Boxscore

Aaron “Lemon” Harang lived up to his nickname for only one inning during his start against the Pirates when he allowed 2 runs in the 6th. The other 6 innings were good, though, and the Reds stayed close.

Then Ken Griffey, Jr. pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th with the tying run on. To me, it felt like he was saying, “Guys, this is the Pirates,” as he swung and launched the walk-off home run into the seats.

Of course, it might have just been the Pirates helping the Reds showcase Griffey to any American League team in need of a designated hitter. After all, Griffey’s defense didn’t hurt the Reds last night. All they needed was his bat.

Boxscore

To those few who remember when the Pirates were good, yesterday’s game held some attraction. Apparently, back in 1960, Pittsburgh beat New York in the World Series. Huh. I can’t imagine that possibility occurring again for at least 10 years. Heck, it’s hard to imagine the Pirates being lucky, let alone good.

But the Pirates didn’t suck yesterday and pounded the Yankees. Only 3 of the Pirates’ 12 runs came from the homer, a two-run shot from Jose Bautista and a solo shot from Ryan Doumit. Just lots and lots of hits. When you get 19, they don’t have to be timely.

Like so many baseball parks, Pittsburgh introduced an All You Can Eat section this year. In case you were wondering about wandering down to PNC Park to plop down the money to gorge, you might consider reading this review of the experience.

Apparently, the lines aren’t exactly “quick.”

By the time we finally sat down, we’d missed two innings and the Pirates were already behind. Distract from the on-field product, Pirate management? Mission accomplished.

This week on the podcast we run down some of the crazy injuries plaguing the NLC right now:

• The Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano is on the DL for the first time, like, ever
• The Reds can’t keep a shortstop to saves their lives
• The Cardinals might get mentioned in there somewhere
• The injury to Adam Dunn’s pride to find out that the Blue Jays’ GM isn’t attracted to him

The Crack Technical Staff works on his Ed McMahon impression, and you can actually hear me sipping my glass of pinot grigio. Truly, an episode not to be missed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I sat down to write some quick game wraps today, only to find the same exact results as for the last two days. Everybody lost except the Brewers. C’mon, guys, some variety, please!

Of course, I expect losses from the Reds. They have by far the most promising up and coming players, but that is negated by one of the worst managers in the Majors. Which is why they’re in last place.

Houston’s been in a terrible funk lately, and Pittsburgh and the White Sox apparently substituted their baseball players for football players as both teams scored touchdowns in the second inning.

The Cardinals and the Cubs both lost again, making it look like those premiere offensive players they both recently lost were important to their success, after all. I gotta say, I believe it with Albert Pujols, but I’m surprised that Alfonso Soriano’s absence has so affected the Cubs. Of course, this is Chicago’s first rough spell all season, so one could say they were due, injuries or not.

That brings us to the Brewers, who now sit in 3rd place, just 5.5 games back. Can they keep their winning going? I don’t know, but I sure bet the Reds can continue their losing. They travel to New York to “play” the Yankees today.

If only there were something to distract me from the play on the field, perhaps a General Manager ranting about the worthlessness of a player who’s better than any other player on his team. And preferably, that ire could be directed towards an NL Central player like Adam Dunn. Nah, GMs are professionals. Even Jim Bowden wouldn’t do that.