PITTSBURGH (93-7 THE FAN) — The topic du jour Wednesday was a dropped fly ball by Pirates leadoff man Starling Marte that opened the door to a 4-3 come-from-behind win by the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in 14 innings Tuesday night.
In what has been an otherwise strong defensive season for the sophomore Pirate, it was Marte’s NL-leading sixth error as a left fielder.
The Pirates, unable to supplement early home runs by center fielder Andrew McCutchen and shortstop Jordy Mercer, book-ended the criticial gaffe with missed opportunities on offense. They went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
Beginning on “The Fan Morning Show” with Gregg Giannotti, Paul Alexander and Jim Colony (weekdays 5:40-10:00 A.M. on The Fan), Marte was the easiest of easy targets, but his coaching staff, despite successful adjustments throughout the game, was not exempt from criticism either.
Caller John in Beaver says you have to make that catch, while Pirates Broadcaster John Wehner, projecting his anger in a different direction, sees no excuse for McCutchen not to have scored from third base in the top of the 14th inning:
Meanwhile, the guys got a kick of “Pirates Postgame” co-host Dan Zangrilli firing back at a caller who got his own digs in at Marte:
Vinnie Richichi was flying solo Wednesday on “Vinnie & Cook” (weekdays 10:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M. on The Fan), and he talked about what Marte has to do moving forward as he fielded some calls on the fielding error:
“Starkey, Miller and Mueller” (weekdays 2:00-6:00 P.M. on The Fan) tried to put the play and the game itself into a greater perspective, talking about how, in these times, the steadying hand of manager Clint Hurdle might make a difference:
The Bucs continue their battle for NL Central supremacy in St. Louis Wednesday night at 8:15 on your flagship home for Pirates baseball, SportsRadio 93.7 The Fan.
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