A split for the Pirates? Not a bad start.

Written by: Pat Lackey on 10th April 2009

A split for the Pirates? Not a bad start. | read this item

All things considered, there are certainly worse ways for the Pirates to start their 2009 season than with a four-game split in St. Louis. In the four games, the Pirates were at least competitive in three of the four and could’ve had a sweep, if not for a sparkling outing by Chris Carpenter yesterday. Let’s break down the good and the bad from the first four games of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2009 campaign.

The Good

Zach Duke. He might’ve put together one of his best starts since 2005 on Wednesday, throwing his fastball consistently in the low 90s and displaying a nasty breaking pitch that kept the Cardinals guessing all game in limiting them to one earned run in 6 1/3 innings.
Freddy Sanchez. After a miserable start to 2008, Sanchez has eight hits in his first 18 at bats of 2009.
Nyjer Morgan. I’m still not convinced he’s more than a AAAA player, but I’d rather have him hitting than not hitting.

The Bad

Ian Snell. He got pounded in to submission in his start on Tuesday, allowing 9 hits and 8 runs in just four innings. Simply put, he needs to be better than this.
Andy LaRoche. After an awesome spring, he went hitless in two games in which he made three errors, then was promptly benched for the next two. He’s important to the Pirates’ future and seeing him start 2009 where he ended 2008 is not a good sign.
Getting one-hit by a guy that hadn’t won a game since the 2006 World Series. Just not a good sign for the season.

The Bucs move to Cincy this weekend where two wins will ensure them of a winning record when they open PNC Park up on Monday.

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Topics: Andy LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Ian Snell, Nyjer Morgan, Zach Duke