain at No. 8 for the foreseeable future, it seems.
None of this has an ideal feel to me, Dave, though I respect your opinion on it. For that to happen, LaRoche needs to continue warming up, and Paulino needs to be much, much more of a factor. From there, the options for Nos. 3-7 look much more attractive.
This seemed more like an emergency lineup. But hey, who can argue taking an emergency approach in lieu of simply running the same eight out there to do nothing night after night?
Q: When Xavier Nady came over from the Mets, I was worried. He seemed so unhappy -- who wouldn't be? -- coming from a contender to a pretender. Nonetheless, watching him play, I get no such feeling from him anymore. He seems to me to be one of our real contributors: solid in the field, dangerous at the plate. The Pirates' team is much better with him on it.
And I hope that you'll pass this message along to him. He's the real deal, and he is appreciated.
Gerard Rohlf of Edgewood
KOVACEVIC: Good to see you had the right context on Nady's initial comments after that trade, Gerard. Too often, those things are left to linger too long. I hear them in regard to LaRoche, too.
If the Pirates ever trade for a player whose team is a perennial contender, and said player's immediate reaction is outright glee, worry about that player.
Q: I have always thought that having an "All Star" from each team was ludicrous, anyway, since bad teams have bad players for the most part. (See: Buccos, last 15 years). But who from this bunch could even possibly, remotely be viewed as that candidate?
Bob Bennett of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
KOVACEVIC: Possibly? Remotely?
I know you are far away, so I cannot guess at how many games you see, Bob, but have you watched the way Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have pitched? It never is easy to crack an All-Star team as a starting pitcher, as there are so many great names. But to suggest that either of those pitchers is undeserving -- based strictly on the performance to date, obviously -- is to suggest a lack of paying attention.
I will disagree with you on two more fronts:
1. I always have liked that MLB has included all teams. Heaven knows there are certain franchises that get outright ignored on a national level in so many other ways that to leave them out of the All-Star Game would be yet another slap to the fans in those cities. Remember: The game is supposed to be about the fans.
2. I never have liked this very widely held notion that the All-Star Game should be a reward for first-half performance only, as referenced above. Give me the sport's best and brightest, first and foremost. Then give me the best performers since the previous All-Star Game. Why should great second-half performances such as those of Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche be discarded in the process? Or, for that matter, the league's MVP, Ryan Howard? Should he be in the game? Or should he simply be measured by how he does from now until June?
Until Monday, by which point these guys might go into permanent hiding with Atlanta pitching neither John Smoltz nor Tim Hudson ...
