Throw More Kerosene On That Fire
As a veteran of three years of high school Spanish and another two semesters of college Spanish at Penn State, I don’t consider myself ‘fluent,’ but I’m certainly able to hold my own en español.
Despite that basic level of proficiency, I was still today years old when I learned “Dauri Moreta” is Spanish for “throw more kerosene on that fire.”
And while it has nothing to do with Spanish, apparently Carmen Mlodzinski’s surname is pronounced “kiss that ball – and the lead – goodbye.”
Moreta and Mlodzinski combined to give up five runs to the Marlins in the Miami half of the eighth inning, a meltdown that wasted just the kind of start needed from Mitch Keller to help stop a nine-game losing streak.
Instead, the Pirates 4-1 lead evaporated despite homers from Henry Davis (his first as a Major Leaguer) and Ke’Bryan Hayes.
Moreta has now given up twice as many earned runs – eight – as outs he’s recorded – four – in his last three outings. And the Pirates bullpen as a whole has an ERA of 10.35 over the last two weeks.
I believe the Spanish word for that is caca. Which, if Moreta is allowed near it, would be flaming caca.
City Connect Jerseys
Before the bullpen placed the flaming bag of poop on the doorstep, the Pirates tried to find something to celebrate, officially announcing their City Connect uniforms.
As hype videos go, the one announcing the uniforms was wonderful.
As uniforms go, it’s … meh.
Despite the underwhelming nature of the design, I think Pirates fans would agree that if they’re worn during a victory, they shouldn’t go anywhere. Keep them in rotation like a favorite t-shirt.
Skipper Says Forget ‘Framing’
Jim Leyland joined the “Cook & Joe Show” on Thursday and had an interesting perspective on the metrics that suggest Austin Hedges’ defense should outweigh his lack of offense.
Leyland also provided some insight into what it’s like for Derek Shelton right now as he tries to steer the Pirates’ ship out of troubled waters.
Musical Gurnys
While there was good news concerning Oneil Cruz during the Pirates most recent homestand…
…the news concerning Bryan Reynolds was not so good.
Credit to Andrew Fillipponi, who had this story three days ago.
From Penn Hills to Beverly Hills
While the biggest stories of the NBA Draft last night were Victor Webanyama going first overall to San Antonio and Charlotte choosing Alabama’s Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson, there was a Pittsburgh tie-in, even if you’re not a fan of him going to Indiana for a year rather than Pitt, or even if you don’t consider him a “Pittsburgh kid” anymore because he moved to Charlotte, and later to prep powerhouse Monteverde in Florida: Penn Hills native Jalen Hood-Schifino going 17th over all to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Schifino-Hood was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season and broke the Hoosiers single game freshman scoring record in January against Purdue when he scored 35 points in a 79-71 win.
Hamlin’s Helpers
Buffalo Bills head athletic trainer Nate Breske and assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, two of the members of the medical staff who responded immediately to Damar Hamlin when he went into cardiac arrest on the field at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati in January, saving Hamlin’s life in the process, were keynote speakers at the four-day National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (NATA) Clinical Symposia & AT Expo in Indianapolis.
Breske & Kellington advocated for more AEDs in readily available locations, especially at youth sporting events, as well as the need for certified athletic trainers on hand at more events.
Tommy Tanks Walks It Off For the Tigers
If you’re a baseball fan, you didn’t have to wait until October for an instant classic this year, as LSU and Wake Forest gave it to you a few months early in the College World Series last night.
Following 10 scoreless innings, during which Tigers’ starter – and possible first overall draft pick – Paul Skenes dueled out-for-out with Rhett Lowder of the Demon Deacons, the other possible first overall pick from LSU came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 11th. Dylan Crews roped a base hit to left, setting the table for Tommy “Tanks” White.
The walk-off two-run home run finished off a payback win for LSU after Wake had placed them on the brink of elimination just three days earlier. More importantly, it sends them to the College World Series Finals against the Florida Gators, a best-of-three set that starts Saturday night in Omaha. Despite both being in the SEC, LSU and Florida have not met yet this season.
Gronk Would Go Hard, But Would Not Go Home
On a recent episode of “Prime Time with Alex Stein,” one-time New England Patriot Jake Bequette shared an incredible story of the lengths Rob Gronkowski would go to to get his partying in and still show up for offseason workouts.
Wait… don’t we all know someone who played with Gronk back in the day and may have been privy to these late nights and/or the early morning hydration stations?
