.500!!!!....and other thoughts

Today the Pirates achieved what has seemed to be the Holy Grail for lo these past 18-going-on-19 seasons: a .500 record. Today's win over the Astros was a most dramatic one, a come from behind effort thanks to a three run, eighth inning home run by Ryan Doumit. Doumit's blast rescued the team from what would have been a most frustrating defeat.

Of course, a .500 record 34 games into the season means very little, and over the course of a full season, a .500 record means only that you are a mediocre team. The Pirates from the Bob Nutting on down to the clubhouse guy who rinses out the jock straps have proclaimed as nauseum that ".500 is not the goal; championships are." An admirable sentiment, to be sure, but we all know what these last 19 seasons have been like, so the possibility of the team actually winning more games than they lose should not be dismissed as being not worth talking about. I was at PNC on Friday night when the team could have hit the .500 mark, and didn't, and this afternoon, when they did, and I can tell you that seeing the team play to this level, and, yes, I know that it is only May 8, meant an awful lot to the paying customers. The team should not dismiss this sentiment so lightly.

*****

It came to my attention over the weekend that one of The Grandstander's Loyal Readers, Mike J. of Robinson Township, has accused me of going a bit too heavy with what he terms "Neal Huntington bashing." OK, so let's give Neal a little dap this evening for the following:

Kevin Correia - See my post of May 2. If you tell me that you saw a 5-2, sub-3.00 ERA on Mother's Day for this guy, I won't believe you.

James McDonald - After a shaky start to the season, J-Mac turns in a solid start for the third straight time today. Sending Octavio Dotel to McCort-land for this guy is starting to look like a steal.

Charlie Morton - 4-1 so far after that train wreck of a 2010 season? Again, who saw that coming? If Morton keeps this up, we'll soon be asking "Nate Who?"

Ryan Doumit - Huntington made no secret of wanting to trade Doumit this off-season, and such a trade could still happen, but Neal didn't just make a fire sale deal and dump him, and Doumit has been hitting well as a spot starter, even before today's heroics. Sometimes, the best traders are the ones you don't make.

The Bullpen - Even though Chris Resop has fallen to earth a bit in this Astros series, it appears that GM Neal has cobbled together a pretty good bullpen thus far in 2011.

Clint Hurdle - The GM is the guy who hires the manager, theoretically, anyway, so give Neal the credit for bringing in Hurdle, who certainly appears to be a good manager so far. (Using this same logic, Neal also gets the credit for hiring John Russell three years ago, but we come here today to praise Neal, not to bury him.)

OK, Mike, how does THAT sit with you?

*****

I suppose I can't let another day pass without commenting on Rashard Mendenhall and his tweets. In the highest tradition of Sports Talk Radio Culture, this topic has been thoroughly beaten into the ground, not only in Pittsburgh, but all across the USA. The best observation that I heard came from PTI's Michael Wilbon, who said, essentially, that Mendenhall is a 23 year old kid, who has shown a moderate ability to run with a football in the NFL, and how does this give him a platform that deserves all the attention that his insipid tweeting has given him? In other words, who cares what Rashard Mendenhall thinks? I don't. Nor do I really care, one way or another, if the Steelers choose to keep him or cut him. I suspect that he will not be released, but I also think he won't get many second chances if his performance starts to fall off.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The Grandstander has been assailed in recent weeks for being too judgemental and too hard on GM Neal (the guy who signed Aki Iwamura and thought Neil Walker would make a nice utility man). Well, in deference to those opinions let me jump the gun - I was going to wait until one month of the season had been played to do such an assessment - and give GM Neal props and kudos for the signing of Kevin Correia.

The Grandstander was not the only person to greet the Correia signing with great ennui last winter, but so far the results have been outstanding:

3-1, 2.48 ERA, 1 CG, 29 IP, 12K, 7 BB

If the NL All-Star team was being picked today, Correia would be on it.

So, at this point in the season, put this one in the PLUS column for Neal.

******

Another Pirates thought, and, yes, I know it is early in the season:

After going 1-11 in 2010, after beating the Pirates for over $2 million in arbitration in the off season, after an '11 start that has produced a 7.27 ERA in two starts and 8.2 IP, and after being dispatched for what appears to be a lengthy spell on the DL, I am guessing that Ross Ohlendorf will be a prime candidate to be "designated for assignment" (a la Zach Duke) this coming off-season.

Fish Fry Fridays Are Back!!

A little of this and a little of that....

• It's Lent. It's Friday. That means it's time to visit a local Fish Fry. Tonight we take a break from visiting a local Catholic Church and are instead heading to the Serbian Club on the South Side (or, to be more locally precise, the Sahsside). One of our neighbors are involved withe Serbian Club (through their Orthodox Church) and have been touting the Club's Fish Fry, so that's where we're headed tonight!
• I went on Facebook between games of the NCAA double-headers last night and confidently stated that it would be the Duke Blue Devils cutting down the nets in Houston next Monday night. Shows you how smart I am. That beatdown that Arizona put on the Dookies was not something you often see to one of Coach K's squads.
• Is it good to score 30+ points in a game while maintaining a shooting percentage in the low 30% range? Ask Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars.
• My NCAA bracket entry was utterly smashed after the first weekend, so I an watching the games now purely for entertainment purposes. I had called for a final four consisting of Pitt, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Duke, with UNC beating ND for the Championship. This can mean only one thing - bet heavily against the Tar Heels this weekend.
• If you are looking for a local rooting interest in the NCAA games at this point, how about cheering for Arizona and their young head coach, Blackhawk and Pitt alum Sean Miller.
• To tie up one more loose basketball end, I am sorry to report that the Shaler Lady Titans fell to Mt. Lebanon in the PIAA State semi-finals last week. So ends a great season for these young ladies.
• Kevin Correia gets the nod as Opening Day starter for the Pirates. Doesn't exactly fill you with optimism, does it?
• It is also noted that Charlie Morton has earned spot in the Pirates starting rotation. Who would have seen that coming after that train wreck of a season he had last year? Be sure, though, that Morton earned this spot. He has easily been the Bucs best starter in Spring Training. Good for him for overcoming last season's travails. Maybe THAT cold be a feel-good story for 2011.
• The NFL owners who profess to have the interests of "the fans" first and foremost in their hearts are the same group of businessmen who are now asking their season ticket holders to pony up their money for there 2011 tickets. This after they, the owners, have shut down the game putting into question if there will even be NFL games in 2011. And, yes, this includes the altruistic, Sainted Rooney family of Your Pittsburgh Steelers. I guess this is just another example of the "Steelers Way" of doing business.
• That said, I do not believe that there will be a single NFL game lost in 2011 due to a lockout/strike. This could mean that replacement players will once again make their appearance in NFL uniforms as they did back in 1987. At the same ticket prices, of course.