Pirates fall to Baltimore's 2012 offense

By Gene Collier
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
June 15, 2012

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 14: Starting pitcher Erik Bedard #45 of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks to the dugout after being removed during the fourth inning against Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 14, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

BALTIMORE- With tall ships from around the world sailing into its harbor and a battery of commemorative historical exercises already underway, this city is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.

Contributing most conspicuously are the Baltimore Orioles, who, while they didn't exist until 142 years after the last shot was fired, chose this week to re-enact the kind of explosive assault rarely seen since the Battle of Baltimore itself, which begat the whole anthem deal, the Francis Scott Key poem that turned into the Star-Spangled Banner, inspired by the defense of Fort McKenry.

Uh, McHenry.

Unfortunately for your viewing displeasure, the repulsed British forces were played by the contemporary Pirates, whose pitching staff took more direct hits than most of 1812 Baltimore on land and sea.

Worse, it wasn't just that the Orioles scored 27 runs in this three-game series, that they ripped 44 hits including 13 doubles and seven homers; it was that all of it seemed to be coming off the bat of Steve Pearce.

And/or Matt Wieters.

And the rockets' red glare!

There likely are two more frustrating characters in the ever-active Pirates torture chamber than Pearce and Wieters, it's just very difficult to come up with them when you're trying to get your head around the spectacle of Pearce driving a three-run homer into the seats in left to make it 10-0 Baltimore.

In the fourth inning.

In parts of five seasons in the Pirates' organization, the local experts could not coax anything more than a .232 average out of Pearce before finally letting him leave as a free agent in November. He had six hits and seven RBI in this series.

Wieters represents only one of the most conspicuous drafting mistakes in Pirates history. A strapping, switch-hitting catcher with All-Star potential, he was available to the Pirates on the fourth pick of the '07 draft, but the management team in place at the time (clearly not the best management team in baseball), chose instead left-handed reliever Daniel Moskos.

Wieters has been to the All-Star game.

Moskos, the eminently signable Moskos, has been to Altoona. And, OK, to Indianapolis and even to Pittsburgh. For 31 games.

Oh say could you scream?!


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