If you weren't watching the PGA Championship this afternoon, you really missed some great stuff as 25 year old rookie Keegan Bradley won the Championship in a three hole aggregate playoff over Jason Duffner.
In case you missed it...
Bradley was two shots behind Jason Duffner when he bogied the 15th hole par 3. Duffner stood on the 15th tee with a four shot lead and a five shot lead over Bradley. At that point, Duffner was the only player in the entire field who had played 15-16-17-18 without a bogey throughout the tournament. Well, Duffner proceeded to bogey 15-16-17 while Bradley birdied 16 and 17 to force the three hole playoff. The shots that both players made during the playoff were tremendous and really made for some great theater, but a three putt bogey on the second hole doomed Dufner, and Bradley is the Champ.
Really, really great stuff!!
By the way, in my prediction on Thursday, I did call for an American to win the Championship, so I got that going for me, which is nice. The players that I mentioned, Watney, Fowler, Watson, and Mahan finished far down the track. The guy I predicted to win, Dustin Johnson, failed to make the cut. Hey, I did say "watch, but don't bet."
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In the other sports story of the weekend, the Pirates were swept by the Brewers in Miller Park. I know, I know, dog-bites-man stuff if ever I heard it. Circumstances caused me to not see either of the first two games, but I did see much of today's 2-1 ten inning loss, and it was painful to watch.
Only the Pirates can lose in Milwaukee where a dropped third strike became a critical play in the game.
Only the Pirates can snuff out their bases loaded "rally" on a "ground ball" that traveled about 18 inches.
Clint Hurdle can say that Miller Park "ain't haunted" all he wants, but that place in the heads of those guys, and I don't know what's to be done about it. Maybe they hire a witch doctor for their next trip to Brewtown.
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SABR, Facebook, and Heinz History Center buddy, Jim Haller, and I began to draw up a list of guys we do NOT want to see on the Pirates in 2012. These guys MUST go before next season:
Joe Bieml
Steve Pearce
Ronny Cedeno
Matt Diaz
And I am this close to adding the name of Derrek Lee to the list. Apart from those two homers in his first game, have you ever even heard him speak since he's been here? The fact that he couldn't travel for Baltimore to Philadelphia to be with the team the day after he was acquired tells me he doesn't want to be here, and now, he's on the DL after playing in what, four or five games? I know it wasn't his fault, but what a bad sign. If the Pirates resign him, he would be the next in a long line of washed up guys that include Derek Bell, Jeromy Burnitz, Sean Casey, Lyle Overbay, and, well, need I go on?
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The good play of the Pirates -up until the last two weeks at least - has obscured the fact that top two draft picks Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell remained unsigned by the Pirates, and the deadline is midnight tomorrow night. Everyone knew that Bell not signing was a distinct possibility, but if the team fails to sign Cole, thus squandering the overall #1 pick in the draft, what had been a season of good feelings and happy outlooks will be circling the drain at an alarming pace.
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Word has been leaked that the Pirates will be raising ticket prices in 2012. Personally, I understand this, and have no problem with it. What business do you know hasn't raised its prices in ten years? Pirates prices are way low when compared to other MLB teams, and they are certainly a lot cheaper than going to a Steelers or Pens game. That said, the team had better do its part with the increased revenue and put it to use in the major league product. The ticket buying public has more than done its part in 2011, so let's see something on the field at PNC Park next year that resembles a quality major league product.
Don't tell me the money is being used to sign a teenager from Mexico. Don't sign up and under-achieving free agents like Diaz, Overbay, and Scott Olsen. Don't trade for high priced bums like Aki Iwamura. Pay for somebody who can STILL play the game at a high level. Pay the money to lock up Andrew McCutchen to a long term deal that secures him through a couple of his free agency years.
This is what Nutting-Coonelly-Huntington have said is "the plan" and this is what they said they would do. We will know by Christmas time if they really meant it.
Did ya hear??? After Sunday's game, the Brewers players came into the Pirates locker room and gave them a wedgie before they kicked them back to Pittsburgh!
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