The Reds’ Johnny Cueto fires the first pitch of 2015 to Josh Harrison at 4:10 p.m. today. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
CINCINNATI — “One game,” Starling Marte was saying at his stall tonight, speaking softly but still easily picked up in an otherwise silent visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. “My God, I mean … it’s one game.”
He was right, of course. It was one game, with 161 to come.
So even with Marte’s left leg propped up on a folding chair and hurting almost as much as his 0-for-4 with three Ks, even with Francisco Liriano staring at a wall in the other corner after balking in one run and giving up a bomb for another, even with Tony Watson struggling to carry his chin high after … oh, you saw it … the Pirates’ 5-2 balloon-bursting at the hands of the Reds in their 2015 season opener still can’t count for any more than Marte’s math will corroborate.
“It’s no fun right now,” Andrew McCutchen said, “but it’s one game.”
“One game,” Andrew Lambo said, “and there’s another one Wednesday.”
Yep. And after that, there will be another. And another. And all of them, maybe all the way through September, will be accompanied by infinitely less fanfare, inside and outside the Pirates’ world.
As Clint Hurdle wonderfully stated before this one, “I always look forward to the opener. But I look forward that much more to the opener being over.”
Makes perfect sense. These events reverberate, even through a century-plus of history …
… but they’re also grossly overweighted, in general.
This made sense, too, also from the manager but afterward: “I liked a lot of what I saw out there.”
I did, too, in all honesty.
The offense did next to nothing against Johnny Cueto, who hasn’t come close to dropping the ball against the Pirates since the Blackout: He pitched seven scoreless innings, fanned 10 and, to be blunt, looked a bit bored doing it. But the Reds are now 7-0 in their past seven meetings with the Pirates when Cueto starts, and he conceded more than two earned runs only once in that span.
The guy is just really good, and not just against the uniform: For their careers, Marte is 1 for 23 against Cueto, Pedro Alvarez 6 for 33, Neil Walker 9 for 48 … and the only players who hit him at .300 or higher are McCutchen and Josh Harrison. That doesn’t cut it.
Not much to analyze here, is there?
This was the three-word assessment of Bryan Price, Cincinnati’s manager: “He was phenomenal.”
His counterpart actually wasn’t far behind. Liriano allowed two hits, half as many as Cueto, and pitched into the seventh inning after the standard slow spring buildup. He struck out seven and threw two-thirds of his semi-efficient 92 pitches for strikes.
Oh, and he balked in a run in the third when he began his motion with runners at the corners — neither he nor the Pirates disputed it — then left a fastball in Jay Bruce’s wheelhouse for a solo home run.
“I thought Frankie looked really strong,” Hurdle said.
“I felt good. I felt OK,” Liriano said. “I wish it could end better, but …”
No need to complete the thought. A hale, healthy Liriano is paramount to this team. This was a fine first step, especially considering his margin for error was close to zero.
The Pirates entered the eighth down two runs and, as with the local weathermen tracking the storm that caused a half-hour rain delay in the sixth, they correctly identified a window in which they’d have a chance to compete: Kevin Gregg would pitch the eighth for the Reds, with flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman saved for the ninth.
And with the first fair shot at swinging bats at a mortal, the Pirates did exactly that.
But only after Lambo’s 13-pitch at-bat that culminated with a scorched lineout to deep center, one that more than a few observers from the dugout thought was gone off the bat.
“I’m still shaking my head over that one,” Hurdle said.
Regardless, the damage was done. Gregg wasn’t good in the first place, and opening his first outing with a duel like that left him high and dry for anyone who followed.
“You just want to work him,” Lambo said. “That’s your thought process, to try to make something happen, get something going for your teammates.”
Sure enough, Harrison singled and, after Gregory Polanco was robbed by a wall-crashing Marlon Byrd in left, Cutch came up clutch with a two-run, no-doubt, two-run shot out toward the center-field smokestacks.
Andrew McCutchen launches a two-run home to center field to tie the score in the eighth inning. — GETTY
“We got to see everything he had from the dugout,” McCutchen said of Gregg vs. Lambo. “That helps a lot if you’re a hitter. We went up there aggressive.”
Just like that, it was 2-2. The possibility of a rousing opener suddenly was at hand.
Hurdle stayed aggressive, too, bringing on his setup man, Watson, in the tie, and it seemed the surest bet he could make. Watson was nothing less than one of the best lefty relievers in the game the past two seasons, and he looked no different in Bradenton.
But Billy Hamilton’s bouncer up the middle got Cincinnati going anew and, when third base umpire James Hoye stunningly took Joey Votto off the hook on a check-swing third strike — even Votto, blessed with the sharpest of eyes, had spun to return to the dugout — Votto sliced a single to left.
“I thought Tony struck out Votto,” Hurdle said.
He was far from alone, and not just on that side. Votto’s body language spoke for itself, and teammate Todd Frazier said the call “could have gone either way.” That’s pro-athlete code for getting away with one.
What happened next was as loud as it was decisive: Frazier absolutely annihilated Watson’s absolutely awful up-and-over fastball and … I’m not sure it’s landed yet.
That was 5-2.
And it was, let’s remind, one game.
Take a glimpse at the mood, this based on a various few questions to Hurdle and players …
They aren’t delighted, but neither are they despondent. It’s baseball. It washes off.
If the most compelling aspect of this game was that the offense couldn’t touch Cueto, or that Liriano made a couple of mistakes over seven strong innings, or that Watson didn’t get a call and didn’t make a pitch … then the Pirates are, indeed, in for an intriguing season. Because McCutchen will hit 162 home runs, Liriano will win the Cy Young, and Watson will be stocking grocery shelves by May.
And Frazier’s ball will have violated all manner of FAA regulations.
Absolutely correct, one game. In the past two playoff season Pirates won one opener and lost one. Liriano will leave with lead most games he gives up 2 in 7 innings. Watson will many 1-2-3 innings. There aren't many pitchers in baseball better than Cueto.
"just one game".... Which is what every Penguin fan and player said all year and now look at what position we are in with them... I HATEEEEEE this statement now
Long way to go, like you said. But beating Cueto and not getting smoked at Miller Park should be high on the to do list for this team. I have no illusions there are 161 games left. But they cant waste too many good pitching performances from Liriano and Cole.
For the most part, I liked Cervelli today. Very disciplined hitter.
I don't think we have to worry too much about the getting smoked at Miller Park part. The Brewers are gonna stink this year. If the Reds get any pitching besides Cueto, they could really throw a wrench into the plans of the other NL Central contenders.
bpn8pitt
4-6-2015, 11:00 pm
Even bad Brewer teams have whipped on them In Milwaukee.
People want them to come up with the division, they got to find a way to overcome these lopsided records they carry against Cueto, Miller Park, interleague and so forth.
TheCoburntMan
4-6-2015, 9:43 pm
I'm tired of hearing it's just one game because it's a built in excuse for losing games... I'd rather a player say "we should've won this one.... We screwed up.... We can't make the same mistakes again"
I guess those NHL refs must've gotten to the MLB umps on that Frazier call. Buccos had Penguins luck today. Frankie was good but walking the pitcher invites trouble when you have almost no margin for error in a game.
Some good things and some "oh boy" things. Reds have a pretty solid lineup. If they get any starting pitching besides Cueto, division could be log jam.
Lasorda quote is apt here: one of the 60 we lose. Liriano started, yes, but he's not quite Cueto. Add in a rain delay, and just say, get it Wednesday. I like Cole vs. Leake. Should be in the 60 win column.
As always, Dejan...you are the best Pirates writer anywhere in the world. The PG was never really the same and I am just so glad you decided to create this site. Long time coming for one of the best sportswriters in the country. Great stuff, dude! As for the Pirates and Japanese superstars...any chance they sign Shohei Otani in a few years? Would be nice to see him in Black and Gold-
Man, I hate this 'only one game' crap. Let's see how important 'only one game' is in September when we are 2.5 behind the Cardinals. You gotta knock yourself out every game or at least want to after it's over if you lose. You have 200 other days in the year to not be hard on yourselves. Not this time. There's only one opener. Glad to hear that they were mad at themselves. 10-1 after 11 games in maybe makes up for this, but probably not. Let's not get all 'Penguins' and start to think that every game doesn't count. You see how well that works out .
Oh, my. Is this real or satire? I genuinely can't tell. The 10-1 thing threw me. That just can't be real. None of this can, actually.
And you're now the third person here to transfer anger at the Penguins toward the Pirates. Please tell me I am not the only one who sees this as borderline insane.
dbartram
4-7-2015, 2:14 am
I think we need to sink Bobs Battleship
Battleship Bob
4-7-2015, 4:14 am
For the most part, everything I post is very heavily tongue-in cheek. Letting me off with 'satire' here though would be too kind. I was genuinely miffed. Angered at waiting an entire offseason only to be greeted with that clunker, then to hear 'it's only one game'. Ugh. They are all only one game, and every one is equally important. As players, are you serious about playing the game for a living, or is it 'just another game' every time? That phrase is akin to 'everybody wins who plays the game' and 'you never lose as long as you do your best'. Moms can say that to kids, but come on guys, you gotta live and die with each outing. Leave everything out there on the field every time or else what are we doing, here? It is a game of winning and losing, not 'oh well, we did our best'. I am glad that the locker room was somber. That is appropriate for the losers. As for the Penguins, they need to be used as the cautionary tale for what all teams should strive to never become, attitude-wise.
J.R.
4-7-2015, 7:13 am
I like satire, for one. Also, how 'bout those Devils!?!
Arriba Wilver
4-7-2015, 9:51 am
DK---you aren't.
BB---Anybody who thought the Pirates didn't try hard really didn't watch the game or IS insane. On the plus side, your non de guerre fits. ;-)
Arriba Wilver
4-7-2015, 10:00 am
*nom
Battleship Bob
4-7-2015, 12:28 pm
Thanks for reading and responding, guys. I appreciate the passion for the Pirates and the level headedness of DKs readership. Sanity notwithstanding, I'm not questioning the effort of the guys. But why cast any of the hard work in doubt by saying 'its only one game'? It is an attitude that needs adjustment/eradication, and not a talent or drive issue. Why keep track of standings if you are not going to care about every game? Ok. I'm done. I think I've discovered that I have a hot button phrase in 'only one game'. Gotta stop the OOG mentality from creeping in.
WVStarship
4-7-2015, 1:25 pm
Right now I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that the OOG statement was a politically-correct response to the media. If they really feel that way then we're all just wasting our time expecting anything great from this team, just like we did in 1991-92.
Tom P.
4-7-2015, 2:03 pm
My guess is that 'it's only one game" is the professional athlete's way of staying on an even keel during a long season. I remember a story when Magic Johnson was a rookie and the Lakers won a game at the buzzer. Magic was jumping up and down like they had just won the NCAA title. A veteran told him to settle down and remarked, "We've got 80 more of these to go."
SeanAY
4-7-2015, 3:03 pm
Tom,
Good point RE: keeping an even keel.
We wouldn't want these guys spraying champagne for winning on opening day, so why do we want them to act like they just came from a funeral for losing on opening day?
unipress_54b550056f0bb
4-7-2015, 4:04 am
The Bucs should have had this one?? They never led! Relax, folks.
Again, 1 game. No big deal. But if you want them to come up with division, they cannot make it a habit of wasting 7 IP, 2 ER from their starters.
Matt Pearce
4-7-2015, 8:21 am
I'd say the real habit to break would be to stop this nonsense of playing games against the man who is perhaps the best pitcher in baseball.
Now that is satire.
bpn8pitt
4-7-2015, 8:34 am
Got to beat the best if you want to be the best.
unipress_551851d6ce0b4
4-7-2015, 7:23 pm
WOOOOOOOOO!!!! Haha.
J.R.
4-7-2015, 7:17 am
Would someone be willing/ able to post a basic thumbnail history of opening day in Cincinnati? Despite being a fairly big baseball fan, it somehow escaped my notice that it's such a big deal there...
All I know is the baseball season used to always start in Cincinnati. For a while singularly. Being a Pirate fan, it used to tick me off. ;-)
VABurgher
4-7-2015, 1:28 pm
The Cinncinati Red Stockings are credited with being the first Professional Baseball Team and up until some time in the 90's were always elected to open the season with the first game. Though they don't always get the first game any more the team and city keeps much of the pageantry alive, hence the parade and such.
rokinray
4-7-2015, 7:26 am
None of the acquisitions panned out and the guys that have been here for a long time didn't do enough. If this keeps up they won' t make the playoffs! Sometimes it's hard to be a (Pirates/Penguins/Steelers) fan.
Bummer to drop that game after the late rally but it's a great feeling to be that pumped for the Pirates in April... it's going to be a season to remember. I know that ball is coming back faster than it looks, but I thought Watson maybe could have gotten a glove on the Hamilton single up the middle. If that happens maybe we get a better result.
The past two season should teach us a whole lot: Patience. Lots and lots of patience. If memory serves me...they were playing baseball in October 2013 and 2014.
I'm not complaining. Living the dream and all that. I'm at airport awaiting flight to Ottawa roughly four hours after driving home from Cincinnati. And the only reason I even mention it is that it's so cool to be able to make coverage calls like this on the fly.
Well, I for one hope none of these guys sleep a wink before the first pitch of the next game. I hope Hurdle runs them until they puke today. There's no excuse for losing a baseball game. NONE.
When Frazier came up, I remember thinking, "why isn't Hurdle bringing in a righty, since he loves playing the match ups". Only reason I can muster is that Hurdle liked Fraziers career of 0 for 9(?) against Watson.
Watson gets righties and lefties out pretty much the same. I think the splits last year were that he was a smidge better against righties. There is no one Hurdle could have put in there who was a better fit than Watson in that situation. Holdzcom is in the minors. ;-)
bpn8pitt
4-7-2015, 11:30 am
Frazier and Cueto put up some sick numbers against the Bucs last year. Not sure anything could have been done differently, game 1 this year. But as I've been saying all morning, I'd like them to start bucking some trends here soon.
GhostOfWillMecklenburg
4-7-2015, 11:50 am
Speaking of the Pirates/Pens transference......The umps are out to get the Pirates.......[good Lord, I am just kidding]. :)
I understand in the short run that it is only one of 162 games, and there is plenty of time for the Bucs to do what they need to do to contend. However, in the long run, they simply have to learn to find a way to win these tough games against pitchers like Cueto (and Wainwright and Bumgarner, etc). If they get to the playoffs, they will never win a playoff series let alone a World Series unless they find a way (like the Cardinals do) to win games like yesterday's. You can't just keep accepting that you can't beat these guys. You have to find a way, even if it means the pitcher doesn't allow any runs, doesn't balk in a run or doesn't throw a nothing fastball to a guy who thrives on them. Even if it means your hitters have to go the other way with outside pitches, lay off pitches out of the zone and move(why aren't the Bucs capable of bunting?) runners and manufacture runs. Until they figure it out, they may have what it takes to contend and win the wild card again, but winning the Division and certainly winning in the short series of the playoffs and beyond will be difficult if not impossible
I apologize, It's hard to convey tone with any statement if you don't write everyday. Haha My previous statement about the "OOG" wasn't made in anger toward the Pirates, or even when referring to the Penguins, honestly. I was just making a comparison as to how I felt about any team using that line of thinking. Yes, it's good to keep emotions at an even keel throughout a very LONG season, but there is a possibility of it creeping in as a built in excuse instead of figuring out what's wrong and improving it. Being 0-1 is obviously not the end of the world. Haha
Few may find this stat intriguing, and it is subject to many interpretations: The Pirates, among all NL teams had the lowest number of W-L decisions attributed to their starting pitcher(s). We know they played a lot of close games last season, and Hurdle is not known for letting the rotation go deep into the match-ups. It may say a lot, too, about what the philosophy is toward the talents of the staff. The no-decision again to begin 2015 may be indicative of where it's all headed again.
Meant to say in 2014 as to the number of W-L decisions in the NL. Sorry.
NMR
4-8-2015, 7:42 am
Seems mostly just indicative of how poorly the bullpen held leads for the first four months of the season.
In today's game, it's not difficult to build a pen that *should* fair better than your starting pitcher the 4th or 5th time through a lineup. Ability to gain the platoon advantage in playing matchups, as well as generally having a fresh arm throwing 95+ is most likely better than your 3rd/4th/5th starter going out for a 7th or 8th inning with around 90 pitches already logged.
mwehrle27
4-7-2015, 10:02 pm
I'll tell you what. There isn't an easier job than an NHL ref. you just skate around and watch the hockey game.
It wasn't too bad until Tony Watson came into the game. Not much Pirates could've done offensively against one of the better pitchers in baseball and Liriano had a good outing save for that questionable balk and that home run.
April 6, 2015
Column: One of 162 … and not all bad, actually
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
The Reds’ Johnny Cueto fires the first pitch of 2015 to Josh Harrison at 4:10 p.m. today. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
CINCINNATI — “One game,” Starling Marte was saying at his stall tonight, speaking softly but still easily picked up in an otherwise silent visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. “My God, I mean … it’s one game.”
He was right, of course. It was one game, with 161 to come.
So even with Marte’s left leg propped up on a folding chair and hurting almost as much as his 0-for-4 with three Ks, even with Francisco Liriano staring at a wall in the other corner after balking in one run and giving up a bomb for another, even with Tony Watson struggling to carry his chin high after … oh, you saw it … the Pirates’ 5-2 balloon-bursting at the hands of the Reds in their 2015 season opener still can’t count for any more than Marte’s math will corroborate.
“It’s no fun right now,” Andrew McCutchen said, “but it’s one game.”
“One game,” Andrew Lambo said, “and there’s another one Wednesday.”
Yep. And after that, there will be another. And another. And all of them, maybe all the way through September, will be accompanied by infinitely less fanfare, inside and outside the Pirates’ world.
As Clint Hurdle wonderfully stated before this one, “I always look forward to the opener. But I look forward that much more to the opener being over.”
Makes perfect sense. These events reverberate, even through a century-plus of history …
… but they’re also grossly overweighted, in general.
This made sense, too, also from the manager but afterward: “I liked a lot of what I saw out there.”
I did, too, in all honesty.
The offense did next to nothing against Johnny Cueto, who hasn’t come close to dropping the ball against the Pirates since the Blackout: He pitched seven scoreless innings, fanned 10 and, to be blunt, looked a bit bored doing it. But the Reds are now 7-0 in their past seven meetings with the Pirates when Cueto starts, and he conceded more than two earned runs only once in that span.
The guy is just really good, and not just against the uniform: For their careers, Marte is 1 for 23 against Cueto, Pedro Alvarez 6 for 33, Neil Walker 9 for 48 … and the only players who hit him at .300 or higher are McCutchen and Josh Harrison. That doesn’t cut it.
Not much to analyze here, is there?
This was the three-word assessment of Bryan Price, Cincinnati’s manager: “He was phenomenal.”
His counterpart actually wasn’t far behind. Liriano allowed two hits, half as many as Cueto, and pitched into the seventh inning after the standard slow spring buildup. He struck out seven and threw two-thirds of his semi-efficient 92 pitches for strikes.
Oh, and he balked in a run in the third when he began his motion with runners at the corners — neither he nor the Pirates disputed it — then left a fastball in Jay Bruce’s wheelhouse for a solo home run.
“I thought Frankie looked really strong,” Hurdle said.
“I felt good. I felt OK,” Liriano said. “I wish it could end better, but …”
No need to complete the thought. A hale, healthy Liriano is paramount to this team. This was a fine first step, especially considering his margin for error was close to zero.
The Pirates entered the eighth down two runs and, as with the local weathermen tracking the storm that caused a half-hour rain delay in the sixth, they correctly identified a window in which they’d have a chance to compete: Kevin Gregg would pitch the eighth for the Reds, with flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman saved for the ninth.
And with the first fair shot at swinging bats at a mortal, the Pirates did exactly that.
But only after Lambo’s 13-pitch at-bat that culminated with a scorched lineout to deep center, one that more than a few observers from the dugout thought was gone off the bat.
“I’m still shaking my head over that one,” Hurdle said.
Regardless, the damage was done. Gregg wasn’t good in the first place, and opening his first outing with a duel like that left him high and dry for anyone who followed.
“You just want to work him,” Lambo said. “That’s your thought process, to try to make something happen, get something going for your teammates.”
Sure enough, Harrison singled and, after Gregory Polanco was robbed by a wall-crashing Marlon Byrd in left, Cutch came up clutch with a two-run, no-doubt, two-run shot out toward the center-field smokestacks.
Andrew McCutchen launches a two-run home to center field to tie the score in the eighth inning. — GETTY
“We got to see everything he had from the dugout,” McCutchen said of Gregg vs. Lambo. “That helps a lot if you’re a hitter. We went up there aggressive.”
Just like that, it was 2-2. The possibility of a rousing opener suddenly was at hand.
Hurdle stayed aggressive, too, bringing on his setup man, Watson, in the tie, and it seemed the surest bet he could make. Watson was nothing less than one of the best lefty relievers in the game the past two seasons, and he looked no different in Bradenton.
But Billy Hamilton’s bouncer up the middle got Cincinnati going anew and, when third base umpire James Hoye stunningly took Joey Votto off the hook on a check-swing third strike — even Votto, blessed with the sharpest of eyes, had spun to return to the dugout — Votto sliced a single to left.
“I thought Tony struck out Votto,” Hurdle said.
He was far from alone, and not just on that side. Votto’s body language spoke for itself, and teammate Todd Frazier said the call “could have gone either way.” That’s pro-athlete code for getting away with one.
What happened next was as loud as it was decisive: Frazier absolutely annihilated Watson’s absolutely awful up-and-over fastball and … I’m not sure it’s landed yet.
That was 5-2.
And it was, let’s remind, one game.
Take a glimpse at the mood, this based on a various few questions to Hurdle and players …
They aren’t delighted, but neither are they despondent. It’s baseball. It washes off.
If the most compelling aspect of this game was that the offense couldn’t touch Cueto, or that Liriano made a couple of mistakes over seven strong innings, or that Watson didn’t get a call and didn’t make a pitch … then the Pirates are, indeed, in for an intriguing season. Because McCutchen will hit 162 home runs, Liriano will win the Cy Young, and Watson will be stocking grocery shelves by May.
And Frazier’s ball will have violated all manner of FAA regulations.