Swept From Underneath
With a 6 run lead, only 7 innings seperated the buccos from their first series sweep of the year. Might as well of been 70 innings. Jim Tracy's desperate plan to allow Victory Santos to stay in 5 innings to get the win blew up in his face as Santos, the Pirates bullpen and Jeremy Burnitz shit the bed en route to a 9-8 loss that featured their biggest blown lead of the year. The demoralizing loss dampened what was rounding out to be an above average homestand including two wins over one of the NL's best in Cincinatti. The nine game homestand had the Pirates go 4-4 with a rainout, indeed above average for their .280 winning pct start but considering the fact the series contained the Diamondbacks, Marlins and the streaking Reds and was devoid of lefties, the Pirates squandered their LAST REMAINING OPPURTUNITY to EVER be mentioned in the same breadth with contender.

Humberto Quotas
Bronson Arroyo
"I didn't have the greatest stuff coming out of the bullpen, but it's still no excuse, man," Arroyo said. "I mean, to get off to a start like that against a team like this, especially after we hadn't won for four days in a row, it's [bad]. This can't happen, period."
"If I can't stand on the mound and feel comfortable against that lineup, then something's wrong with me," he said.

Standings
Pirates 13-28 .317 13 GB
They are now in a three way tie for most losses with Florida and KC
Their winning pct. is second worst in the NL
Elimination # 109
They are on pace to be the fastest team eliminated from playoff contention in the NL
Divison record: 6-18
Unforuntatetly for the succos you play most of your games in your divison
Road record: 3-17
Worst in the national league
Against lefties: 1-14
Worst in Major Leage Baseball
Record in one-run games: 4-11
Worst in MLB

Chase for .100
Jeremy Burnitz .196
Chris Duffy .194
Jose Hernandez .152

HR Derby Rep?
Jason Bay 7
Craig Wilson 7
Burnitz 7
Jack Wilson 5

ERAs or Birth Weights?
Ryan Vogelsong 5.14
John Grabow 5.40
Victory Santos 5.69
Ian Snelled 6.00
Olly Perez 6.98

Road to 20 losses
Zach Duke 2-4
Mahallam 2-4
Victor 1-4
Olly Perez 2-5

Going to a Pittsburgh Pirate game ensures you of a 61% chance of seeing King Solomon Torres (4.78 ERA ) make an appearance.

Power Rankings
CBSsportsline
27. Pirates 80.63
28. Tampa Bay 77.47
29. Florida 74.44
30. KC 54.87

Out of all the stats I have posted here in my ramblings on the Pirates, nothing is as pathetic as this. Despite selling more than 2,000 season ticket packages than 2005, there by ensuring them of a 2,000+ person headstard over last season's attendance, home attendance for the 2006 season at PBC Park is down from last year and dropping. And this during an all star year, absolutely embarassing.

Duff Brewery Shutdowns
In what could amount to an operation shutdown II, Chris Duffy refused to report to Indianapolis after being demoted to the buccos AAA team. He will now forgo his $331,000 salary.
Way to fight the man Duffy, after jackass Tracy fiddled with his mechanics despite an amazing .341 average last season, Duffy faltered.
The Pirates now lead the majors in players placed on the restricted list with two, Jody Gerut made the doghouse in April.

Up next:
Interleague play
Three at Cleveland (including a Friday showdown with lefthander C.C. Sabathia) then three in Arizona before returning to PBC after a day off to face some NL Central foes.

The Pirates have not swept a three game series since July 2004

Odds of losing 100 games: 79%
On pace to be: 51-111


World Cup Coverage
Azzurri
This is too scary to be a coincindance. As per our discussion yesterday on Paolo Rossi, on the same day he performed one of the World Cup's most memorable feats, a hat trick against the heavily favored Brazlians July 5, 1982, Alberto Girlardino was being born 700 kilometres away.
Girlardino along with Luca Toni in my opinion hold the key to Italy's world cup aspirations this year. The oddsmakers agree with me and we'll get to them in a few.

This is what makes the azzurri, the azzurri, they are one of only two countries in the World Cup that have pulled their entire national team from players currently playing in the countries club leagues.

Now select profiles on key Italian players
Goalie
Gianlugi Buffon, 29
Playing for Juventus, he has recovered from a spat of previous injuries and looks in the best shafe of his career. Clearly the least Italian of all the players, lacking the vowel to cap off his last name and what may pain some azzurri supporters, his fiance is from the Czech republic.
Defenders
Fabio Cannavaro, 33
A discussion of experience and leadership on this team has to begin with Fabio Cannavaro. The captain of the team, he plays for Juventus and in what I think is incredibly key for the azzurri is his experience and partnership playing in front of Buffon and fellow Juve teammate and countryman Allesandro Nesta. He is one of the few remnants from Italy's 1998 World Cup team and 2000 UEFA Euro Cup.
Marco Materazzi, 33
A solid role player behind Cannavaro and Nesta, the sicilian has great size for a defender and a great scoring touch.
Midfielder
Francesco Totti, 30
In a move that paralells this countries equavalent of a college player staying in school and turning down financial overtures, Totti has remained with Roma despite all the callins from the money rich Northern clubs that have constantly been clamoring for his service. He is a legend around southern and central Italy. However what he has done in club play, is more than he has shown on the international level where he has performed well UNDER expectations. His broken ankle suffered in February has fans of the Azzurri cause to worry.
Constantly being surrounded by controversy on the international level, he was red carded against Korea by an angry Ecuadorian referee and in the UEFA Euro he missed four matches after spitting in an opponents face.
Forwards
Alessandro Del Piero, 32
The heir apparent after Roberto Baggio began to fade, Del Piero has always been a fan favorite while playing for the Azzurri and the biancanegri (Juventus). He still is not the same player after his 1998 knee injury. He has accepted his more limited role with open arms, making the concessions for the better of the team. This was never more apparent than in his gesture of passing the torch and his number 10 shirt to Totti. His winning goal coming off the bench against Mexico in the group stage of the last world cup remains his crowning achievment.
Toni Luca, 29
The best goal scorer right now on this team in my opinion. He is Italy's number one striker in the Serie A club level and on the national team. He continues to excell with Fiorentina after his days player with Palermo. Watch for his header during the tournament.
Alberto Gilardino, 23
Lacking age and experience but not much else, Gilardino has been said to be one of the most complete attackers on the Azzurri roster. Another case of the Totti's, his impressive performance with AC Milan did not translate to international success. Second best goal scoring threat on the team right now, but just wait for 2010 in South Africa.
Filippo Inzaghi, 32
Partaking in his third world cup, the prominent goal scorer has returned his ways that lad him to numerous accolades in the UEFA Euro and UEFA champions league.

GROUP E Schedule
Eastern Days and Times

Monday June 12
Noon US vs Czech
3pm Italy vs Ghana

Saturday June 17
Noon Czech vs Ghana
3pm Italy vs US

Thursday June 22
10:00 am Ghana vs US
10:00 am Czech vs Italy

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