The Pirates reverted to their old ways last night. Held to one run, although they got reasonably good pitching.They still have not had a four-game win streak all year.
The frustrating and maddening thing about Monday night's game was manager John Russell's lineup. Why was Ryan Doumit the starting catcher?
On Friday, rookie Eric Kratz arrived from Indianapolis. On Saturday night, he started, played spotless defense and got his first two hits. On Sunday, before the game, general manager Neal Huntington said on his radio show that Kratz would start against left-handers -- not all, but Huntington indicated Kratz would see plenty of starts vs. lefties, against whom he'd battted .346 in AAA. Also on Sunday, Doumit started the afternoon game, vs. a right-hander. So far, so good, and two big wins in the process.
Then, on Monday, with Milwaukee starting a left-hander, Chris Capuano -- who hadn't won a game in his previous 19 starts spanning three years, by the way -- who's in the lineup? Doumit.
And Doumit, predictably, went 0-4 with two strikeouts and four left on base, and he grounded into a double play. One of his strikeouts came in the ninth inning with two runners on board. And the Pirates scored only one run in a 3-1 loss.
Why was Doumit in the lineup instead of Kratz? It makes no sense. Doumit played vs. a right-hander on Sunday, so it's not like Kratz would have started three games in a row.
None of it makes sense. It's maddening. Frustrating.
But that's what it is to be a Pirates' fan.
No wonder Doumit says in his promo spot on Fox SportsNet (FSN), "Here's a foul tip: Watch the Pirates on FSN."
He got the "foul tip" part right.
