Zach Duke Buetiful Performance

The Pirates are probably on a 5 man rotation so he would pitch in 5 games ... which would be Saturday, in Pittsburgh, against the Dodgers.

By the way, am also from the Burgh and was there (tho very young) when Mazaroski hit the game winning, series winning (?) home run in the world series ... I think that was 1961.

Just read the article on the Duke! Wow 0.98 ERA awesome!

I'm sure there will be several folks here in Texas that will try to see Zach pitch in Houston. Anyone know which game he would start?

Should be scheduled for Friday Aug. 12th.

OPP will be down, Bighit may come down, and Leftydad, may join us for the ballgame. If you can make it let one of us know, send us a PM. I'll have a sign that reads..." You just got Duked!"

GloveMan, call me and u have an email.

Yeah Duke's performance against the red-hot Braves was just magic. How did Lloyd McLendon take him out of that game?

AK ...

quote:

How did Lloyd McLendon take him out of that game?

Could be several reasons, but here are two that I think are likely:
>>Pitch count may have been up
>>After an outing like that, you don't want to have the pitcher lose the game, so you give the bullpen the opportunity to finish it up for him.
>>Combination of both of the above

Wow! Really fun to be following this from the beginning!

A big congratulations to Zach

i love the pirates and zach duke is an amazing player, as for the question about mcclendon, this is suprisingly a smart move. go to mlb.com and go to the pirates' fan forum, we love our team, yet hate our manager.

Just listened to an interview with Zach on the Morning Extravaganza. What a great level headed young man who has his head on straight!! He mentioned that there were many people in Clifton who were keeping his feet on the ground. Mr. and Mrs. OPP done good!!

Here's my story:

Because of OPP and the HSBBW, when Dartmouth was in Bradenton two years ago for their spring trip, I made connections with Zach to take him to dinner. It worked out with Josh for him to go with us. Josh wasn't sure and didn't know what to expect. After meeting Zach and getting his story of minor league life, realizing they were about the same age, all of us came away very much impressed! Zach had a game plan and I'm not talking baseball. At the time he was low A and we've been following him ever since. He is very mature beyond his years.

Go Zach!! Two thumbs up!!

Yet another Zach-Attack.

Bravo!!!

His curve ball is not just a plus pitch. I don't know who has a better one right now.

I hear you loud and clear Dad04! Also, did you notice he was still hitting the low 90's with his fastball in the 9th inning? Wouldn't be surprised in the least to see him throw in the mid 90's as he matures. Although, he is pretty darn good as he is right now - isn't that the understatement of the day!

He is the entire franchise right now. They can build a team around him. He obviously appears to fit the role of a "stopper." I know, I know, the rest of the league hasn't adjusted to him yet.... The kid looks like a great one to me regardless.

He has the potential of being the type of guy who stops losing streaks. He's being compared to a young Glavine, which might be jumping the gun a bit right now, but there is little else to crow about in Pittsburgh these days. He is a real good one for sure.

If he goes like this for another season and stays healthy, he will be compared with Santana, Willis, Glavine and a few others, not many though.

Do we dare mention the 2006 All Star Game yet???

Look...I am sure if OPP looked in on this conversation he would be pleased on the one hand but nervous on the other that we may be jinxing Zach. I don't believe in that stuff and I am an oldtime Pirate fan at heart. I am talking Clemente, Stargell, Sanguillen, Oliver, (Mazerowski before my time) etc.

I have to call them the way I see them. This is how many of the great ones come onto the scene. I thought of Glavine the first time I saw Zach pitch against Curt Schilling this year. I also thought his ERA may go down in the majors because he now has a major league defense playing behind him. Of course there will be scouting and adjustments will be made. However, I think if Zach continues in this way (not even with the ridiculous ERA he has now) who else would Pittsbugh put in the All Star game next year?

Here are some Braves quotes from the Pitts. Post Gazz:

[...Duke struck out only two, but he seemed more satisfied than when he has fanned eight or nine.

"To be honest," he said, "I felt like I had my best stuff all year."

The Braves would not have disputed that.

"That kid, I don't know how he went in the 20th round," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. "Somebody did a good scouting job ... or a bad scouting job. He's as good as they come. He knows what he's doing."

"The Pirates got a gem," third baseman Chipper Jones said.
...]

Zach is definately legit, watching him pitch im amazed at how he hits his spots consistently and makes the pitches he needs to make time after time. Not very many people, even in the majors can do it, and he seems to be doing it very consistently. I'm having fun watching him on sportscenter, thats for sure!

If you speak to OPP (you can find him sometimes in the chat room), he will tell you that there is a long road ahead.
However, I saw Zach pitch two innings and he does have the composure of a seasoned pitcher.
If any of you are wondering why he is so special, he is deceptive, great mechanics, polished, releases just about the same spot every time (as pointed out by Big), and has a very effective CHANGE UP. He also gets into a very good rythym, which is most important. In other words, he is in COMMAND. I don't think he has to pitch in the upper 90's to be effective. I also hear is a fine young man.
Zach is the perfect example of why one succeeds as a pitcher, he has all the right "stuff".

So all you dads (and moms) out there, get the little guys off the curve, improve mechanics and teach the fastball and change up!

TPM - I agree on the upper ninties thing. He has great stuff as it is. I just said it wouldn't surpise me if his velocity goes up from here. I think he would be an excellent pitcher for a young player to model his game after. Especially how he handles himself on the mound.

Clevelanddad,
I know a RHP who goes to Clemson who is watching Zach's every MOVE!

Zach Duke went to our World Showcase several years ago. He was good, but it would have taken someone much smarter than us to know he was going to be this good. Evidently there weren't a lot of other scouts that were that smart either.

It became fairly obvious shortly after Zach Duke entered pro ball that he was for real. And he climbed the ladder the hard way, one step at a time. I'm very partial to 20th rounders, as my son was one.

These are the stories that make me extremely happy. Often when we under rate a player all we hear is complaints. There were no complaints from OPP or Zach. Zach just went out and proved us wrong. That's exactly the attitude it takes to make it big. No big silver platter handed out here, just hard work, confidence and dedication.

What a great story. We join everyone else that has become part of the Zach Duke band wagon. Baseball is the big winner, right when they needed it. Young players and parents can learn a very valuable lesson from this. Don't allow others to dictate your dreams and your future. You are in control!

Opp is it OK if we give your son a "10" now?

Although I've never met Zach personally, son and I have been following him closely. I have to agree with all of the prior comments. Obviously, he has the physical ability with his velocity, movement, location, etc. However, what is the most impressive to me is his mental strength. He's the "total package". He's one of the most enjoyable to watch young guys out there.

I have to agree PG and great post as usual BTW.

Indeed, the Zach Duke story has come at the right time for baseball. This is why I think baseball will always survive because of these type of stories. I can't take the steroid discussions anymore.

Does anyone know if he is a potential candidate for rookie of the year? Will he have had enough service to qualify?

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Zach Duke went to our World Showcase several years ago. He was good, but it would have taken someone much smarter than us to know he was going to be this good. Evidently there weren't a lot of other scouts that were that smart either.

It became fairly obvious shortly after Zach Duke entered pro ball that he was for real. And he climbed the ladder the hard way, one step at a time. I'm very partial to 20th rounders, as my son was one.

These are the stories that make me extremely happy. Often when we under rate a player all we hear is complaints. There were no complaints from OPP or Zach. Zach just went out and proved us wrong. That's exactly the attitude it takes to make it big. No big silver platter handed out here, just hard work, confidence and dedication.

What a great story. We join everyone else that has become part of the Zach Duke band wagon. Baseball is the big winner, right when they needed it. Young players and parents can learn a very valuable lesson from this. Don't allow others to dictate your dreams and your future. You are in control!

Opp is it OK if we give your son a "10" now?

Great post PG.

BTW, did anyone see Zach on Cold Pizza this morning? Jay interviewed him towards the end of the show. He did very well. Somebody even yelled Duke as he was being interviewed. That brought a smile to his face.

They compared his batting stats to Ben Sheets, who was on earlier. Both haven't got a hit, but Zach stated that he has walked twice and reached base twice safely due to errors. "So, my on base average is better" LOL. What a great young man.

It was great to watch Zach pitch against the Braves. I still remember when OPP posted that Zach had made the decision not to go to JUCO and would sign and be on his way to persue his dream. It has been fun to watch him succeed at every level and garner the praise he deserves.

Here is a great article from fox sports I thought Zach's fans would enjoy reading:
Lucky Duke vs.Strikeout King http://www.msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/story/3854314

He just was named NL rookie of the month