A Look at the Rook

In the midst of cranking out one of my rare evening posts, I thought I'd get everyone up to speed on how rookie phenom Drew McCutchen is looking through his first three weeks in the Bigs. I must say, so not bad. Check out his baseballreference.com link and you will see some interesting numbers. Despite a very meager strikeout/walk ratio and some relatively low power numbers, the rest of the picture is pretty darn good. 5 triples in 19 starts?! Really? That translates to, oh, about, 40 three baggers over a full season! Amazingly, Mac already leads the NL in that category, thus either saying something about his fleet feet or the disappearance of triples in modern baseball.

More interesting are his production numbers. With 15 RBI's in 19 starts, he once again is projecting out to around 120 ribbies over a full season. In the National League, 70 RBI's in a season is more than acceptable for a leadoff guy, and anything over 85 or so is pretty good. Again, I realize that we have only seen Drew Mac for three weeks, but the fact that he's knocking in runs at this regularity is refreshing.




lets hope Mac hits better than he shaves

What's even more refreshing is this faint scent of hope lingering above the PNC Park bleacher section these days. Dare I dream, but at this point next season, the Buccos order could start like this: McCutchen, Sanchez, Doumit, and Alvarez. Beyond that depends on the long term situation of the Bros LaRoche and whether the Bucs' front office is going to pull the plug on projects Steve Pearce and Neil Walker. Who knows, at least it will be a younger and harder hitting team to not go see.

Oh, Those LaRoche Boys

Remember the good ole' days when you only had to worry about one LaRoche in the lineup? Doubling that equation is almost too much to handle. All Things LaRoche is the story probably best suited for reality TV, or even a prime time soap. If it isn't the cold streaks followed by torrid nights, it's the gold glove efforts followed up by evenings of zany fielding gaffes.

At this point in my blogging career, I really have no way to summarize the existence of the LaRoche Brothers. Certainly they are not the Waners, the Dimaggios, or even the Giambis. If Adam was a thoroughbred, he'd be what the race folks refer to as a 'front runner'. In other words, the horse that performs mightily when he's out front and is under no pressure. If Andy were a race horse, well, he'd probably have been put down by now, but hey, the world always needs more glue.

Last night's installment of the LaRoche Chronicles was really no oddity, regardless of how bizarre the box score reads. A slugfest by big brother followed by fielding woes by baby brother. Please pass the Tumms. One can only wonder if 2010 will bring us a third LaRoche.

QUICK HITTERS:

• How about that Zach Duke? The left arm of God has once again logged another quality start. Can you believe that Duke has 25% of the Bucs total wins and is on pace for an 18 win season?


• Andrew McCutchen should already be working on his acceptance speech for the NL Rookie of the Month for June. Next stop, ROY???

Welcome to the 'Burgh, Kid

Rookie sensation Andrew McCutchen got his first true glimpse at the frustrations that teammates Freddy Sanchez and Paul Maholm have endured for years...wasted effort. McCutchen had the biggest night in his young career, going 4 for 7 with a double, a pair of triples, and 2 runs scored; all for not, however, as the Bucs squandered numerous opportunities before finally succumbing to the Braves 7-6 in 15 innings.

Ironically, Nate McLouth, another guy who has seen his performances wasted in a Pirates uni, rocked a homer off former Bucco and Altoona Curve mate, Zach Duke, in a winning effort. As they say, fate is not without a sense of irony.

Quick Hitters:

• With McCutchen replacing Nate, he joins Nyjer Morgan and Brandon Moss in the Bucs' starting outfield. This trio has a combined 1 whopping home run on the season. At this point last year, the starting outfield of Jason Bay, X Man Nady and McLouth already had over 30 combined dingers. Astonishing even for the Buccos.
• If you're feeling uneasy, you should. Mid-June is generally when the Bucs begin to entertain multiple losing skids. With no McLouth or Doumit in the lineup, it may just be a matter of time until the team is dozen or so games under .500
• 51 days until Latrobe!

Nate Who??!!

Move over Sid, Geno, Jordan, and Santonio. Pittsburgh's got a new addition to the exclusive 25 and under sports phenom club: Andrew McCutchen. The Battlins' ushered in the Drew Mac era today by manloving the New York Mets, sans lubricant, 11-6 at PNC Park. How'd the rook look, you ask? Try two for four with a stolen base, and much more importantly, three runs scored. Three runs from your leadoff guy, huh? Imagine that.

Here's to another new beginning