9/7/18

Went to photofest last weekend. Great time like always.

Sorry if its been posted here before but... goes to show if you annoy them enough. They will cave.

Ticket from the final series at Three Rivers Stadium.

Since coming off the IL, it’s been fairly clear to me that Cruz’s defense is significantly improved. With his physical tools, most of his issues in the outfield have been the result of mental errors and inexperience at the position. Poor jumps, bad first steps, missed backups, not calling off the corner outfielders, throwing to the wrong bases, skipping cutoffs and more.

But since returning from the IL, the eye test has been showing massive improvement. He’s been calling off his other outfielders early and loudly on multiple occasions of close balls, his cutoffs have been precise, his decision making has been way better, and he’s been getting much better reads on tough line drives.

Take today as an example.

5th inning, runner on first, two outs. A ball is hit hard to the left center gap, and he makes a quick jump to cut the ball off before it can reach the wall and guns it into second base. Why second base? Because logically, that runner from first is going at the crack of the bat, and he’s gonna score on almost every double. He’s going for the out at second, because he cut the ball off quick, and he very nearly gets him. The ball was thrown on one bounce, in an easy position to get picked for a tag. The runner is safe at second, but because the ball got in so quickly, Lowe has time to throw the runner out at home. The Cruz of last year tries to get the ball to a deep infield cutoff for the play at the plate (maybe with a crow hop) and the ball doesn’t get there in time.

In the 7th inning, a medium hard line drive is dropping quickly into the right center gap. A confident read gets him into position, and knowing that the right fielder is going to back him up, he dives for it and gets the out.

He’s been much more decisive since his return, making good choices quickly, and his tools let him cover the remaining gaps in experience much better now that the floor is higher.

And the numbers back it up too. Since August 17th, the day Cruz returned from injury, he is the most valuable defender on the Pirates by Fielding Run Value. FRV and OAA do generally like Cruz better than DRS (valuing his raw tools highly, and missing mental miscues), but before his injury, he was at -3 FRV on the year. Unfortunately we can’t compare DRS because I could not find a splits tool that gave DRS as an option.

In either case, Cruz must have spent the two months he wasn’t able to swing the bat just reading fly balls and getting pop quizzes on defensive situations because he looks so much more comfortable out there.

Division Scoreboard

CHC 3 @ MIL 4 - Final

STL 4 @ SF 5 - Final/11

CIN 3 @ LAD 6 - Final

Next Pirates Game: Tue, Sep 8, 7:40 PM EDT @ White Sox (1 day)

^{Last Updated: 09/07/2026 11:52:37 PM EDT}

Angels (54-89) @ Pirates (71-73) - Sun, Sep 6

Game Status: Final - Score: 1-0 Pirates

Links & Info

• MLB Gameday
• Game Graphs
• Savant Gamefeed

Decisions

• Winner: Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83)
• Loser: Walbert Ureña (9-10, 2.74)
• Save: Mason Montgomery (10, 2.87)

Division Scoreboard

MIL 8 @ CIN 12 - Final

CHC 3 @ MIA 10 - Final

STL 10 @ COL 8 - Final

Next Pirates Game: Tue, Sep 8, 7:40 PM EDT @ White Sox (1 day)

^{Last Updated: 09/07/2026 12:00:18 AM EDT}

Living in Chicago since 1990, grew up in Baldwin. Heading to Sox Park Tuesday to see the Buccos. Is anyone planning on bringing traffic cones? I’m assuming yes. I’ll be sitting near the Pirates’ Bull Pen. I want to say hello to those guys.

Angels (54-89) @ Pirates (71-73) - 1:35 PM EDT

Game Status: Final - Score: 1-0 Pirates

Links & Info

• MLB Gameday
• Game Graphs
• Savant Gamefeed

Decisions

• Winner: Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83)
• Loser: Walbert Ureña (9-10, 2.74)
• Save: Mason Montgomery (10, 2.87)

Division Scoreboard

MIL 8 @ CIN 12 - Final

CHC 3 @ MIA 10 - Final

STL 10 @ COL 8 - Final

Next Pirates Game: Tue, Sep 8, 7:40 PM EDT @ White Sox (1 day)

^{Last Updated: 09/07/2026 12:00:18 AM EDT}

Don Kelly is terrible

Was planning on going to today's game but had to go out of town due to some family circumstances.

My son was looking forward to the backpack, so seeing if anyone goes today and either doesn't want it or gets a few and would want to sell one.

If so, please DM me.

Let's go Bucs!

Anyone not using their SRO ticket for today’s game? I have the ballpark pass and could trade you for another game in the future. Thanks!

Hello, Pirates fans! I'm looking to visit your humble ballpark on Sept 20. I'll be driving in from NYC for that 1:35PM game. I know it's quite a trek, but PNC Park is one of the last ballparks I've not seen in the Northeast (I am from Mets land). Any tips on driving in there, and where to park, and what to see in the ballpark, and/or before the game? Thank you kindly in advance.

Angels (54-88) @ Pirates (70-73) - 1:35 PM EDT

Game Status: Pre-Game

Links & Info

• Current conditions at PNC Park: 76°F - Sunny - Wind 9 mph, In From LF
• TV: Angels: ABTV, presented by Pechanga Resort Casino, Pirates: SportsNet Pittsburgh
• Radio: Angels: KLAA 830, Pirates: Sports Radio 93.7 KDKA The Fan
• MLB Gameday
• Statcast Game Preview

Probable Pitchers

• Angels: Walbert Ureña - RHP (9-9, 2.85 ERA, 123.1 IP)
• Pirates: Paul Skenes - RHP (9-11, 3.97 ERA, 149.2 IP)

Division Scoreboard

MIL @ CIN 12:10 PM EDT

CHC @ MIA 1:40 PM EDT

STL @ COL 3:10 PM EDT

^{Last Updated: 09/06/2026 11:16:49 AM EDT}