Really, it isn’t any more complicated or confounding than that. No matter how much anyone might examine all the minutiae of the Pirates’ latest defeat at the hands of their Arch nemesis, this by a 4-1 count Thursday night at PNC Park, it all still fits within that same framework up there.
They’re just the Cardinals, and the Cardinals just do what they do.
Rip Gregory Polanco all you want for inexplicably stutter-stepping off third base in the first inning — when he should have just hauled tail upon Andrew McCutchen’s bouncer to third with men at the corners and nobody out — but the fundamental fact remains that St. Louis executed perfectly: Mark Reynolds looked at Polanco, flung to second for the force, and Matt Carpenter, seeing Polanco finally break for home, fired a strike to Yadier Molina for the swift, smooth tag.
That’s 5-4-2 with the brightest of stars scratched next to it.
To repeat, Polanco blew it.
“We had a baserunning gaffe,” Clint Hurdle said, stopping right there.
“It’s part of the learning curve,” McCutchen said. “You learn that you’re supposed to go right there when the ball’s hit. He’s a young player. He’ll learn.”
I’d share what Polanco thought except that he scooted — no, literally, he rode a motorized scooter — out of the clubhouse just as reporters were allowed to enter.
But to reinforce, the Cardinals didn’t squander the gift they were given. The Padres might. The Braves might. The Phillies and White Sox absolutely would. But not these guys.
Why?
Because they’re the Cardinals, that’s why:
In the fourth inning, still scoreless, the Pirates had runners at second and third with nobody out. Another golden opportunity to take charge, to show who’s the new sheriff in the Central, all that dramatic stuff. What’s more, Carlos Martinez was looking seriously rattled after a pitch to the backstop and a 3-0 count to Pedro Alvarez.
Here again, though, it all went awry. Fault Alvarez, if you will, for hacking away in what could have been a red-light situation. Fault him full-bore for tapping a comebacker with that pitch. And if you want to take it further, fault Jung Ho Kang for straying a bit too far off third base.
But in the same motion, credit Martinez for fielding the ball cleanly, then whirling to his right to zip a relay directly into Reynolds’ glove while he was still moving toward the bag.
“Pure athleticism,” Mike Matheny, St. Louis’ manager, offered in praise of his pitcher. “To make the catch — it was self defense — and then to hit Reynolds on the run like that, that was a heads up play. The ball could have been rolling for us in a bad direction.”
Yeah. As if.
Matheny also praised Martinez for pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings to improve to 10-3, and he did so with flair: “People don’t put a lot of weight on wins. We do. That’s kind of our job.”
Bottom line: No runs scored.
You know why.
You also know why, then, the Cardinals were able to turn a slew of similar situations in their half of the fifth inning and convert them into a 4-0 lead.
An opening single off Jeff Locke was followed by Jordy Mercer booting a ball to put two men aboard. The Cardinals probably boot balls, too, in some Bizarro dimension, but it just doesn’t feel like they ever do. So that inning was off to a terribly ominous start.
I couldn’t find Mercer afterward, either. Or his scooter.
Next, Martinez put down a perfect sac bunt to advance the runners. Because of course he did. All their pitchers put down perfect bunts. Because of course they do.
Locke hit Peter Bourjos to load the bases.
Right there, one of two things can happen:
1. The Cardinals could start forfeiting baserunners between third and home and really help out the home team.
2. The other thing.
Matt Carpenter dropped a two-run single into shallow center.
“It was a fastball,” Carpenter said. “I knew he wanted a ground ball to turn the double play. The thing for me there was to make sure I found a way to elevate the ball.”
Peralta struck out, but Locke walked Jason Heyward to load the bases anew.
Remember those two options?
Right. Molina stroked a two-run single over Mercer’s head.
Any guesses why?
Revisiting the column from Wednesday night, this isn’t Armageddon. It might feel like it, with the Pirates now 2-5 against St. Louis and all chapters of the same old script still intact. But it just isn’t. The Pirates are 50-35, they’re still on the rise, and they’re 5 1/2 games back on the 10th of July.
At the same time, the roadblock that’s been planted is the same one that’s been there the two previous seasons: The Pirates lost to the Cardinals in five games of the 2013 playoffs, then were relegated to a single-game faceoff with Madison Bumgarner because they finished behind St. Louis in 2014.
They’ve got to beat the Cardinals.
And to beat the Cardinals, to an extent, they’ve got to be them.
Defense and baserunning didn’t pop up as fresh issues for the Pirates on this night. They’ve been there all around. It’s just that it takes a team like the Cardinals to expose that as a genuinely festering wound.
McCutchen homered in the ninth. Because he’s Cutch. And he hardly sounds worried:
Gerrit Cole faces Lance Lynn on Friday night. He was already in a foul mood late Thursday night, acknowledging as much in declining an interview. He’ll pitch well.
But it’ll take more than one or two performances to rewrite this narrative against a collective the caliber of the Cardinals, and no one should need to ask why.
Coffee pots percolate. Tea pots whistle. Otherwise, a really nice column…good perspective…and now we have your favorite, DK, a 3 game series with your stallions on the mound.
To be the best, you need to beat the best. The Steelers have to beat Baltimore and/or Cincinnati every year to win their division. The Penguins stunk in divisional games this past season and paid for it with the 8th seed. St. Louis is now an unreal 25-10 within the division. The Pirates are 14-21, one win fewer than both the Reds AND Brewers. It's nice to beat everyone else, but divisional games matter just a bit more. It's a mindset, and until the Pirates get out of their own heads, they'll continue to hope for a wild card and not a division.
Locke wasn't terrible, Worley showed his value, Mercer goofed and so did Polanco. As Rick Flair used to say "To BE the best, you gotta BEAT the best". Get 'em tomorrow!
Watching Polanco run the bases is very frustrating. He has the speed to collect extra base hits and stolen bases, but it seems all too often that he does something stupid to negate his positives. The so-called experts say that a brief return to the minors would not do him any good. That may be so but he sure needs a refresher course in how to run the bases. His blunders on the base paths sure seem to short circuit a lot of rallies
I would think that in the first the third base coach told Polanco several times"run on contact" , and if he didn't shame on him . Why would he leave that decision up to Polanco. The Pirates have at least one mental error per game, no free passes on this one. Can't say he's still learning on this one , should have learned in little league.
Maybe they need to put a Little League coach at third. They are used to telling the kids everything :-)
David Foster
7-10-2015, 7:02 pm
But it's not that simple: he can't just "run on contact." Depends on the contact, for one thing
Matt the Stat
7-10-2015, 12:52 am
By the way I think it is time to pull Rodriguez from the starting lineup for a few games. He has become a virtual automatic out at the plate. I love his versatility but he should not be starting right now. Maybe give Ishikawa a chance in left field
Hopefully Marte will be back tomorrow or very soon. If not, I agree. But maybe put Polanco in left and Ishikawa in right instead.
Matt the Stat
7-10-2015, 12:56 am
DK - You credit the Cardinals for perfect execution on that first inning DP, however they never would have had the chance to turn that DP if Polanco didn't come up with another of his base running gaffes. Bottom line is that the Polanco mistake led to the DP
At what level should baseball fundamentals (i.e. base-running, fielding, hitting) be learned? As, long as 20-somethings still need to learn these fundamentals in the major leagues, the Pirates, or any team, WILL LOSE.
This may be the worst team at sliding in the history of the majors.
Completely inept.
ImEasyEd
7-10-2015, 9:29 am
I was thinking the same thing AJ. Going from third on contact seems like something I learned when I was way, way younger than Polanco - and certainly not in the majors.
Sisyphus
7-10-2015, 3:33 pm
Take a look around baseball. It's not just the Pirates.
Reading
7-10-2015, 1:18 am
The Carpenter interview was telling. He had pre-planned to get two on the Polanco play, the traditional way, conceding a run in the process. But, he also had the ability to adjust the plan as the circumstances played out. Result: a DP the non-traditional way and erasing a run, instead of conceding a run. The Pirates plan? The Pirates don't need no stinking plan. Run on contact; don't run on contact. It's all good.
Both of those interviews...Matheny is just so self-possessed, "we had the infield back."
They know they are the Cardinals and the Pirates aren't.
I wonder if they get tense vs SF
Reading
7-10-2015, 2:02 am
It wasn't always this great for St. Louis. I have an issue of "Baseball Magazine" from July 1926 (a drawing of "'Pie' Traynor, Star Third Baseman of the World's Champions" graces the cover). One of the articles in the magazine is entitled "The City Without a Flag" with the subtitle "The Strange Fate Which Has Cast a Shadow of Seemingly Impenetrable Defeat Over St. Louis, Powerful Clubs and Individual Stars Have Failed to Bring a Pennant." Apparently, heading into 1926, St. Louis--with two teams, the Cards and Browns, was the only city not to have won a pennant. Okay, they've won many since, but less than 100 years ago (since after the Cubs last won Series), they were losers.
We all lose perspective...the Cubs would be leading one division and tied at the top of another...THE CUBS!
skeeziks7
7-10-2015, 4:15 am
I know the outcome of the game could have been totally different if the Pirates had capitalized on their opportunities in the first few innings, but this was game that many would think they would have lost coming in anyway with the pitching matchup.
No excuses...3 of Locke's 4 runs were UNearned. Pin that loss on the rest of the Bucs - not the pitcher.
cieszynski
7-10-2015, 9:44 am
Leaving base runners in scoring position has been a trend that the Bucs have had lately. It cost them tonight. Locke had a bad inning. That happens. This game isn't the end of the world.
Purple Moose
7-10-2015, 4:42 am
Please take note Penguins fans, players and organization. The Cardinals are not talking about their injuries every chance they get, they just keep playing and producing.
I had absolutely no issue with Pedro swinging away on 3-0 pitch. A guy that can hit one 450 feet against a laboring, hard throwing pitcher that was going to likely come with a fastball in the zone. Sit dead red and rip. He did.. Except it was ripped directly at Martinez. So he walks there? Not a bad thing but sets up the double play for STL. Hack away!
Yep, to describe that as "tapping a comebacker to the mound" is a bit misleading
wadvln
7-10-2015, 7:36 am
"Fault Alvarez, if you will, for hacking away in what could have been a red-light situation." You can't fault a man for ignoring a sign you don't know he received. "Fault him full-bore for tapping a comebacker with that pitch." From where I was sitting, it looked like he smoked that ball.
NMR
7-10-2015, 8:11 am
No kidding.
Talk about literary hyperbole, Holy smokes, Dejan.
NMR
7-10-2015, 8:14 am
The opposing Manager described the play made by Martinez as "self defense".
Really gotta watch out for those tappers back to the mound.
cdbrewer
7-10-2015, 9:42 am
I would be curious if he did miss or ignore a sign to take though.
THAT would be important...but agreed on all else in this thread.
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 9:58 am
3-0 no outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd with Jordy Mercer, Serpico and the pitcher behind him? If Alvarez doesnt have the green light someone should be fired. I dont think thats the case, cdbrewer. Just dumb luck.
NMR
7-10-2015, 11:30 am
Absolutely nailed that scenario, bpn.
Alvarez handled that situation so perfectly that it frankly surprised me. Knew he'd get a fastball, recognized it was elevated, pulled the trigger and smoked a line drive that - at worst - would've scored a run and moved another runner to 3B with one out if it is tracked down the the 2B.
MASH
7-10-2015, 11:41 am
No undisciplined hitter should ever be greenlighted on 3-0.
Steve Kohut
7-10-2015, 5:48 am
That's why the Cardinals are the best team in baseball right now , the pirates must knock off these fundamental gaffes in order to have a chance of winning .
I love Cole's fire. I love his attitude. i love the fact he gets pissed and takes it out on the other team. I can only hope I'm not eating my words late Friday.
“It was a fastball,” Carpenter said. “I knew he wanted a ground ball to turn the double play. The thing for me there was to make sure I found a way to elevate the ball.”
Batter with a plan. Not swinging for fences. Making sure to get one runner across. Executes. Next guy's turn.
Baseball. Plain and simple. That's what the Cardinals play. They know the game, understand the situation and at least try to make the appropriate play.
Jose
Brak
7-10-2015, 6:43 am
Many moons ago when I played high school baseball, we would always lose to our arch rival...a team with much less talent, but technically perfect. After a series of plays happened similar to last night, the quietest person on our team just screamed "ARE THESE GUYS FREAKIN' ROBOTS!?!". I found myself screaming the same thing at the tv last night 23 years later. For a second, I thought the CF was going to jump 25 ft up the batters eye to snag Cutch's dinger. I don't believe the Bucs will magically learn how to run the bases and play better defense, but man something significant has got to happen to close this gap. The only thing that comes to mind is better situational hitting.
First and foremost I am a Pirates fan. That said, in the years since Joe L. Brown ran the roost there has not been the development in the minors like there was then. I would say that is true actually, across the baseball landscape.
I've long admired the Cardinal organization's ability to draft players and find free agents, develop them, and literally plug and play. The Cards have done this without drafting in the top ten overall. They sign most of their picks and they develop the snot out of them.
For all that I have read about how the PBC wasn't bringing anyone up until they were ready and that the would be imbued with the "Pirate Way" which would emphasize hard-nosed play and in particular sound fundamentals I'm just not seeing it. The talent is there, but the ability to pay attention to details and to Think The Game is not.
I 100% agree with you, Joe. And I've said this for a few years now, too...and not knowing what they do during the week as a qualifier...Leyva and Sofield seem to not do enough in those situations to reemphasize the scenarios once they're on the base. My opinion, of course, from my couch.
Cards were a machine last night. But Molina was giving balls to the hometown kids so that was cool. You know because they are the Cards. It felt like they didn't break a sweat. But these Pirates will be back to battle today.
Gorkyz hasn't had a plate appearance since his callup June 28th where he went 0-3. An unforgettable pinch running appearance and some late game defensive work is his body of work since then.
Add to that, Marte in injury limbo...I just do not understand. While I feel sometimes the bench depth stuff can get overblown because it's an issue a lot of teams have...this makes no sense.
And I realize it's kinda vogue to like Serpico, but his bats useless. So is Lombo's.
Almost spit out my beer when Rodriguez took a walk last night.
JosePagan
7-10-2015, 10:25 am
While the "bench depth stuff" CAN be overblown, it does matter when you don't have organizational depth.
The PBC's "solution" for RF and 1B is to supplement Alvarez and Polanco with Rodriguez, Gorkys, Lomboardozo, Ishikawa or the serially DFA'd Jose Tabata.
If help is not available via the AAA team, then the bench has got to be better than this one. Scary to think that this bench is actually an improvement over past years...
Jose
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 10:39 am
Well, Tabata should be here. That was the whole point of my post. Its inexplicable, as Smizik put it. I also would prefer Decker to Ishikawa, leaving Serpico at 1st.
But the bench situation is complicated. I dont think Huntington thought on July 10th Marte, Harrison, Lambo and Hart would all be out with injuries. In a pinch, you might be able to sell me on ONE of Gorkyz, Lambo, and Ishikawa being here. But not all three.
And Serpico is part of this too. Guys been awful at the plate most of the year.
Thank God that Kang can play a decent 3b and hit a little better than .250. Otherwise they would be completely screwed. That cant be emphasized enough.
A. Lane
7-10-2015, 10:51 am
Rodriguez's is the Pirates' least valuable player, less of him is an improvement, he has become a hacker, no one on the Pirates swing more frequently.
Tabata is not the most palpable solution, but he is a better option than half of the Pirate's current bench.
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 10:59 am
Agreed. By no means do I think Tabata is a solution, short term or long, but he's "better than nothing".
woodman15062
7-10-2015, 8:24 am
The third base coach is getting no attention for Polanco mistake in first inning. He needs to make it clear to base runner what to do. Please don't tell me they are major leageurs and should know what to do. The third base coach has a job to do also. He failed there.
Rodriguez is streaking fast to Mendoza line but he can go to his left or right in left field according to manager. Let's go Bucs.
I've heard this nonsense all morning and I'm stunned by it. Even Hurdle admitted Polanco committed a "baserunning gaffe".
This isn't an isolated incident with him in the team. It's been all season. I just don't know what else to tell you.
NMR
7-10-2015, 11:35 am
I don't know, bpn...
Without taking any blame away from Polanco, I think it can also be argued that it's the coaches responsibility not only to get the most out of his players, but to put them in the best position to succeed. If that can't be agreed on, I truly don't know what other purpose they serve.
Maybe Scofield went over the exact scenario and what Polanco should do before the at bat and he simply froze. We don't know. But if Scofield didn't do that, with a runner who is well known to have issues, then to me he's absolutely implicit in the error.
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 12:11 pm
I blame the stat guys. :)
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 12:29 pm
First, let me preface this by saying I've been encouraged by some of the things Polancos been doing at the plate lately. Not just the hits but the patience Barnes mentioned.
I think Marte and Polanco both will turn out to be decent major league prospects. I don't know where you stance is on Peralta but that was Gayos first successful ML player he signed. But it looks like they all were pretty raw there first few years in the league.
Point being I think they need to be careful doling out big money for these guys. Or expecting early returns. And I'm not just talking about Polanco or Marte. I'm talking about the next batch to roll through here in Hanson, Diaz and eventually Ramirez and so forth.
That's why I am so confused with Dejans Gayo infatuation. So far it seems like these guys have a lot to learn when they do make it to Pittsburgh. And maybe that's just not fair to put on Gayo but the lower level instruction as a whole.
bpn8pitt
7-10-2015, 1:19 pm
I think a guy who's played ball professionally nearly every day from the time he was 16 to 23 should know what to do there. Maybe your both right in that Sofield should reinforce it but still...feels like that's Little League 101. I wonder how many guys crying about it, like myself, we're guilty of it back in the day. Hopefully they use it as a tool for their kids.
NMR
7-10-2015, 1:43 pm
@bpn - have you ever heard a kid complain about getting bad grades or doing poorly on their SAT's because they are a poor test taker?
That's what I liken to what we're seeing from Polanco/Marte. I have to imagine that if you were to go up to those guys right now over lunch they'd be able to recite exactly what to do in these seemingly obvious baseball situations. It's when test time comes around that they freeze.
Gregg
7-10-2015, 4:06 pm
Simple question: exactly what IS the third base coach doing with a runner (a near-rookie with baserunning issues, no less) on third in that situation? "Atta boy"? "Swing, Batter, Batter"? I played ball. I know coaches. They are cliche machines. Nary an original word from their mouths. But there's a reason for them saying the same thing over and over and over. Because in the heat of the moment (cliche??) even the most focused, gifted of natural athletes could NOT help but be helped by a reminder of what is about to unfold and how he should respond. I place 95% of the blame on that man, unless and until video replay establishes that he told the kid to break on contact and the kid just whiffed.
Skyler Eckenrode
7-10-2015, 8:28 am
I'd have to disagree that Alvarez's line drive was considered a 'tapping comebacker.' That ball was roped.
im with you on that one...also, a guy with a HR title to his name should have green light 3-0
Jim Hofer
7-10-2015, 1:58 pm
Completely agree. I'm not sure why Dejan used those words. They are very inaccurate. That was a line drive that Martinez made a great play to stab. Kang couldn't really do much beyond what he did.
David Sarandria
7-10-2015, 9:04 am
Wake me up in October for the one game wildcard game at PNC Park featuring Marlon Byrd in RF!
It kills me when they blame these gaffes on being young or a rookie mistake. Whatever your sport, especially being a pro, you have been exposed to these fundamentals for ten years or more before you even get into the majors.
You have to ask yourself what the future holds for the Farm system. As the PBC improves in the standings they will no longer be drafting in the Top Ten as they were able to. Guys like Cole or Alvarez are not going to available.
That means that when they do draft, then they have to develop the players they get so that they have a good mix of big league talent acquired via the draft, trades and free agency. If they don't draft and develop then they have a two-legged stool.
The base running issues and lack of situational awareness is not new. It needs to be fixed.
Jose
steelag70
7-10-2015, 1:32 pm
Apparently those same gaffes were on display in Altoona when Keith Law happened to be there observing...
Jeff
7-10-2015, 9:24 am
Cards are just and always will be a better team until we can field a better team
.STL loses key players,but always manage to get it done.We don't have that luxury and we can't afford any key injuries or beating our self with poor base running or fielding.
Yes,we have a good record,but don't be deceived by it.Many of those wins are against marginal teams and in many games we had to struggle.
In our own division,we have a winning record against one team and that might hurt us,if we need a tie breaker
Somehow we need to at least gain a split or we will put our-self .
Losing with Locke on the mound isn't a cause for panic, but if the team loses with Cole on the hill tonight, the sirens will be blaring from the pessimistic fan base.
1.) Gotta live with Polanco and the mistakes because...who else you gonna use? Lombardozzi is just...yikes, giving me flashbacks to the Dark Times.
2.) The Cubs would be leading TWO divisions (okay, tied with the Nats). We are still a pretty good team.
3.) I actually REALLY like our chances in the playoffs when you need 3 SP, 3 RP, and not a whole lot else. We do need to clean up fielding.
4.) I am all in on getting Byrd back, but Cincy would make us pay through the nose, so...yeah, the bench is TERRIBLE and that is magnified with Marte and Harrison out.
5.) Everybody loses 54. After 5 in row, with our #5 SP...last night is also just baseball. That said, I am very tired of losing to Yadi. Very tired.
Looking forward to Cole on the hill, should be a good one. Coke takes no crap, he'll battle hard. Seriously, we're playing really good ball overall, but the relatively poor defense we have displayed all year has to improve in order for us to take the next step. We're just not very good, defensively.
The rules should be well known to all players, very situational--on third with no outs and only runner you hold on that ball and let them get out at first, Same as 2nd and 3rd no outs. 1st and 3rd no outs is different, you want stay out of DP so you go on contact--one of two things should happen if you go--defense goes for the 6-4-3 DP and you score or they throw home, you stop, get in rundown and hope runner on first gets to 3rd and hitter to 2nd. You are out but now have 2 on with out, much better than 1 on and two outs.
Ya JAL, I sorta remember that from Little league. Hmmmm..
David Foster
7-10-2015, 7:22 pm
Or run on contact on a line drive snared by an infielder and you get doubled up. It's all so easy, isn't it?
All of us couch potatoes know so much more about baseball than the players, coaches, managers, commentators, scouts.
Jackson1111
7-10-2015, 10:11 am
Bill Murray calls Cardinals fans ‘Satan’s Messengers on Earth’
This and the article mocking people who think the Pirates DO need an upgrade esp. at 1st base but facts show against good teams esp. teams in their division the Pirates are outplayed by better teams run by a much better front office. Losing records against the Cards, Cubs and Reds won't win you the central and doesn't show anyone you can make it past a wild card game or 1st round of playoffs
Cutch's homerun had that feeling of a hockey fight at the end of a Game 1 of a Stanley Cup matchup, where the losing team drops the gloves to let the other team know "we're still here and we'll see you next game".
Looking forward to an angry Cole out there. Somebody on talk radio said that the Cardinals would probably take one game in this series in the form of a blowout. As if it were still to come. I don't think so. I think Locke was their chance at that. They won the game. Handily. But not in blowout fashion.
To be the Cardinals the Pirates will need to work harder and make more outs on the bases, at home, and on steal attempts. The Cardinals rank 1st and 2nd, respectively and have the 2nd lowest success rate on steals in the NL.
Tulowitzki--brings pop in his bat and Jordi is just plain awful. Why Lombardozzi and Gorkys are on the roster?? Guess we have to ask Neal if he really wants to win. His actions speak otherwise.
Well, maybe they damn well should sound worried. You have at least three players without the cojones to answer questions about an embarrassing performance. Gregory Polanco and Jordy Mercer basically cost them the game (along with the worthless Jeff Locke), yet they disappear before standing up for what they did. Do the Cardinals do that? My guess is they take it like men. Yet here you have two basically worthless players slinking out without taking ownership for what they did.
These guys can keep talking the talk about about their inability to beat the Cardinals and other division foes, but until they start walking the walk, another one game and done wild card berth is all they can hope for.
Dejan did not get anything from Locke but he spoke to reporters as he is quoted elsewhere. I do not think Locke is worthless, pitched a great game last time out and defense contributed his problems last night, only 1 of the runs was earned.
Matt in AZ
7-10-2015, 2:22 pm
A better pitcher picks up his defense by not allowing the inning to implode after the error. Jeff Locke might not be worthless, but he needs to be better in that situation.
Adam
7-10-2015, 12:05 pm
LOL! Martinez got LUCKY catching that bullet off Alvarez' bat. The ball literally landed right in his glove before he even knew what happened. An inch either way and he probably gets knocked out of the game.
Where is Rick Sofield in all these baserunning "gaffes" happening at 3rd?
Is he not telling the runners to go, wait, get back, stay put? If he is, are the runners listening? If they aren't why not?
I agree Adam. HIs job is to tell Polanco to run on a ground ball before the play occurs.
steelag70
7-10-2015, 1:29 pm
He did with Polanco...Hurdle said the contact play was on.
NDirish
7-10-2015, 3:58 pm
Exactly. I didn't think we could do worse than Leyva at 3rd, but I was wrong.
Goose
7-10-2015, 12:09 pm
Seems like too much pressure for a game in July. Mentally it almost makes it easier for the Cards. Thought this article was spot on. The Pirates have to be better at things they can control, making smart decisions on the base paths and making the right situational moves in the Field. The Bucs are on track for 90 plus win season. Ask any GM if they would take that before the season started. Can't lose sight of the bigger picture in July.
The funniest part was the Polanco's a young player, he'll learn line by Cutch. I was thinking the same thing when my 7 year old made a similar mistake on the basepaths a few years back. He's young, he'll learn, I said to the dad who was the head coach. Of course, he was SEVEN when he made that mistake...and not a major leaguer. But he's young...so...
Cards fan here... Loved the article though we have plenty of gaffe's ( especially on the base paths ) too. I admire the Pirate's from afar and am ready to root for them if they make it further in the post season than the Cards!
Gregory Polanco is tagged out at home by Yadier Molina in the first inning. -- JARED WICKERHAM / GETTY
July 10, 2015
Column: Because … because … oh, you know
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
Because they’re the Cardinals, that’s why.
Really, it isn’t any more complicated or confounding than that. No matter how much anyone might examine all the minutiae of the Pirates’ latest defeat at the hands of their Arch nemesis, this by a 4-1 count Thursday night at PNC Park, it all still fits within that same framework up there.
They’re just the Cardinals, and the Cardinals just do what they do.
Rip Gregory Polanco all you want for inexplicably stutter-stepping off third base in the first inning — when he should have just hauled tail upon Andrew McCutchen’s bouncer to third with men at the corners and nobody out — but the fundamental fact remains that St. Louis executed perfectly: Mark Reynolds looked at Polanco, flung to second for the force, and Matt Carpenter, seeing Polanco finally break for home, fired a strike to Yadier Molina for the swift, smooth tag.
That’s 5-4-2 with the brightest of stars scratched next to it.
To repeat, Polanco blew it.
“We had a baserunning gaffe,” Clint Hurdle said, stopping right there.
“It’s part of the learning curve,” McCutchen said. “You learn that you’re supposed to go right there when the ball’s hit. He’s a young player. He’ll learn.”
I’d share what Polanco thought except that he scooted — no, literally, he rode a motorized scooter — out of the clubhouse just as reporters were allowed to enter.
But to reinforce, the Cardinals didn’t squander the gift they were given. The Padres might. The Braves might. The Phillies and White Sox absolutely would. But not these guys.
Why?
Because they’re the Cardinals, that’s why:
In the fourth inning, still scoreless, the Pirates had runners at second and third with nobody out. Another golden opportunity to take charge, to show who’s the new sheriff in the Central, all that dramatic stuff. What’s more, Carlos Martinez was looking seriously rattled after a pitch to the backstop and a 3-0 count to Pedro Alvarez.
Here again, though, it all went awry. Fault Alvarez, if you will, for hacking away in what could have been a red-light situation. Fault him full-bore for tapping a comebacker with that pitch. And if you want to take it further, fault Jung Ho Kang for straying a bit too far off third base.
But in the same motion, credit Martinez for fielding the ball cleanly, then whirling to his right to zip a relay directly into Reynolds’ glove while he was still moving toward the bag.
“Pure athleticism,” Mike Matheny, St. Louis’ manager, offered in praise of his pitcher. “To make the catch — it was self defense — and then to hit Reynolds on the run like that, that was a heads up play. The ball could have been rolling for us in a bad direction.”
Yeah. As if.
Matheny also praised Martinez for pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings to improve to 10-3, and he did so with flair: “People don’t put a lot of weight on wins. We do. That’s kind of our job.”
Bottom line: No runs scored.
You know why.
You also know why, then, the Cardinals were able to turn a slew of similar situations in their half of the fifth inning and convert them into a 4-0 lead.
An opening single off Jeff Locke was followed by Jordy Mercer booting a ball to put two men aboard. The Cardinals probably boot balls, too, in some Bizarro dimension, but it just doesn’t feel like they ever do. So that inning was off to a terribly ominous start.
I couldn’t find Mercer afterward, either. Or his scooter.
Next, Martinez put down a perfect sac bunt to advance the runners. Because of course he did. All their pitchers put down perfect bunts. Because of course they do.
Locke hit Peter Bourjos to load the bases.
Right there, one of two things can happen:
1. The Cardinals could start forfeiting baserunners between third and home and really help out the home team.
2. The other thing.
Matt Carpenter dropped a two-run single into shallow center.
“It was a fastball,” Carpenter said. “I knew he wanted a ground ball to turn the double play. The thing for me there was to make sure I found a way to elevate the ball.”
Peralta struck out, but Locke walked Jason Heyward to load the bases anew.
Remember those two options?
Right. Molina stroked a two-run single over Mercer’s head.
Any guesses why?
Revisiting the column from Wednesday night, this isn’t Armageddon. It might feel like it, with the Pirates now 2-5 against St. Louis and all chapters of the same old script still intact. But it just isn’t. The Pirates are 50-35, they’re still on the rise, and they’re 5 1/2 games back on the 10th of July.
At the same time, the roadblock that’s been planted is the same one that’s been there the two previous seasons: The Pirates lost to the Cardinals in five games of the 2013 playoffs, then were relegated to a single-game faceoff with Madison Bumgarner because they finished behind St. Louis in 2014.
They’ve got to beat the Cardinals.
And to beat the Cardinals, to an extent, they’ve got to be them.
Defense and baserunning didn’t pop up as fresh issues for the Pirates on this night. They’ve been there all around. It’s just that it takes a team like the Cardinals to expose that as a genuinely festering wound.
McCutchen homered in the ninth. Because he’s Cutch. And he hardly sounds worried:
Gerrit Cole faces Lance Lynn on Friday night. He was already in a foul mood late Thursday night, acknowledging as much in declining an interview. He’ll pitch well.
But it’ll take more than one or two performances to rewrite this narrative against a collective the caliber of the Cardinals, and no one should need to ask why.