Pirates-Rockies: Series Review/Awards

Another series is in the books, and as has been the case most of the time this season, it was a successful 3-game set for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the Pirates were not able to complete a 3-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, losing 5-0, Pittsburgh was still able to take a respectable 2 out of 3 games, moving it's season record to an impressive 79-50. Although the Cardinals are still 4.5 games ahead in the NL Central race, all the Pirates can do is play competitive baseball, and the club is showing no signs of slowing down.

Every series has it's ups and downs, and this one was no different. I will sum up the series hi-lows in my ''series awards'', which is my way of reveling what I think the biggest hits and misses were of this 3 game set.

Series MVP: Gregory Polanco

It's hard as a non-pitcher to be named Most Valuable Player of a 3 game set based solely on 1 game, but Polanco did just that with a fantastic performance on Friday night. Polanco was 3 for 5 at the plate, scored twice and had an RBI, but his star shined the brightest in the field. where he contributed 2 outfield assists, which can be seen here. http://m.mlb.com/video/v423927383/colpit-polancos-throw-tops-92-mph-as-he-nabs-reyes/?game_pk=415563
http://m.mlb.com/video/v422091683/colpit-polanco-cuts-down-hundley-with-great-throw/?game_pk=415563
Polanco dazzled more than anybody else on the field, and for this dazzling performance, he is my series MVP.

Bum of the Series: Charlie Morton
In a series where the Bucs only lost one game, I have to choose the biggest dud of that game as my bum of the series. Although Morton's stat line of 3 earned runs, 6 hits, 2 walks allowed and 6 strikeouts over 6 innings of work does not look awful, the other 2 runs that the Rockies scored while Morton was on the mound were Morton's fault. With 2 outs, runners on 1st and 2nd and Dustin Garneau at the plate for Colorado, Morton first fielded a ball that he should have let go past him, which would have allowed either Jordy Mercer or Josh Harrison to make a play, and then threw wildly past first baseman Mike Morse, allowing both runners to score, making it 5-0 Rockies and putting the game out of reach. Morton's season has been hit or miss, and today was a miss for the Bucco hurler.

Play of the Series: Polanco nails Reyes at home
I have the link for the video of this play above, so I do not feel I need to explain how great this throw was or the significance it had on the Pirates eventual 5-3 win on Friday night,

The Pirates will now travel to Milwaukee to face the dreadful Brewers in a 3-game set starting Tuesday night. Gerrit Cole will be on the bump for the Bucs, taking on Jeff Nelson. First pitch is at 8:10.

Pirates 4, Rockies 3: 30 games over .500

For the first time since 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 30 games over .500. It is an accomplishment that fans thought that they might never see when the Bucs were marred in their historic 20 year streak without a winning season, spanning from 1993-2012. But that day is here, and Pirate fans have a lot to cheer about as their team continues to play good baseball, winning their 4th straight game on Saturday night.

Aramis Ramirez made sure J.A. Happ would have some run support, as he belted a 3-run first inning homer over the left field wall to give the Bucs an early 3-0 lead. It was Ramirez's 2nd home run since joining the Bucs and 13th overall this season. The Rockies would make it 3-1 in the top of the 3rd when Charlie Blackmon hit into a force out, scoring Barrett Barnes from 3rd. That's all the scoring that would be done off of Happ, who had his 4th straight solid outing for the Bucs, pitching 5.2 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 5 hits while walking just 2, improving his record to 3-1 since joining the club. Pittsburgh would add an insurance run in the bottom of the 7th when Gregory Polanco grounded into a force out, scoring Starling Marte to push the lead to 4-1. Mark Melancon made things interesting in the 9th when he allowed a 2-run blast by Nick Hundly to cut the lead to 4-3. But Melancon barred down to pick up his 43rd save of the season, tying Jose Mesa for 2nd on the all time list for saves in a season by a Pirate. 

Aramis Rameriz had the biggest hit of the night, and for that he wins my award for both play and player of the game. Despite being 30 games over .500, the Bucs are still 3.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for 1st in the NL Central. Charlie Morton will oppose Jorge De La Rosa on the mound at PNC Park tomorrow as the Bucs look for a sweep. The Rockies are the only NL West team that the Pirates have not swept yet this season, as the Bucs have a fantastic 21-4 record against that division. First pitch is at 1:35. 

Steelers Sign Mike Vick: My Thoughts

Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers made giant headlines. They signed Michael Vick to be a back-up quarterback for Ben Roethlisberger. There isn't a whole lot to say about this from a football standpoint because frankly, it's not a big deal at all. Yes, Vick was a superstar in the past but those days are over. He is 35 years old and does not have a whole lot left in the tank, as is the case with most football players whose names are not Manning or Brady. What Vick will be able to bring is a dependable insurance policy in the case of Big Ben missing a few games due to injury, as he is more than capable of holding down the fort in the event of a crisis. Vick will fit the role that Mike Tomlin will put him in very well, and he would be, in my opinion, a better substitute teacher than either Landry Jones or Bruce Gradkoswki. So from a football standpoint, it is nothing more than a smart, low-key move that, if all goes well for the Steelers, will not come into play at all during this season, as Roethlisberger being healthy for a full season isn't an unreasonable expectation based on the past two seasons.

Now for the reason that this is a huge story: Bad Newz Kennels. I will not get into too much detail about what Michael Vick and his gang have done to countless dogs in the past because the facts are much too graphic and terrible than anything I would talk about on my sports blog. Long story short: Vick's dog fighting operation landed him in jail for 2 years, before he was given a 2nd chance with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. After 5 seasons in Philadelphia, Vick signed with the Jets in 2014 and played in New York for a season, bringing us to August 25th, 2015, where he signed with the Steelers. Because of Vick's off-the-field past, many people aren't too happy about this, as you will easily be able to see if you type Vick's name into the Twitter search bar. There are people who claim to be die-hard fans of the Black and Gold who now say that they will either A: Never support the team again, or B:. Root for any team in the league that plays against them. While I am not naive to what Vick did and am understanding of how awful the whole thing was, I believe that most of these people are exaggerating. 

If the level of outrage in Pittsburgh is so high in 2015, 8 years after Vick began his prison sentence, one can imagine what it was in Philly 6 years ago. I am certain that many die hard Eagle fans were threatening to throw their team away the same way Steelers fans are now. I am also curious as to how many of these same fans got a sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs in 2010, when Vick led the Eagles to a playoff berth and played like an MVP for much of the season. I'm sure there were plenty of outraged citizens around New York City who were saying ''down with the Jets'' in 2014 when Vick signed with their team. I wonder how many bricks were thrown through living room television sets when Vick led the 1-6 and hopeless Jets to a 20-13 upset over the playoff bound Steelers in one of his 3 starts of the season.  

I have a difficult time believing, in a city where the ''most popular team in the world'' plays and where ''football is religion'', that people who have rooted for the Steelers since birth would throw it all away because of a man holding a clipboard on the sidelines. 

Now for my final and most debated point of this post: Forgiveness. What Vick did was awful, and I will never condone or defend any of it. But ever since serving his prison term (and losing millions of dollars all the while), Vick has done everything that he has needed to do to reshape his image. He no longer hangs around his old crew, no longer has a poor work ethic on the field, and has worked hard to raise awareness for dog abuse by working with the Humane Society in an effort to end dog fighting in the United States, which in my opinion is comparable to a former drug addict speaking to raise awareness about the effects of drug abuse, in that Vick uses his past mistakes to try to prevent future mistakes by others.

Maybe Vick's rehabilitation is a charade, but he sure has not done anything to lead me to believe that it is. Until he does that, I think it is time to forgive Vick, but not forget the mistakes that he has made. Vick has made great strides since leaving prison in 2009, and I believe that he deserves to be rewarded with a chance to help a historic franchise reach the promised land. I believe that forgiveness should be available to anybody, no matter what they have done in the past. 

Bucs 5, Mets 3: Too Amazing for the Amazins

Well, this was one hard-fought win. The Pittsburgh Pirates took their 2nd straight extra-inning game in this 3 game set with the New York Mets at Citi Field with a thrilling 5-3 win in 14 innings.

Just like the night before, the Bucs got the scoring started in the top of the 1st, this time via Aramis Ramirez's 2 run homer, his first since returning to the Steel City. The Bucs added one more run in the top of the 3rd on another dinger, this time by Gregory Polanco, his 7th of the season, increasing the lead to 3-0. That's how it stayed until the bottom of the 7th. Charlie Morton had been stellar on the mound for 6 innings, but he ran out of gas in the 7th.

Juan Uribe led off the inning with his 12th home-run, closing the gap to 3-1. Later in the inning, with one man on and 1 out, Michael Conforto tied things up with his 2nd homer of the year, chasing Charlie Morton in the process. Aside from the 7th inning, Morton was fantastic, finishing with a line of 6.1 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs (one run was a result of a throwing error from Ramirez). Joakim Soria relieved Morton and finished the inning without allowing any additional damage. 

The game remained tied at 3 for quite some time after that. In the bottom of the 11th, Clint Hurdle called on middle reliever Joe Blanton, and Blanton had what is to this point his best game in a Pirate uniform. Blanton pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out an impressive 6 batters while keeping the game tied. Blanton ran into little trouble in the 12th when, with 2 outs, Lucas Duda drew a pinch-hit walk and Ruben Tejada singled, bringing Wilmer Flores to the plate. With no room for error, Blanton struck out Flores to end the threat, in what is my pick for play of the game. As for my game MVP, it was a very close race between Blanton and Gregroy Polanco, who was 3-6 with a home run, but I'm picking Blanton, who did everything that he needed to do when one mistake would have wrecked the whole night.

The Bucs broke through in the 14th. The inning started on a lead off double from Francisco Cervelli. What happened next would best be described as a way to teach little league baseball players what NOT to do. Starling Marte grounded a ball to the right side, and rather than throwing to 1st base like he should have, Mets 2nd baseman Daniel Murphy decided to go 3rd base to try to get Cervelli, even though there was nobody out and Murphy had very slim odds to get Cervelli at 3rd. Cervelli easily beat out the wide throw, bringing pinch-hitter Chris Stewart to the plate with no outs and runners on 1st and 3rd. Stewart delivered with a single to center field, scoring pinch-runner Pedro Florimon for the go-ahead run. The Bucs added insurance later that inning when Sean Rodriguez's bloop single scored Marte. Mark Melancon shut the door in the 9th for his 37th save of the season and the Bucs won their 3rd game in a row, by a score of 5-3.

Joe Blanton got the much deserved win, improving to 2-0 since joining the team in late July. Sean Gilmartin got the loss out of relief, falling to 1-1 on the year. The Cards and Cubs refuse to lose, so the Pirates are still 6 games back of St. Louis in the NL Central standings and 1.5 games ahead of the Cubs for the 1st wildcard spot. The Pirates will conclude their series with the Mets on Sunday at 1:10. Jeff Locke will take the hill for the Bucs, opposing Matt Harvey for the Mets. 

Pirates 7, Reds 6: Gutsy Win

The Pittsburgh Pirates came back from a 4-0 deficit on Tuesday night to defeat the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 7-6 at PNC Park. The evening got off to an ugly start, as Pittsburgh starter Jeff Locke allowed 4 straight hits, all singles, to start the game. After Locke got Marlon Byrd to ground into a force out at home plate, Reds shortstop Eugenio Suarez hit what looked like a potential double play ball to first baseman Pedro Alvarez. Unfortunately, shortstop Jordy Mercer threw the ball wildly over the head of Alvarez, and 2 more runs were able to score,  making it 3-0 Reds. It looked like the Reds might run away with the game when they loaded the bases with 1 out in the top of the 2nd, but Locke was able to get Todd Frazier to pop out, and Jay Bruce to ground out, escaping the inning with no damage. The Reds would add another run in the top of the 4th when Billy Hamilton scored on a Jay Bruce ground out. So at this stage of the game, Locke was getting hit left and right, the Pirate offense could not seem to score off of Reds hurler Josh Smith (making his major league debut) despite drawing several walks and getting plenty of men on base. It looked like Pittsburgh was on their way to losing their 4th straight game and falling further back in the NL Central race.

All of that was about to change in the next half-inning. The inning started when Neil Walker drew a walk. Josh Harrison followed with a single to left field, and the Bucs had something brewing with Pedro Alvarez coming to the plate. Alveraz delivered, as he crushed a double off of the center field wall that was only a few feet from going out of the ballpark, and suddenly it was 4-1, with runners on 2nd and 3rd. This set the stage for Francisco Cervelli. The popular Pittsburgh catcher sent a 2-1 pitch over the batters eye in Center Field to tie the game, chasing Smith in the process. The Pirates took the lead when a seemingly routine ground ball by Starling Marte was thrown over the head of first baseman Joey Votto by shortstop Eugenio Suarz, scoring Gregory Polanco from 3rd and giving the Bucs a 5-4 lead. Andrew McCutchen was up next, and he  capped off the big inning by sending a rocket over the left field wall to make it 7-4 Pirates.

That would be all of the offense the Pirates would need, although the Reds did not go away quietly. They got a run back in the 5th off of new Pirate pitcher Rob Scahill, via a Billy Hamilton sac fly. In the 6th, Jay Bruce homered off of Arquimedes Caminero to close the gap to within one, but that's as close as the Reds would get. The biggest defensive play of the night came in the top of the 7th, when Starling Marte made an incredible diving catch off of the bat of Todd Frazier, which kept Billy Hamilton from scoring from 3rd base. Tony Watson and Mark Melancon struck out all 6 combined hitters that they faced in the 8th and 9th, and the Pirates won a thriller, 7-6.

Rob Scahill got the win in relief, while Reds reliever Pedro Villarreal suffered the loss. Mark Melancon picked up his 24th save, and the Pirates are now 40-30, 6 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central and 2 games up on San Francisco for a Wild-Card spot. Gerrit Cole will take his 11-2 record to the mound tonight, trying to give Pittsburgh a much needed series win after an embarrassing 3 game sweep at the hands of the Nationals in D.C.

Champions League Final Predictions

Hello. For the first time since I created this blog almost 2 years ago, I will be writing about soccer. I have become a big fan of the game over the past 3 months, and today is the final of the most import tournament between club teams in the world: The Champions League. For those who don't know, this league is a tournament between the best teams in Europe, and whoever wins this game can make the claim to being the best team in the world. The 2 teams that are playing in the final today are Jeuventus(Italy) and Barcelona(Spain). I will first write about the roads that these teams had to take in order to get to the final, then I will break down the projected lineups and predict what I think will happen.

Jeuventus
''The Old Lady'' of Italian football were not expected by many to be here, as they have not been in the final since 2003 and were thought of by many to be an again team. But they have surprised everyone and made it to this point. Jeuventus got off to a rocky start in the Champions League group stage. After defeating the Swedish club Malmo 2-0, they proceeded to lose their next 2 games to Athletico Madrid(Spain) and Olympiacos(Greece), casting doubt as to weather or not they would even make it to the Round of 16. However, Jeuvantas pulled through and won the second legs of games against Malmo and Olympacos before tying Atheltico Madrid to advance to the knockout stage.

They were able to cruise through the round of 16, beating the German club Borussia Dourtmand by a combined score of 5-1 in the 2 games that they played. Jeuvantus would go on to defeat Monaco(France) in the first leg, and when they tied in the 2nd leg, it meant that Jeuventus would move forward due to them having  greater total score in the two meetings. This would set up a semi-final showdown with defending champs Real Madrid. Not many people gave Jeuventus much hope, but they were proved wrong when Jeuventus pulled off a stunning 2-1 win in the first leg. The second leg ended in a 1-1 tie, which meant that Jeuventus had won the combined 2 games and were through to the final, where they will meet mighty Barcelona.

Barcelona
Unlike their opponents, Barcelona was expected to be here. They have been one of the best teams in the world for a long time, and any team that has Lionel Messi on it has a chance to do anything, Barcelona went 5-1 in the group stage, avenging their lone defeat at the hands of Paris Saint Germain by winning the second leg by a score of 3-1 to advance on total goal differential. Barca would roll through Manchester City(3-1 combined) PSG(5-1) and Bayren Munich(5-3) to get to the finals.

Now that we have talked about both teams and their paths to the finals, I will break down how the teams match up with one another.

Defense
Both teams are solid defensively, but Bracalona has a massive edge here due to Jeuventus Centre-Back and leader Giorgio Chiellini will be out of action due to a calf injury. Patrice Evra leads a talent group for Jeuventus at Left_Back, but Daniel Alvis, Jordi Alba, Gerald Pique and Javier Macherano lead an excellent group of defenders that are above those of Jeuventus.

Edge: Barcalona

Midfield
This is very close. However, I will give the slight edge to Jeuventus simply because they start 4 midfielders instead of Barcelona's 3. Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio are a very talented group for the Itilian champions, and although Andres Inestia from Barca might be the best midfielder in the world, I still give the edge to Jeuventus.

Edge: Jeuventas

Forward 
Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata are a very good forward pair for Jeuventas, but Messi, Neymar and Luis Suraz are the best front line in the world. Period.

Edge: Barcelona

Prediction
Barcalona is way too talented to lose this game. They are the best team in the world and I don't see ''the old lady'' knocking them off.

Winner: Barcelona, 3-1

NBA Finals Preview

The NBA finals are here. The two most deserving teams, the Cavs and the Warriors, have worked so hard and played so well to get here. Let's get into the matchup and my prediction

Offense
Both teams have potent offenses. Lebron James and Kyrie Irving lead a Clevland offense that is able to explode at any point during any game. However, I will have to give the edge to Golden State. They have been leading the league in team points per game for a long time, and also have more assists than any other team in the league this season. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are two of the best shooters in the game, and Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala are all capable of scoring as well.

Edge- Golden State

Defense
These are 2 of the best defensive teams in the league as well. However, once again I will give the edge to Golden State. Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut are two of the best defenders in the game. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes are all good two way players as well.Golden State has allowed the fewest points per game of any team in the league this season. Clevland has one of the games best defenders in Iman Shumpert, but I'm still going to give the edge to Golden State.

Edge- Golden State

Backcourt
This one is easier than the previous two. Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving are two of the best point guards in the NBA, but what separates Golden States backcourt is that Curry has Klay Thompson at the 2 guard. Iman Shumphart has done a great job defending, but he is no Klay Thompson. The Warriors have two of the best players in the world in the backcourt, so this one is no contest.

Edge- Golden State

Frontcourt
I'm finally going to have to give one to Clevland here. The Warriors have Andrew Bogut at center and Festus Ezili to back him up, but the thing that separates the two teams in this category is Lebron James. He is one of the best ever to play and his presence, along with solid big man play from Timothy Mozdov and Tristen Thompson, push Cleveland's frontcourt ahead.

Edge- Clevland

Bench
Golden State has a great bench. Sean Livingston, Festus Ezii, David Lee, Lerando Barbosa and pretty much anyone who they have thrown on the court this season has gotten the job done. JR Smith and Mathew Dellevedova  have been solid, but Golden State has the edge here.

Edge- Golden State

Conclusion
Well, I am expecting a great series. There will not be one boring game in this series, and I am pretty sure of that because of the talent that is here. However, after analyzing the matchup, I think that Golden State has the better team. They were 67-15 this season in the brutal Westren Conference. They have taken on all and won in the playoffs as well, and I don't think this will be any different.

Prediction- Warriors, 4 games to 2