Gonzo-Gorzo-Gones-O

The Pirates pulled to within 3 1/2 games of the fifth-place Chicago Cubs Monday night with an uncharacteristic offensive burst that produced an 11-6 win. Although starter and winner Ian Snell disappointingly broke down in the sixth inning after five solid innings, the 9-1 lead the team had built up for him was enough to secure his 12th win of the season.

The victory was strongly tempered by the news that both closer Mike Gonzales and rookie starter Tom Gorzelanny have elbow tendinitis, meaning their seasons are probably over. At least let's hope so. An organization that has had the kind of thick cloud hanging over it, particularly where pitchers are concerned, should hardly be even voicing the possibility that either could return this year, as Jim Tracy has seemed to do. What for, the Buccin' Ear wonders?

What makes the news of the injuries so Pirate-esque, of course, is that both players were pitching extremely well prior to the disclosures. Gorzo had pitched more consistently than any of the other starters for the month leading up to his recent missed start. Gonzo, of course, had not only converted all 24 of his save opportunities, he had retired the last nine batters he faced in his final three saves, six by strikeouts. So what Buc fan could be surprised that they would be hurt?

The name Sean Burnett should be pasted to the foreheads of all "The Deciders" in the Pirate camp, so they can remind each other of what can happen to young pitchers seemingly filled with promise. Burnett, the 19th pick in the 2000 draft, was coming on strong in 2004 and had won five games before he suddenly lost effectiveness at midseason. After getting hit hard a few times, he was shelved with elbow problems and has not made it back to the Big Leagues yet. He's currently 8-10 for Indianapolis with an ERA over 5.00 and as many walks as strikeouts.

Said Snell to the Associated Press following last night's game:

``I'm excited for myself and for my team because every win we get is a hard-fought. We're fighting to get as close to .500 as we can.''

Commendable. But .500 is a distant shore, and there is no sense wasting arms trying to get there.

ChaconGate: Shawn Chacon's latest poor effort continues to shine a light on Pirate management's shoddy performance at the trading deadline. After acquiring Chacon in a questionable (at best) exchange with the Yankees for Craig Wilson, the pitcher revealed that he had a bad knee. The Pirates, of course, had made no mention of this at the time of the trade, but Dave Littlefield attempted to cover his tracks by saying that the team was aware of the current problem, which he claimed was different than another knee problem Chacon had had -- whatever that meant (see August 14 post, "Little Laughs").

After a poor performance in his second start as a Pirate, the team announced that Chacon would be sent to the bullpen to "work on his mechanics." Then it was seen fit to put him back in the starting rotation, before he had made even one relief appearance. His lack of control and poor location point either to a knee problem or poor mechanics or both. The question for the Pirates is, which is it?

If his knee is sound but his mechanics are not, why not work on his mechanics before thrusting him back into a starting role? If his mechanics are sound, but his knee is not, why is he back in the rotation at all?

Pirates Present: On August 29, 1993, a man who was to become a familiar face for the Pirates made his Major League debut : Salomon Torres. Since coming to Pittsburgh in 2002 (he appeared in just five games that year), Torres has been the team's most dependable bullpen arm. He made his 286th appearance as a Pirate last night, and logged his 411th inning.

Pirates Past: Paul ("Big Poison") Waner, one of the greatest players in Pirates history, died on this day in 1965. Waner patrolled rightfield for the Pirates for 15 years (1926-1940). He collected more than 150 hits in every one of them except the last, and had eight seasons of 200 hits or more (he finished his career with 3,152).

In 1927, just his second year in the league, he won the MVP for the pennant-winning Pirates, batting .380 (on 237 nits) and driving in 131 runs. He probably would have won another MVP in 1934 but for Dizzy Dean, who just happened to win 30 games that year.

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951, Waner and his brother (and fellow HOF'er), Lloyd ("Little Poison"), have curiously never garnered the attention from the Pirates organization due them, a fact noted by Post-Gazette writer Bob Smizik in a June 12, 2005 column:

"Waner is a forgotten man in Pirates lore, a legend dimmed by time and the ESPN generation."

To read the entire column:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05163/519943.stm