With one timely swing of the bat this past Tuesday night, the very slight momentum that was beginning to pick up behind the #StarttheFORT movement was halted.  A walk-off homerun is always a fun way to cap off a mid-week home game against a team that was getting way too big for its britches, this time resulting in a 5-4 Pirates victory over the Washington Nationals Traveling Road Show.  Strasburg, Harper, and the other 23 nameless faces donning the banner of the team from our Nations Capitol left Pittsburgh battered and bruised – requiring another stellar outing by their 23-year old ace to avoid a sweep at PNC Park.  The highlight of the series was of course the walk-off homer provided by catcher Rod Barajas, who managed to get the heat off his back with one good smash off of Nationals closer Henry Rodriguez.  Good for the Bucs, but not so great for the short-term playing time of our 5-foot 10 favorite backup backstop.

Another week spent counting sunflower seeds and organizing the locker for “The Fort”, who managed just two starts and a handful of at-bats in Week Five.  The Pirates spent a good bit of cabbage to bring Captain Rod into the fold, so at this point it seems that the club is committed to his .162 batting average anchoring down the bottom third of the batting order.  To be fair, we have heard good things about how Barajas handles the pitching staff, so there seems to be some justification to why they keep trudging him out there five nights a week.  That leaves very little time for our 5-foot 10 hero to see the field, unless he somehow manages to learn the shortstop position in the next few weeks.

It’s tough for a player to get into a rhythm when they are only getting 8-10 plate appearances per week, and unless they are a naturally gifted hitter (Don Slaught comes to mind), raking any type of production out of so few opportunities is virtually impossible.  One of the reasons why we love McKenry so much is that he is as close to an “everyman” as there exists at the major league level.  We could picture him as easily selling us a lawnmower at Home Depot as catching for the Pirates.  He has to work twice as hard to maintain his talent as a player who gets five at-bats a day and knows their name will be there when the lineup card is posted.  The type of pressure that forces on a player is unimaginable, and sometimes we see careers cut short just because a guy happens to be in the wrong situation and never gets a chance to really show what he can accomplish.  Make no mistake, every player suiting up for a major league baseball team was the MVP of every team they ever played on before hitting the professional level – carving out a career as a back-up is a tough proposition for any of them after a lifetime of seeing their name in lights.  Hopefully, “The Fort” gets an opportunity to shine in the black and gold.

Our FortTracker stat line for Week Five (May 7-May 13):

May 10     Nationals 4, Pirates 2         PNC Park

Starting against phenom SP Stephen Strasburg, McKenry managed to stroke a double off the Nats ace.  Finishing with a 1 for 3 line, McKenry also nailed Danny Espinosa attempting to steal in the 2nd inning.

May 11    Astros 1, Pirates 0                 PNC Park

“The Fort” came in as a defensive replacement for the ninth inning after Barajas was pinch-run for in the eighth.  No plate appearances, no defensive numbers.

May 12     Pirates 5, Astros 2                PNC Park

McKenry started and went 0-3 with a walk.

May 13     Pirates 3, Astros 2                       PNC Park

In this 12-inning affair, Manager Clint Hurdle was forced to use Barajas at 1B for an inning.  McKenry came in as a defensive replacement and went 0-1 in his lone at-bat.  He did manage to move the runner to third with a ground out, setting the stage for the top of the lineup to get a crack at winning the game.

FortTracker Totals for Week Five (May 7 -May 13)

8 at-bats, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 1 K

1/1 in throwing out potential baserunners

Rod Barajas stats for Week Five (May 7 – May 13)

14 at-bats, 4 hits, 1 HR, 1 double, 2 K’s, 0 BB

0/2 on throwing out baserunners

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FortTracker Summary for Week Five

Bad week for the Fort Revolution.  Barajas not only hit better this week, he also had the walk-off homer.  He still can’t seem to throw out base stealers, but it looks for now like Captain Rod is going to be in the Bucs lineup and “The Fort” will be on the pine.

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You can follow Jeff Snedden on Twitter @jeffsnedden

You can follow RumBunter on Twitter @rumbunter

And of course, you can get your Pirates fix all year round right here at www.rumbunter.com, the BEST Pittsburgh Pirates blog on the whole World Wide Web

When we last checked in on “The FortTracker”, our hero was well into half a month as the best damn catcher on the Pittsburgh Pirates roster.  Since that time?

#StarttheFORT has become a Twitter battle-cry for Fort Nation and all Buccos fans everywhere.

The Start the Fort Facebook Page was created and quickly gained over 20 likes in a short time.  Go on over to the bookface and LIKE the Start the Fort page!

And of course on the field, Michael Charles McKenry continues to just be better than Rod Barajas.  Barajas looks like he is mailing it in this season, a swansong to a career that was very, very, average.

Meanwhile, the cult of The Fort continues to grow.  The Pirates have a winning record when McKenry starts (4-3).  Fans are beginning to tire of watching Barajas and his sidekick Clint Barmes turn the Pirates 7-8-9 into an albatross of strikeouts and runners left in scoring position.

courtesy Yahoo! sports

The FortTracker: Week Three (April 23 – April 29)

The Fort only got two starts this week.

April 25   Rockies 2, Pirates 1    PNC Park

McKenry started and got 3 at bats.  He finished 1 for 3 with a strikeout.  Behind the dish, he called a great game and spent the night digging balls out of the dirt for starter James McDonald.  There were no stolen base attempts for the Rockies in this game.  This was the first game of a doubleheader for the Bucs.

April 29  Braves 4, Pirates 3    Turner Field

Fort started and went 1 for 3 with a walk, and a run scored.  There were no stolen base attempts in this game.

FortTracker Totals for Week of April 23 – April 29

7 AB   1 run scored  1 single  1 walk  1 K

Season Stats:  .300/.440/.500

Defensive:  No stats this week

Rod Barajas Stats for Week of April 23 – April 29

15 AB  1 run scored  3 hits  2 walks (both intentional) 1 K

Season Stats:  .130/.200/.174

Defensive:  Threw out 0/2 potential baserunners – for the season base stealers are running at a 1.000 clip against Barajas

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FortTracker Summary for Week Three

More limited action for “The Fort”, who continues to produce at least decent stats when he is given a chance.  The defense McKenry has shown has been superb, especially on Sunday when he saved at least 3 potential passed balls for starter Kevin Correia.  Meanwhile, Barajas continues to show he is done as a starting ML player.  We can only hope that Clint Hurdle reads Rumbunter or sees the #StarttheFORT campaign start popping up at PNC Park.

If you are heading to the games during the upcoming homestand, throw a quick #StarttheFORT on your sign and get it on TV.  If you get on the air and can send me a screencap of your sign, I’ll toss your name and comment sinto the next FortTracker!

Remember, #StarttheFORT on Twitter and Start the Fort at Facebook!

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You can follow Jeff Snedden on Twitter @jeffsnedden

You can follow RumBunter on Twitter @rumbunter

And of course, you can get your Pirates fix all year round right here at www.rumbunter.com, the BEST Pittsburgh Pirates blog on the whole World Wide Web.