- Had a delightful round of golf today at Moon Golf Club. Well, the company - Dan Bonk, John Coley, and Fred Shugars - was delightful. The golf, not so much. I have been playing golf for 30-some years now and am approaching age 62, so I am what I am as a golfer, so I don't get angry anymore when I play poorly, but I do get disappointed when I just know that I'm capable of playing better.
- A note to the Moon Golf Club: I want a rematch, at which time I intend to kick your ass!
- Hey, how about those Pittsburgh Pirates???? 31-19 after taking two of three from the Hated Brewers in Miller Park! When things like that happen, maybe it's a sign that this is the year that the World Record Losing Streak ends. Still a lot of grass to mow, however.
- A little over a week ago, we all looked forward to what was thought to be a soft part of the Pirates schedule, 13 games with the Brewers, Astros, and Cubs. The Pirates came through that patch with a 10-3 record.
- Now the team faces ten games against good teams, the Tigers, Reds, and Braves. Five games at home, five on the road. I'll be happy with 5-5 on that stretch, and would love it if it included two of three against the Reds.
- 10,000th Win Contest Update: The Pirates are playing at a .620 clip that, if maintained, would bring win #39, aka, the 10,000th Win in Team History, on the 63rd game of the season. This pace is making Don Lancaster look like Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Don called for this win to take place in game #65. No one else is even close. It will take a losing stretch of epic proportions (kind of like what happened last August) for Don to not take this prize.
- Speaking of Don Lancaster, this past Tuesday he won his primary election race for Borough Council in Indiana, PA. Go get 'em in November, Don!
- The performance of the Pirates is being sparked in large part by the following factors: (1) the Other Worldly performance of closer Jason Grilli, who became the closer due to the Joel Hanrahan trade, (2) the also Other Worldly performance by set-up man Mark Melancon, who was obtained in the Hanrahan trade, (3) the spark plug performance by catcher and free agent signee Russell Martin, who some have stated has been the team MVP, (4) five wins by Wandy Rodriguez, (5) five wins by Jeff Locke, (6) continued outstanding performance by AJ Burnett, (7) solid performances from fifth starter Jeanmar Gomez., and (8) a 3-0 start by free agent signee Francisco Liriano.
- What do the eight guys listed above have in common? They all were brought here by the maneuverings of General Manager Neal Huntington. Yes, I who have spent so much time and blog space bashing the NHR since the close of last season, now must give the GM credit where it is due. Oh, he still drives me crazy with his line of say-nothing NHB, and there is still two-thirds of a season to be played, but so far, a "Well Done" to GM Neal for 2013. Final grade to be delivered in October.
- Speaking of Joel Hanrahan, there seemed to be some gloating among Pirate Chatters (the Neal Loyalists?) when he started poorly with the Red Sox, and even some "told-you-so" type comments when he had to undergo season ending surgery, which I felt was bad form. Hanrahan served the Buccos loyally and well, especially in 2011-12, I, for one, feel bad about what has befallen him since the trade, and wish him well when he returns in 2014.
- Do any of you out there watch "Mad Men"? If so, do you agree that last week's episode was bizarre at best and downright awful at worst? Let's hope that that episode was an aberration or else we could be talking shark-jumping here.
- I mentioned earlier that I will be turning age 62 in a few months. Not sure there is a correlation here, but yesterday morning, while crossing a North Side street on my way to breakfast with some friends, I fell down. Don't know what happened, what caused the misstep, but all of a sudden, it was "DOWN goes Frazier!" Skinned my knee, jammed my wrist, and suffered major embarrassment, but otherwise, came out okay. The lesson is, something like this can come out of nowhere, so, as they said at the Hill Street Station "Be careful out there."
- Maybe that fall explains my complete inability to hit a wedge shot or make a putt today.
- How about that nutty Sergio Garcia? First there was his incessant whining about Tiger Woods two weeks ago at the Players Championship, followed this week by, to be kind, racially insensitive comments about Woods at a press conference in Europe. For all of Sergio's utterances, we bestow upon him The Grandstander H.A. Citation. Hey, Sergio, this is for you:
(Photo courtesy of Dan Bonk Enterprises)
- The "H.A. Citation" will now become a semi-regular feature of The Grandstander.
- And I will accept nominations for future Grandstander H.A. Citations, so let me have your suggestions.
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