Rob. Johnson.

So that's why Jed Hoyer brought in Rob Johnson. To win baseball games.

Rob pounded a go-ahead bomb in the bottom of the 8th, and then threw out the potential tying run at third in the 9th, to help lead the Padres to a 6-5 win over the Buccos.

What I especially liked about how Rob Johnson helped win the game for the Padres last night, was that he also very nearly helped lose it. In the top of the 6th, Mat Latos struck out Neil Walker but Rob couldn't handle the pitch and Neil reached base on the E2. Then, in the 9th, on the final strike of the game, Rob again mishandled a pitch but Ryan Doumit didn't immediately run to first base. Had Doumit run, he likely reaches the bag, the game isn't over, and the Buccos have the tying run at first. As it happened, Doumit hesitated and Rob had time to throw him out. Game over.

For now I'm calling this "The Rob Johnson Game." Hopefully that will change as Rob's heroics extend to other games, thus rendering this game just one in a long line of great Rob Johnson games, lowercase "g".

That would actually be a nice compliment for a ballplayer: "He's so good, they talk about him in lowercase."

Think about it. It works.

Nick Hundley: The Pitcher Whisperer?

Yes, the Padres lost 4-3 to the Buccos last night, snapping a 9-game winning streak against the Pirates dating back to 2009. Yes, Aaron Harang had his second straight dicey outing, giving up two first inning home runs to the likes of Chris Snyder and Garrett "Improved Plate Discipline" Jones. And yes, the Padres only went 1-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding 7 runners on base and having a runner thrown out at home.

But I did see one thing I liked in last night's game.

In the top of the 9th with the Padres protecting a 1-run lead, Bud Black called Luke Gregerson out of the pen to replace Ernesto Frieri, who had walked three of the last 4 batters (the bases weren't loaded because in between those walks Nick Hundley threw out Lyle Overbay trying to steal, in my view not even the best thing Nick did in the inning.) Luke promptly walked the first batter he faced and threw a bad looking ball to the next batter, Steven Pearce. It was then that Nick Hundley stepped up. He walked out to the mound, said a few words to Luke, patted him on the ass, and went back to his spot behind the plate.

Luke struck out Pearce in three more pitches. Then he got McCutchen to ground out to end the inning.

So yes, the Padres didn't win the game, but I liked what I saw in the interaction between Nick and Luke. That bodes well for Nick's increasing ability to handle the Padres pitching staff.

A View Of Spring Training

The PCI Blog's intrepid reporter, JJ Geleaux, captured this photo yesterday afternoon at the Pittsburgh Pirates' Spring Training facility in Bradenton, FL.

And today the Pirates announced that Kevin Correia will be their Opening Day starter against the Cubs at Wrigley.

Things are all coming up Bucco!

A-Gon ... Yard Early In The Burgh

Adrian smoked a 2-run bomb in the first inning tonight in Pittsburgh.

Drinos lead 3-1 in the 6th. A win tonight will make them 12-6 in September.

Did I mention the Padres are my favorite team from San Diego?

(Aw c'mon. I kid the Chargers.)

Last Year ... This Year

One of the sneaky great cities of the world is Pittsburgh, PA. I mean, sure, Stillers fans are total jimmybrones, but the city of Pittsburgh has a lot going for it. The three rivers, for example, a nice looking skyline, a bunch of universities, and a midwestern-feel-yet-eastern-time-zone attitude.

Not too shabby.

The reason I bring this up is because, as you know, the Padres are in Pittsburgh this weekend for a four-game set with the Buccos. Last year at this time, as you may not know, I went to the Burgh with my advisors Geleaux and Father D.P. McGillicutty for the Padres-Buccos series. That was one of the great weekend baseball trips of all time. Sadly, we could not make it happen this year, but I assure you, the Burgh has not seen the last of the Bevormo and his advisors.

I also note the Chargers are better than the Steelers.

Take care.

Guest Post: A Bucco Remembrance

Note to our reader: From time to time this humble blog will have guest posts written by true sports fans who also happen to be friends or acquaintances of mine. These posts could touch on any topic, but will mostly likely address some aspect of these guest writers' favorite teams. Today, in honor of the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener at PNC - incidentally one of baseball's finest ballparks - I am proud to offer this guest post by noted Bucco aficionado, Geleaux.



Omar,

I don't need to tell you this, but our beloved Buccos open up PNC Park for the 2009 season today against the dreaded dis-Astros. It reminds me of the day we met, a day I'm sure both of us remember well. Hearken back to the spring of 1978, if you will, and, well, who wouldn’t? The Stillers were in midst of a brief intra-dynasty Super Bowl break, a time that would make the upcoming championships even more sweet. The mills were pounding out tariff-protected steel at incredible rates. [I remember, as if it were yesterday, the sweet smell of burning metal permeating my parent's AMC Hornet (it was green - perfect) as we drove to the ballpark. That smell would linger on, even after we closed the windows, turned off the fan, and begged sweet baby jesus to make it stop.] And you had just finished your first full year in the bigs, a year that saw you swipe 53 bags, a performance that electrified the Burgh and foreshadowed your epic 1979 campaign in which you finished 15th in the MVP voting. So choice.

As you recall, my sister's 3rd grade class was invited to a game at venerable Three Rivers Stadium that season, and as if that wasn't cool enough, it included a meet and greet with the great Omar Moreno. Although I was only in kindergarten at the time, my kind sister allowed me to tag along with her class. I'm sure her decision was not influenced either by the raging guilt she felt after winning a raffle to become the Pirate's Bat Girl for a game the previous season (alas, my entry, while equally well penned and heartfelt, fell upon deaf ears) or by my parent's outright demand that I be allowed to attend, lest I lock myself away in my room for hours on end crying sweet tears of injustice, only to be drawn out by the siren song of a cucumber salad and Benny Hill reruns.

The meeting itself, albeit brief, is etched in my mind, primarily because my pillbox hat is askew in the only remaining picture of our dalliance. No doubt one of my sister's well meaning yet mischievous classmates was to blame, but I cannot shake the memory of you staring off into space while I awkwardly attempted to shake your hand. It was my first interaction with a real major league ballplayer, and it was sublime. So today, of all days, I'd like to thank you, Omar Moreno.

Good luck, Godspeed, and Go Buccos,

Geleaux