Bucs lose 7-1 to Cubs

John Van Benschoten(0-3) got rocked Saturday night against the Cubs giving up 5 runs in 2.2 innings on 7 hits. Ted Lilly(8-4) was awesome for the Cubs going 7.1 innings and giving up one run to the Bucs. It looked like Lilly was heading for a shutout until Jack Wilson doubled(15) home Ryan Doumit in the bottom of the 7th to get the only run. Alfonso Soriano(.310) was 3 for 5 with 3 sngles and a RBI(33). The Pirates are now 39-48 and play their last game before the All-Star break tomorrow afternoon at 1:35pm with Shane Youman(1-0, 3.00) expecterd to start for the Pirates and Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano(10-6, 4.04) will go for the Cubs.

Email from McClatchy's Office

He will be stepping down after the season, He never really got anything done though in his 11 years. Here is the email I got this afternoon, Im cant say Im upset :).

********************************************************

FROM THE DESK OF KEVIN McCLATCHY

Dear Pirates Fan:

Today I announced that I will be stepping down as
the Chief Executive Officer of the Pittsburgh Pirates
at the end of the 2007 season.

A decision of this personal and professional magnitude
is not something you make overnight. It was something Bob Nutting
and I have discussed even before the change of control took place
in January and something I decided upon a few months ago.
It is a difficult decision, but I felt the time was right to step down
as the day-to-day leader of this franchise so the organization
can move forward with a fresh leadership perspective.

I will remain as the active leader of the organization until
the end of the season. This will give the organization an
opportunity to conduct a thorough search to find my successor and
ensure a smooth transition into the next chapter of Pirates history.

I have worked hard for more than 11 years in the best interests
of the Pittsburgh Pirates, our fans and the community
and will continue to do so. Nobody within the organization
has given up on this season. I have confidence in this team.
We have played better recently and remain focused on having
a strong second half.

Thank you for your continued support of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I hope to see you at PNC Park during the second half of the season.

Sincerely,

Kevin McClatchy
Chief Executive Officer
Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates Win 4th straight; Beat cubs 8-4

Paul Maholm(5-11) finally got some nice run support, and got the win in a 8-4 win over the Cubs. He went 7+ innings, giving up 4 earned runs on 5 hits. He started the 8th inning but did not get an out, He let Alfonso Soriano and Mike Fontenot get singles and then he was pulled for Shawn Chacon who let the two runners score on sacrifice flies so the runs were charged to Maholm(4.76). Maholm sort of took matters into his own hands, coming up to bat in the 2nd inning with the bases loaded and 2 outs he lined a single to the outfield to get the first two runs of the game. The Cubs tied it up 2-2 in the top of the 3rd but Freddy Sanchez(2) and Xavier Nady(14) both hit solo homers in the bottom of the 3rd to make it 4-2. Ryan Doumit(16) and Jose Bautista(22) both got RBI doubles in the bottom of the 5th to put the game away off of starter Jason Marquis(6-5) who left after the Bautista double. The Pirates are playing well against the teams they need to be playing well against and if they can win at least one of these last two games can actually think about making a run at the division. I think the winner of the Spooky Central will be not much higher than .500 like the Cardinals(39-43) last year who are kind of making a run this year and are 8 games back, the Bucs(39-47) are 10 games back(4th place) of Milwaukee(49-37), I think they will fall back a bit though with the young guys like Fielder and Hall has no postseason experience in the second half. The Cubbies(43-42) are 5.5 games back and are in 2nd place.

Pirates take 3 of 4 from Brewers, win 6-3 on Thursday

After losing the first game of the 4 game series with Milwaukee on Monday, the Pirates took the last 3 games including a 6-3 win Thursday afternoon. Tom Gorzelanny(9-4) got the win going 7 innings and giving up 3 earned runs(3.10 ERA) on 4 hits. Matt Capps got the save(9). After hitting home-runs yesterday Adam Laroche hit 2(12,13) today and Ryan Doumit(6) hit one again. Adam LaRoche has been playing great lately and was 3 of 4 today with 3 runs scored, and 3 RBI's(51). He got his 23rd double of the year also. Geoff Jenkins got his 13th homer of the year for the Brewers. The Pirates(38-47) are now 10 games back of Milwaukee(48-37). Lets all hope we sweep the Cubbies and go into the All-Star Break on fire!! Also, everyone put in your 25 votes for Tom Gorzelanny today because this is the last day to vote, you can put in more than 25 if you use a different email address.

Pirates Win Again over Brewers 5-3

The Pirates won again over the Brewers on July 4th, 5-3. Ian Snell(7-5) got the win going 8 innings, giving up 3 earned runs(2.93) on 9 hits. Matt Capps pitched the ninth for the save(8). Ryan Braun hit a 3-run homer off Snell in the first inning but then Snell calmed down and pitched a good game. Ryan Doumit(5) tied the game in the 4th with a two run homer, then Adam LaRoche(11) hit a two run home-run in the 6th to make it 5-3. The Pirates really need tomorrows game with the Brewers so they can gain some ground on them. The Bucs are 37-47 and 10 games behind Milwaukee(48-36)

Pirates over Brewers 6-2

The Pirates got a win over the Brewers Tuesday night 6-2. Shane Youman was called up to take Zach Duke's spot in the rotation while Duke is on the DL. Youman(1-0) got the win going 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits. The Bucs are now 36-47 and 12 games back of Milwaukee.

Damien Miller has HUGE game against Bucs

The Pirates lost 10-3 to the Brewers Monday night. Damien Miller had a monster game. He was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 7 RBI's(17), he only had 10 RBI's going into the game. He hit 2 home runs(2,3) to triple his season total. He hit a grand slam in the 7th and a 2-run shot in the 4th. The Pirates stayed with the Brewers until the 7th inning. The score was tied at three, then the Brewers had a 7 seven run inning off reliever Masumi Kuwata(0-1) including that grand slam from Miller to make it 10-3. John Van Benschoten pitched well going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. The Pirates are now 35-47 and 13 games back of Milwaukee(48-34). They better get it together this week or this is where they will be put away for the season.