Ryan Bruan was the best Major League Baseball player in 2011.

There — I said it.

Ryan Braun is my most hated Major League Baseball player — ever.

That was a little bit easier to say.

On Saturday, Braun accepted his first National League MVP award after leading his Brewers to the playoffs, all while hitting 33 home runs. He also had a batting average of .332 and an unprecedented OPS of .994 with a solid .597 slugging percentage.

What will cloud his rather remarkable season, though, is shame.

Braun tested positive for a banned substance in December, after he was already named MVP. Us Pirate fans rejoiced at the news. Of course, it was an opportunity to point a finger and laugh and the man who has helped torment this fan base in all of his five seasons in the league. It affirmed the speculation that something most definitely has been up with this guy, and it’s about time he was found out.

More so, it fueled the judgement of a doubting nation that the steroid-era is most certainly not over.

Braun has long been a players advocate saying that he is clean and could be tested at any time to prove he’s truthful. Even with the confirmed allegations against him, he maintains his innocence. While it wasn’t necessarily a steroid or a Performance Enhancing Drug he tested positive for, Braun still broke the rules.

Still, he got on base, hit the home runs and led Milwaukee through an exciting season and playoff run.

For that, he deserves to keep the award.

Defending the honor won’t be so easy as Braun faces a 50-game suspension for, well, breaking the rules.

I’m not one to put an athlete on a pedestal, but they will always be looked up to. I don’t not cheer for guys that are proven jerks, convicted felons or smug to the fans. I root for players, not people.

But, I don’t pull for Ryan Braun.

The Brewers have long been Pirate killers. Since 2007, they are 38-4 against Pittsburgh. At the axis of the evil, Miller Park, Milwaukee won eight games when hosting the Pirates. There have been brawls, chin-music pitches thrown from each side and a 20-0 beat down within it all.

It has all been said and done, Braun is the 2011 NL Most Valuable Player, deservingly so. He also deserves a 50-game suspension for injecting/ingesting something that is illegal. He’s appealing it, but to take a page from Braun’s book when referencing getting beaned by Pittsburgh’s Jeff Kastens:

“We’ll see what the commisioner has to say about it.”

photo credits: washingtonpost.com, espn.com

 

According to the 2011 Latest Leaders, The Pittsburgh Peas was the 14th most read mlblog over the past year.

Not bad for not posting in about three months.

I always strived to post a few times a week. That was made a lot easier when I was in college with plenty of spare time to spill my thoughts on the Pirates, baseball and life in general. Heck, studying and writing important scholastic papers took a backseat to this blog.

But now I’m in the real world.

Regular posting started to slow down this summer when I had an internship with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

There were long hours in a fast paced environement, but I showed up to an office each day that over looked a baseball field. Couldn’t beat that.

Now, I’m back to writing — full time — at a newspaper. Sports writing as always been at the forefront of my career aspirations. I get to cover local sports with a much greater circulation than my college newspaper at WVU. I’m not sitting in a press box with top notch media from all over the country, but I still get to tell a story in my own words.

And now I’m really back to writing where I started with this blog.

The Pittsburgh Peas opened many doors for me, including the past two positions I’ve held. I’ve also connected with so many fans from all over the place, even meeting a few in person.

There are so many blogs out there that relay much of the same information on a team or story and I’ve prided The Peas on being much more than that. This is about my  experiences, my thoughts and, most importantly, those with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After all, this was the 14th most read blog for a reason.

So, I hope to get back into regular posting. I hated to see a gaping hole from October to December. With three years in the making, I let myself down for being a bit lax and letting The Peas fall by the wayside. We’re still in the dead of winter, but so many good times are ahead.

By now, we all know what happened. In fact, we’ll never forget it.

September 28, 2011 was a baseball lover’s dream. In make or break games, the true stars shined and those watching were priveleged to witness the game being played for a reason. Four teams were battling for their lives. The chance to keep playing the game they love, the game we love to pay and sacrifice to watch. They made sure the fans in the stands and the millions watching at home got their moneys worth.

It took extra innings, but the Braves couldn’t hang with the Phillies to live another day. Even when Philadelphia was bringing in their second hand specialties, Atlanta couldn’t get the job done. The Phillies really had nothing to play for. They had their playoff berth wrapped up weeks ago. But, Michael Martinez running in an all out sprint to deep center field to rob Chipper Jones of the walk off RBI showed that a fighting effort, day in and day out, is really the lifeblood of being a baseball player. That passion was just a small step against the favor of the Braves.

On the other side of the National League coin, The Cardinals did their part. But, before they could enjoy a politically correct Budweiser shower, they had to go out and dominant the lowly Astros. They did and when have to wait for a couple excruciating hours to see the Braves blow their chance of picking up the Wild Card or at least forcing a one-game playoff. It took an 8-0 win in convincing style for St. Louis to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Evan Longoria’s magical game assured the Rays would live to see October baseball in St. Pete. Actually, an improbable comeback by the Rays guaranteed another round of playoff baseball in Tropicana Field. They surmounted an unsurmountable 7-0 deficit in the 8th inning against the Yankees. Dan Johnson forced extras, and Longoria further etched his name in Rays lore with a grand slam, earlier in the game, and a walk off blast in the 12th inning.

Just a few minutes, literally, a few minutes later Big Papi was more upset than he was at the above balls and strikes call. Mother Nature finally let up in Baltimore and the sure-fire Red Sox win gave way to perhaps the most heartbreaking loss in franchise history. After all, whenever Jonathon Papelbon enters a game, especially one as high-pressured as clinching a playoff spot, its a guaranteed win. Nolan Reimold and Robert Andino made their names known and Carl Crawford made his tarnished. Then, this happened.

With the talk of Boston squandering a sizable lead in the final month of September and the drama surrounding the aforementioned Crawford, along with his manager, well, ex-manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein have floated on thin ice. The collapse of the Red Sox has taken over the MLB world. Questions of how could this happen? And, where do we go from here? They overshadowed the real praises of the night. The Baltimore Orioles pulled an improbable upset in front of a “home” crowd that was draped in red with hints of blue. Just look at them up there, playing the game of baseball the way it was meant to be played. It’d be hard to guess that it’s a 69-93 team on the final day of the season. Just a group of grown men, celebrating with the lifeblood of children. They may have been the real heroes of the night.

A night we will never forget.

photo credits: upi.com, jimrome.com, everyjoe.com, ajc.com, baltimore.com

Pirates in-game host Joe Klimchak welcomed nearly 50 people to PNC Park on Sunday for the annual season ticket holder field day. It was my first time attending the event and Joe painted a vivid picture of how lucky we all were to be standing on the grass of The Most Beautiful Ballpark in America. From “getting chills driving through the Ft. Pitt tunnel, to describing how breathtaking every moment in the stadium really is, he surely pumped us up for a fun day of catching, fielding and hitting.

It’s hard to believe just a few minutes earlier, baseball was an afterthought.

You see, it was a football Sunday. A Steelers football Sunday to be more exact. And, if were getting technical, it was a Steelers football opening day Sunday. In Pittsburgh, everything else comes secondary on any given Sunday in the Fall. The Steelers reign supreme and everyone knows it.

Everyone except for my buddy Andrew and me.

He joined me on the field (and here in the dugout) for two hours that we will never soon forget. In my first year as a Pirates partial season ticket holder, I have received many perks. The field day was just one of them.

We were able to step up to the plate for some batting practice.

Andrew was able to put two balls in play, after a few hacks.

I, on the other hand, went 0-for-8. Now, I can go on saying “oh, it harder than it looks.” We already know it is. But I don’t have an excuse for my pitiful showing. A 12 year old kid in front of me was able to ground it out of the infield, at least. It was funny because those waiting in line, mostly middle aged guys and their sons, were impressed by anyone that made contact, and ranted and raved for anyone that actually got a hold of one to the shallow outfield. All hits would have been easy Major League outs, but who cares? We were all there to live out our big-time dreams.

In the outfield, Andrew and I played catch.

And robbed home runs of course.

This was probably the coolest part of the day because we acted out situations in all corners of the gapping PNC Park outfield. From the indentation of the “North Side Notch” by the bullpens, to scaling the six foot wall, seen above, in left field, and playing ricochets off the fence in right field, we were roaming it all and making plays. And, as Joe instructed, we kept centerfield “just the way Andrew McCutchen left it” with the utmost care and respect.

I was able to get up close and personal with the Chuck Tanner memorial in right-center field. Unveiled on opening day, the Tanner jersey is the to honor the Pirates former manager who passed away over the winter. I wonder if the organization will keep it there for years to come? It will be a nice gesture if they do.

Andrew, a die-hard Yankee fan by trade, was most happy to touch a piece of New York. Already preparing for this weekend’s series, the Pirates placed the match ups for Friday-Saturday-Sunday on the out of town scoreboard. Boston does indeed travel to the Bronx for a three game set against their arch-rivals.

I met some new friends at the event. All of my fellow season ticket holders were very friendly and open to chat. After all, we are in it together. This Pirates season has surely been up-and-down, but we created great memories that we will carry into next year. Randi Hoffman isn’t a season ticket holder, but she is involved with the Pirates as a “PR face” for the organization. Along with Joe, she appears on commercials and online videos. Not only is she a pretty face, she is very nice too. Her and Joe make a perfect team. I would love to join them someday as a third wheel to promote the Bucs. That is my dream job.

Before leaving the field, we posed in a variety of baseball specific moments.

A manager observing his team.

A perturbed manager calling to the bullpen.

Attacking the Gatorade cooler.

Embracing the adoring crowd for a curtain call.

It may not be a world-famous baseball scene, but it should jog the memory of Pittsburgh fans.

Any ideas?

Eh, a little off. But my intentions were good. The Pirates gave out this Andrew McCutchen canvas wrap to all fans at a game last year. It’s a game I’ll remember forever as it was the night I met my girlfriend, Erin.

The staff had a great lunch provided after the event. Food included traditional ballpark fare such as hot dogs, hamburgers and pop. They also had ice cream sandwiches. It was probably the first time I actually ate an ice cream sandwich since the ice cream man came driving down my street in his truck back in 1998.

Before going back to our car, we were tempted.

The buzz around town was still for the Steelers and we milled around some tailgates and took in the sights at Heinz Field.

Art Rooney greeted us outside the gates and we peeked inside.

The sellout crowd saw the Steelers pound the Seahawks 24-0.

I am a Steelers fan. They’re cool and all. But, I’ve been spoiled. After seeing playoffs year in and year out, not to mention four Super Bowl appearances with two wins to boot, it gets old. I like college football so much more than the NFL. And I would trade all the Steelers success for the littlest thing the Pirates could achieve; a winning season.

The Bucs are always No.1 for me and the Field Day was just one example of how the fans are No. 1 for the Pirates.

Let’s Go Bucs.

In 1869, George Wright signed the first professional baseball contract to play for the Cincinnati Red Stockings. His $1,400 salary raised many eyebrows across the country as it was unheard of for any working man, let alone a baseball player, to make that much money. It was that historic inking that is still felt even today.

As the August 15th deadline for Major League teams to sign their draft picks drew near, attention turned to the Pirates who were hoping to make the biggest splash with their potential players. With former UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer already at the AA level for the team that signed him, Arizona, pressure was on for the Pirates to wrap up fellow Bruin, Gerrit Cole. The No. 1 overall pick back in June, Cole was said to have more upside than the progressive Bauer. Adding Cole to the organization would give the Bucs one of the deepest pitching threats across the league.

Well, 8 million dollars later, the depths of the Pittsburgh pitching core has just grown deeper.

Setting a minor league contract record, Cole was not the only pick the Pirates were able to control late Monday night.

Josh Bell is also jumping aboard, surprisingly to many.

The Dallas native and University of Texas commit was able to be preyed away from heading to college at the price of 5 million. Again, a record. This time for that of a second round pick. Many believed Bell was easily a first round prospect but questions of his sign-ability allowed him to fall to the second round.

Bell and Cole easily become a pair of  top 10 prospects in the organization. Both were clients of Scott Boras and milked out the best prices to get their careers started. All in all, the Bucs spent an unprecedented 17 million dollars to sign 24 drafted players. Of those 24, 10 were indeed selected in the top 10 by the team.

Pittsburgh showed a commitment to establishing the franchise from the ground up. The work General Manager Neil Huntington has, at times, been controversial, but the approach taken has been radical enough to fuel support and actually make sense. While it will take some time for Bell and Cole, along with previous years top picks, to make a solid impact, at least having them under strong grasp can only aid the future.

photo credits: baseballhistoryblog.com, espnrise.com, David Stoner

Usually, one of my weekly traditions is enjoying a relaxing Saturday afternoon watching This Week in Baseball from my comfortable couch.

This past week I did so in Citizens Bank Park.

A Pirates featured segment was shown as part of the 30 minute program on the jumbotron at the exact same time the Pirates were stepping into the batters box for pre-game batting practice. It was a beautiful day for baseball in Philadelphia  and Erin and I were lucky enough to enjoy it all. We made the trip across the state of Pennsylvania for the weekend to see the Pirates play the Phillies. Although it wound up being a sweep by the boys from the City of Brotherly love, we had a great time and saw a competitive game on Saturday evening.

As soon as the gates opened we rushed to the field for a closer look at BP. Decked out in red and blue, Phillies fans clamored throughout the park some 2 and a half hours before the game was slated to start. It was the largest pre-game crowd I had ever seen at a big league park. The brass was indeed treated to a show, as were we.

Making his Phillies debut, Hunter Pence responded to the huge ovations he received, just by stepping into the cage, by launching balls out of the yeard. From our account, at least eight of Pence’s swings were home runs, long ones at that.

Pence’s arrival in Philly was the talk of the sports world and surely the talk of the town.

The starting lineups were posted on big boards, sponsored by Topps. To avoid any confusion, an aerial shot of Citizens Bank Park did not play right field, rather, Pence did.

Pence even got friendly with many of the Pirates, including a three minute long conversation with manager Hurdle.

Now, all this Philly hype didn’t get me down. I embraced it, respected it and acknowledged it. The whole set up, atmosphere and pride Philly has with their baseball team is impressive. They put on a great show, both on and off the field, and I had a great time taking it all in.

I didn’t go for them, though.

This trip was made solely for the Buccos. And, win or lose, I was going to support them, be loud and make it known that Southwest PA can competed with the bigger market on the eastern side of the state.

As I did for the Yankees game in Cleveland, I brought my new Nikon D3000 and snapped some pretty cool pics of my team.

Alex Presley

Andrew McCutchen

Clint Hurdle

Garrett Jones

Jeff Karstens

Joe Beimel

Joel Hanrahan

Jose Tabata

Mike McKenry

Neil Walker

Pedro Alvarez

Ronny Cedeno

With more than enough time to spare before the game, we wandered about the stadium. It was Erin’s first time at the Bank, my second. I went with my parents in 2004, the year it opened, as part of one of our glorious baseball road trips.

I ran into a fellow blogger and minor league baseball connoisseur, Tug Haines.

Be sure to read his blog at casualfan.org as he travels the country visiting Minor League ballparks.

From the friendly, now  to the creepy.

Let me first say that the Phillies have some quality souvenir items at many stands scattered throughout the stadium. I do include these under the “quality” category.

Player stuffed animals were flying off the shelves, after customers forked over $28. I admit they are pretty cool, but also could be used for some forms of voodoo. I would like to see a dreadlocked Andrew McCutchen or bearded Neil Walker doll being sold in Pittsburgh. Secretly, I would buy one.

We scored 45 dollar seats on Stuhub in the week leading up to the game. Not bad considering our fairly primo location in section 419, directly above and behind homeplate.

The night belonged to the Phillies with their 7-4 victory. Ryan Howard went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a home run. Cliff Lee struck out 11, but the fact that the Bucs got four runs off him, we couldn’t be too upset. Not many teams could say that.

As for the “golden boy” Hunter Pence.

He went 1-for-5 getting a key hit in the 8th inning. Through six innings he was 0-for-4 and left five guys on base. In typical Philly fashion, he was booed and jeered.

Nonetheless, it was a fun time in the very nice city of Philadelphia. It does get a bad rap, although it honestly is a deserved tag. However, the fans, most of them, are first class. Even the bandwagoners that are just there because its the cool thing to do pay attention to the game and hang on every pitch.

The crowd was electric and every single fan of the 45, 737 created an electric baseball atmosphere. It was announced that the 25th million fan in the seven years of Citizen Bank Park came through the gates on Saturday night. That is a phenomenal milestone. And for good reason, the fans come in droves to the park. Upper management puts a great product on the field and the chemistry of the team surely pumps the skills and stats into their on field play. The Phillies are a symbol of success and the strongest dynasty in the National League.

Looking over the sweep, the Pirates added two bats to a depleted offense. Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick will be transplanted to Pittsburgh and instilled as go-to pieces in the Bucs lineup. They aren’t much, but they are upgrades and solid additions to make this team competitive towards the pennant run.

In any case, we’ll be cheering them on all the way.

It was a game I honestly didn’t want to end.

Nearing 2 a.m. on a Tuesday/Wednesday morning, I had to be up in a mere 5 hours to be at work at 8:30. Still, nothing was going to let me fall asleep.

Nine innings turned into 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Before we knew it 18 and a half innings passed and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves were still ready to play on until the wee hours of the night.

Home plate umpire Jerry Meals was not.

Looming directly over the plate, Meals called Julio Lugo safe on a play that more than likely would have sent the game to the remarkable 20th inning. Now, it was just the second out, but batter Scott Proctor fell running towards first and catcher Mike McKenry would have gotten him out with an easy throw over.

It was the call that sparked a revelation . A revelation not only experienced by those involved on the field, but the loyal fans of both teams. Twitter was a sight to behold last night with hundreds upon hundreds of people weighing in on the hottest of the hot button issues to occur in baseball, this season.

From @SBerthiaumeESPN: WOW….WOW. I know Jerry Meals worked all 19 innings behind plate, but I’ve never seen a key call missed by THAT much!

From @PeytonsHead: OMG….I’ve not watched the end of a MLB game all year, and when I do, a team gets robbed. Sorry PIT fans, ATL stole that one.

From: @JamesSantelli: I’m literally shaking. I can’t believe that a great game like that ended with possibly the worst call at home plate I’ve ever seen.

From: @ajcbraves: That may be the worst call I’ve ever seen. No, it is. Worst call I’ve ever seen. Unbelievably bad. Braves win on horrendous safe call.

The shocked tweets turned into groundbreaking hashtags. #jerrymealssaysitssafe has turned into a worldwide trending topic with Pirates fans, Braves fans and total non-baseball fans chiming in to express their outrage.

That one single play will forever be etched in the minds of Pirate fans for quite some time, that’s for sure. But for the loyalists to just remember this travesty will never be enough to make a difference. Manager Clint Hurdle made his case, McKenry surely did, too. But this moment needs to be taken to the forefront of Commissioner Bud Selig’s office.

Sadly, it may be too late.

Meals already released his statement on the issue. “”I saw the tag,” he said after the game. “I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area,” he continues. “I’m guessing he might have got him.”

He doesn’t admit defeat, though.

“But when I was out there when it happened I didn’t see a tag, I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see the glove hit his leg.”

This is what bugs me the most. As evident in the above picture, Meals is in a perfect position to make the right call. jabs at umpires have long been spewed about across the league, and a major fuel backing that up is that umps just are simply out of their element and not situated in the right place to make the fairest call.

Meals was, but still acted upon anything but fair intentions.

Also, the second culprit of “blow call-gate,” Julio Lugo, isn’t off the hook, either. His actions and mannerisms at the time of the tag were just as disheveled as any player would following a being out by a mile. It wasn’t until he saw Meals outstretched arms that he celebrated.

Lugo was just as stunned as everyone watching.

His post game comments suggest otherwise, but no player would cave in to the opponent after a marathon game like that.

Like Jim Joyce before him, Jerry Meals is not going to be fading away any time soon. He will forever be linked with making one of the worst calls in the history of the game and hindering the Pirates from inching just a little bit closer to their fateful season of destiny.

photo credits: sportsgrid.com, Root Sports, Yahoo.com

Quotes credits: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A yearly summer tradition, the Peaslee family is packing up and heading out for a baseball adventure.

New York City is the destination and Yankee Stadium will be out 27th ballpark as part of our annual baseball vacations.

Be sure to check back next week for a full recap of our weekend!

photo credits: everyjoe.com, multiinvestor.com

Myself, and every other baseball-obsessed person in the world woke up to this, this morning.

First place.

Magic number to clinch the Central is 68.

Let’s Go Bucs!