Pedro Alvarez goes three-for-four with five RBIs. Pedro had an RBI single in the top of the third to tie the game at one, he had a solo shot, his 16th, in the top of the sixth, to tie the game at 2. Then, in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded, Pedro hit a base clearing double to right. He now has 48 RBIs on the season. Four of his RBIs were with two outs. That’s clutch. Pirates beat Reds, 5-3, to move to 43-30, a 1/2 game back of the Reds (44-30) for second place, and 3.5 back of the Cards, who host the Cubs tonight. Pirates split a four-game series at Cincy. Lost 2-1 last night in 13. But a split is fine. Need to take care of them at home. They’ve been throwing at us a lot. Getting tired of it. May need to plunk them a couple of times.

Bucs go to Anaheim this weekend to play Albert Pojols, Josh Hamilton and the Angels. Looks like some late nights this weekend.Can’t wait. Pedro has been playing some great defense lately, though he had a throwing error today. But he’s made some spectacular plays at third this week. Now hitting .223. Progressing.

Mike Minor on the hill for the Bravos versus the Mets tonight at the Ted. Mike 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA. Mike has walked 18 and K’d 85 this season. Awesome numbers. Braves seven up on the Nationals. Pretty comfortable lead.

Rays at Yankees tonight in the Bronx. Rays’ Matt Moore vs Yanks’ Andy Pettitte. Always fun to watch these two teams go at it. Rays beat the Sox last night, 6-2. Had 15 hits. Got some hitting going again. Rays now 37-35 and in fourth place in the AL Big East.  Yanks right in front of them in third at 39-32. Need to make some noise in this four game set. Sox leading the division at 44-30. Rays just need to keep climbing and see where they stand at All-Star break. Pitching and hitting needs to be more consistent.

Luke at +4 @ Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands Course in Cromwell, Connecticut. Leader Charlie Hoffman shot 62 today and is at -9. Luke through 13 holes. He’s on five as he started on the back side. Jon Curran, another former VU player, shot 72 today; +2 for tourney. Excellent field in this tournament. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose playing along with Matt Kuchar, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Mahan, who is second at -8 after shooting a 63 today.

Brandt not playing this week, but will be in the field next week at the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Pretty big tournament. Then B will play the next week (July 4-7) @ the Greenbriar Classic in West Virginia. He’ll take a week off then play in the Open Championship at Muirfield  in Scotland. That’ll be fun to watch. Then he’ll start playing a lot again starting with the RBC Canadian Open, the next week. July 25-28. Then, he’ll get his game in gear for the PGA Championship, Aug. 8-11, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. Brandt will get it going. I believe in him. Played very well at the Open Championship last year–he was leading after the second round. Hopefully, he’s physically in good shape. He’s got a lot of stellar golf ahead of him this season.

No commits this week, but there are a couple who could very well pop in the next week or maybe this weekend. Will keep you posted.

Game 7 in NBA tonight. Huge. Picked the Heat in seven.

Talking about Pedro Alvarez. Yes, he struck out three times last night and he’s done that quite a bit this year (81 times ), and last year he struck out 180 times. He’s got to cut down on that. He’s hitting .214 and that needs to improve. But doggone it, that rascal will find a way to come through in the clutch. He had a key two-run single in the first inning last night against the Cincinnati Reds and played stellar defense helping lead his team to a critical 4-0 victory last night at the Great American Park in Cincy. The Pirates HAD to have last night’s game as they had lost to the Reds, 4-1, Monday Night. Pedro hit his single off the tough right hander Matt Latos. Pete now has 15 homers and 43 RBIs. He’s on pace for a 40-120 type season. If he can just cut down on those strikeouts and get that average to keep climbing. I wish he could get it to .280 by the end of the sesaon. But his at bats are getting more and more productive and efficient. Pedro was close to and maybe was a .400 hitter at VU so I know he can be a .300 hitter in the big leagues. He looks like he’s lost some weight too and he’s hustling and moving well. He’s playing phenomenal defense too. Really proud of him. With the 4-0 win last night, the Bucs moved to 42-29, three games back of the awesome Cards and a half game back of the Reds. Bucs have the Reds tonight and tomorrow night, so we need to keep winning. The Csrdinals did lose last night to the Cubs, 4-2. By the way, Pedro hit a three-run homer to lead the Bucs over the Dodgers and their tremendous pitcher Zack Greinke., who was the American League Cy Young award winner in 2009 for the Kansas City Royals. Greinke is still tough. Pedro hit it off Greinke over the  center field wall in PNC Park in Pittsburgh with the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Pedro has  struggled some at the plate at times this season, particularly with left handed pitchers as Pedro hits left, but he has provided a lot of clutch hits for his team. I’m very proud of him. He’s got a chance to be special. He’s getting closer and closer.

Rays just can’t seem to get it together. Got swept by Bosox yesterday in a twin bill. Lost the first game 5-1 and then were down 1-0 in the nightcap when Kelly Johnson homered in the top of the ninth to tie it up at 1. But Joel Peralta, our usually highly reliable middle reliever, gave up a two-run blast to Daniel Nava in the bottom of the ninth. Rays are now 36-35 and seven back of Sox. Had the Orioles in the World Series against the Nationals, but the Braves look a lot better than the Nats right now. I’m going to stick with my O’s pick in the World Series– but like Boston and Oakland a lot– and have them playing the Cardinals at this point. Will have my final pick at the beginning of August. It’s just such a fluid situation with all of these outstanding teams, but I will be firm in August. Not giving up on my Bucs, which I shouldn’t; they have a great team. Not giving up on the Rays either, but they need to turn this thing around quickly or it might be curtains for them by August. Play Sox tonight then go to the Bronx for four against the Yankees. They’re getting in must win territory right now. Dave Price needs to get back out there as soon as possible. Rays young pitchers have been struggling at times and some position players are underperforming. Andrew Friedman, the Rays Executive Vice President and General Manager, said that last Sunday that some players underperformed last year when the Rays didn’t make the playoffs. It’s happening again this year. Players are underperforming.  That needs to change immediately if the Rays want to have any chance at the postseason. Friedman has done a tremendous job assembling players on a limited budget–much like general manager Billy Beane has been doing in Oakland,–but the players aren’t performing up to expectations, and it’s frustrating for Friedman, manager Joe Maddon and the Rays fans. I’m one of them and I’m almost on my last nerve with them. Dave expected to be back in early July it looks like now. Would like to see him get at least one start before the All-Star break.

Sonny Gray got the victory for the Sacramento Rivercats (Triple A Oakland) on Sunday throwing six innings, giving up three earned runs with one walk and six K’s. Sonny threw 95 pitches with 58 for strikes to 37 balls. He seemed to pitch well overall. He moved to 7-4 with a 2.62 ERA.Looking close to major league ready.

Sam Selman had a very good outing Saturday Night against the Winston Salem team. Sam went six innings for the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals Advanced A club), giving up three hits, one earned run, with four walks and five K’s. Nice work by Sam. Sam moved to 5-5 with a 4.79 ERA. He got rocked on Monday Night, so his ERA kind of shot up, but good stuff on Saturday Night.

Anthony Gomez is hitting .280 for the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Florida Marlins Advanced A ball). He had two hits in five at bats in his last outing and played short. AG is playing both shortstop and second.

Jason Esposito had three hits in six at bats for the Frederick Keys (Baltimore O’s Advanced A ball) on Saturday Night.  A lot of these teams in an All-Star break right now.  Jason playing third and hitting ..225 with two homers and 18 ribbies, but getting better and better. See Jason as a major league talent as I do all the other guys I mentioned.

Curt Casali, another guy who looks like major league material, is hitting over .300 for the Charlotte (Port Charlotte, Florida) Stone Crabs (Rays Advanced A).

Aaron Westlake and Grayson Garvin are both hurt right now. Grayson, a teammate of Casali’s on the Charlotte club, has been battling an arm injury. Hope Grayson can get back eventually. Aaron has been injured a while for the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Detroit Tigers Advanced A), so a little concerned about him. Hopefully, Westy can get going again soon.

Taylor Hill threw a complete game for the Potomac Nationals against the Frederick Keys on Friday Night. Taylor moved to 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA for the Washington Nationals Advanced A team. The game went only seven innings due to travel issues, but Taylor pitched a beauty, giving up two hits with no runs. one walk and four Ks. Really like Taylor’s stuff too. He’s got a future in the game.

Antoan Richardson is hitting .287 for the Rochester Red Wings, the triple A farm club for the Minnesota Twins. Antoan also has 11 stolen bases and playing center and left for the Red Wings. Would love to see Antoan get the call up. Hopefully before the year is over. He’s so close now He’s getting around  30 years old, so he needs to get up there pretty soon.Looks like a major leaguer to me.

Tony Kemp and Conrad Gregor are on the Tri-City Valley Cats’ roster now.  The Valley Cats are the short season Class A team for the Houston Astros. I’ll find out more on Tony and Conrad along with Connor Harrell (who’s with Detroit organization), Kevin Ziomek (Detroit), Spence Navin (Dodgers) and Yaz (Orioles). Also will look up some of our other guys in the pros. Wow, there are a lot.

Pirates play Reds tonight in third game of four game series. The Pirates young 25-year old pitcher Jeff Locke is going Locke has been spectacular this season, going 6-1 with a 2.19 ERA. Key start for the young guy tonight. Pretty tough assignment. He, Pedro and the Bucs will be facing tough right hander Bronson Arroyo of the Reds. Arroyo is 6-5 with a 3.27 ERA. He has 53 K’s and 15 walks in 93.2 innings, so this will be a challenge for Pedro, Locke  and their teammates. Reds are an excellent team.

Rays send Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 5.67), a 26-year old  pitcher who has been somewhat of a disaster this season– though he had a good outing the game before last–against Ryan Dempter, a pretty solid veteran pitcher for the Sox. Dempster can be erratic though. He’s 4-7 with a 4.21 ERA, but has 87 K’s in 83.1 innings. He’s walked 40 and given up 73 hits. Teams are hitting .226 against him, so he can be a challenge.

Had the Heat over the Spurs in seven two weeks ago. Of course, I’m sticking with that. That game last night was a transcendent classic, a 103-100 overtime victory for the Heat. It was like great poetry with the marksmanship and play in general, if you don’t mind my intellectualizing it. That’s what I do.

Goes three-for-three against the Giants last night in an 8-2 Bucs victory over San Francisco. Pedro smashed a two run homer that didn’t make the Allegheny, but was probably 440 feet out. He also had a couple of singles one an RBI single. His average is up to .216, which doesn’t sound great, but he was hovering around .200 a week and a half ago. Hitting the ball extremely well. Playing some awesome third also. Made a beautiful stop and throw last night on a hard hit ground ball to his left. He has a cannon for an arm. El Toro now has 14 homers and 37 RBis. Starting to put together a monster season. The first pick of the draft in 2011, the Pirates pick, Gerritt Cole from UCLA got his first start last night and won for the Pirates. Man is he impressive. Brings his fastball 97-98 and has fantastic stuff. Pirates have a couple of injuries with their starters, so Cole is a welcome addition. Pirates now 38-26, four back of the NL Central leading Cards.

They just pitched a little bit better than we did this time. We couldn’t get the bats going all weekend. Hate it for the guys who are leavimg. Beth and I said our prayers last night like we always do and I prayed for the guys who are now moving on to the pros.Want them to achieve all the success they deserve. Such a hard working group of guys. So proud of them.  Prayed for Tony (man, he will be missed), Yaz, Zo, Connor, Conrad and Spence. They were fantastic student-athletes for us, and very proud of what they accomplished. Hope they all either got their degree or are close to finishing up and will get their diplomas. And I hope  they’re all playing in the big leagues in the next three or four years. But if that doesn’t work out, any of them could be fine professionals in other fields whether it be business, law, teaching and coaching or any endeavor they want to pursue.

This team just didn’t have the go to power guys that we had in 2011. Yaz, Connor and Conrad were very good hitters, but we didn’t have the Westlakes, the Espositos or the Casalis; the guys who were sure fire run producers. I love all the guys that played on this team; it was a special group that accomplished a lot. But we just didn’t have those consistent run producing guys. One thing I was very proud of all weekend was our defense. Vinnie Conde played some awesome short and Spence made a couple of fantastic throws to get runners trying to steal second. Vince made excellent tags as well. I like Vince as our shortstop next year; he just keeps getting better and better. He didn’t have exceptional range this year, but he became a very solid shortstop for us. Excited to see Vince play next year. Xavier Turner at third is going to be a fantastic player for us. He can hit and he can play some defense. Z is clutch. Excited about Z next year. Man that ball Zander hit yesterday, I thought it was a popup. But he’s strong as a Sherman Tank and that thing hit the top of Memorial. Wow, what power. Zander looks like our first baseman next year and he could be a 15-20 homer, 65-70 RBI guy for us. Love John Norwood as our center fielder next year. He was considered the best athlete on the team along with Tony. Man, he can cover some ground in the outfield, has a good arm  and looks like a good hitter and base stealer. That catch he made in left center was superb. Excited about John. Kyle Smith can bring us some power and play some pretty good left for us next year. Like Kyle’s power, batting average and run producing potential. Rhett Wiseman looks like he’ll give us great play in the outfield or as a DH next season. Like Rhett’s bat a lot. Haven’t seen him in the outfield to know enough, but will find out from Corbs when things settle down.

And Carson Fulmer looks like our Friday Night guy next year. Wow, what a warrior, He reminds me a lot of Sonny Gray with his bulldog attitude on the mound. What a competitor. Carson is bringing it 95 and is just a figther. I love the guy. He’s going to be a prolific pitcher in the SEC and nationally for us for at least the next two years. Great stuff. Very excited about Carson. Tyler has all the tools to dominate next year; he just needs to get his control down. I still believe in him. Know the talent is there. He had a great year (14-1), just struggled a little bit finding the plate at the end of the season, particularly yesterday. Maybe it’s just a small mechanical adjustment he needs to make in his delivery. Know he can get it worked out. Brian Miller will be back. Expecting even bigger things from BMill.Preif will be back to give us another starter along with T.J., who struggled this year, but has excellent talent. Jared Miller, Steven Rice, who really came on at the end of the year, and Adam Ravenelle will be back, so we’ll have very good arms. There are others too.

I looked at our recruiting class and we’ve got a good group coming in. At second base, we’ve got to fill Tony’s shoes, which are major shoes to fill. I don’t see any reason why Tony won’t be playing in the big leagues in the next three years. Dansby Swanson was hurt this year for a lot of the time, but he’s a good player. We’ve got an incoming freshman from Chicago, Ronnell Coleman, who’s built like Tony, and hit a ton the last couple of years, is a great base stealer, and sounds like a Tony replica. Boy I’ll miss that Tony, but proud of him for getting a shot at the pros. We’ve got 14 guys in the incoming class. Jordan Sheffield, a right hander pitcher from Tullahoma, Tn, is our crown jewel of the class. We’ve got to survive the and hope these guys don’t sign with the pros, but we’ve got three left handed pitchers coming in, two catchers, a couple of infielders, three first basemen, a couple of right hander pitchers, a couple of middle infielders and an outfielder. Looks like another stellar class put together by Corbs. Next year, we should be very good again; a real contender for  Omaha. It’s going to happen. I just didn’t think we had enough power this year. We had an exceptional team, but just came up short against Louisville. Just didn’t hit our best. Still we won 54 games this year, 26 in the SEC, a conference record. The standard is just so high now for our baseball program, and that’s a good thing. Corbs has built a phenomenal program. I know we’re going hack to Omaha soon. Next year is definitely a possibility.

On the agenda this week are pro baseball and the U.S. Open. Brandt competing. Not sure if his game is where he wants it to be, but I know he has it in him. Mike Minor won again for the Braves yesterday. Mike went six, gave up six hits, one earned run with three walks and six K’s. Mike moved to 8-2 on the season with a 2.44 ERA. Having a phenomenal year. So proud of him. Pedro went o-for-three yesterday in the Pirates 4-1 loss to Chicage. Hit the ball very well his first time up. Sent the Cubs left fielder almost to the wall in left. Thought he had it. Pedro is showing signs of taking the outside pitch to left and that’s just maturation and more confidence at the plate. I believe Pedro is going to keep getting better and better. He has all the tools to have a very good year this year. His average isn’t where he wants to be, but the power numbers are good (13 homers, 34 RBIs). I know that Pedro can have a very good career in Pittsburgh. His bat is so good, he can help carry the Pirates to the playoffs this season with his run producing bat. Pedro played some terrific defense this weekend as well. Has all the tools.

Dave still on the shelf, but looking better and better for a return soon; maybe a week and a half. Ryan Flaherty is playing some for the Orioles. Not hitting it great, but doing OK. Mike Baxter was sent down to the Mets triple A club. They really didn’t give MIke much of a chance. He played pretty well when he got the opportunity. Will have more on our guys in the pros, both majors and minors, this week. Sam pitches tonight for Wilmington and Sonny pitches tomorrow night for Sacramento. Will find out more on guys like Esposito, Westlake, Casali, Anthony Gomez and others and have a report on Wednesday.

Tough weekend for our team, but excellent season, and the future is very bright next season and beyond that. Proud of Tony, Yaz, Connor, Conrad, Zo  and Spence for getting drafted and for all they did for the program. Will be with them the whole way throughout their professional careers.

Starting to think a little football too. Excited about the prospects for next year. There is a ton of talent on James’s 2013 roster. Can’t wait.