Friday, May 06, 2005
Blast From The Past
If I weren't so tired, I would write an extended metaphorical post about Thursday night's 6-2 Diamondbacks loss to the Pirates using Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as the basis for the piece. But I am, so I'll just say my conceit would've been to focus on the Ghost of Christmas Past (i.e., the 2004 Diamondbacks), who made a special appearance at BOB last night. Heck, there was even a holiday being celebrated -- Cinco de Mayo.
Of course, as the Republic noted, one wag in the press box called the game "Stinko de Mayo," a pun only exceeded by Jim's pun in its groan-ability and, unfortunately, far more accurate.
A back-of-the-rotation pitcher giving up lots of hits? Check. (Thank you, Mr. Estes.)
Defensive miscues galore? Check. (Thank you, Mr. McCracken, with the worst fielding percentage and range factor of any non-pitcher on the team.)
Grounding into double plays? Check. (Thank you, Messrs Gonzalez, McCracken, and Terrero.)
Seriously, it seemed like 2004 all over again, and unlike other games this year, where I held out hope the team could recover from a deficit, I had little expectation of winning the game after that fifth inning where the Pirates went up 5-2. It was probably the most dispiriting game of the year, even more dispiriting than Opening Day.
Still, the team has had enough days where the breaks went their way (the Giants series alone is probably proof) that I'm still hopeful the team can win the next three. Javier Vazquez, who has put together an increasingly strong string of starts (mmmmm.... unintended alliteration....), gets the job of shutting down this Pirates offense tonight. Let's hope he's considerably more Scrooge-like than Estes.
Of course, as the Republic noted, one wag in the press box called the game "Stinko de Mayo," a pun only exceeded by Jim's pun in its groan-ability and, unfortunately, far more accurate.
A back-of-the-rotation pitcher giving up lots of hits? Check. (Thank you, Mr. Estes.)
Defensive miscues galore? Check. (Thank you, Mr. McCracken, with the worst fielding percentage and range factor of any non-pitcher on the team.)
Grounding into double plays? Check. (Thank you, Messrs Gonzalez, McCracken, and Terrero.)
Seriously, it seemed like 2004 all over again, and unlike other games this year, where I held out hope the team could recover from a deficit, I had little expectation of winning the game after that fifth inning where the Pirates went up 5-2. It was probably the most dispiriting game of the year, even more dispiriting than Opening Day.
Still, the team has had enough days where the breaks went their way (the Giants series alone is probably proof) that I'm still hopeful the team can win the next three. Javier Vazquez, who has put together an increasingly strong string of starts (mmmmm.... unintended alliteration....), gets the job of shutting down this Pirates offense tonight. Let's hope he's considerably more Scrooge-like than Estes.
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