BleacherCoaches.com

Quick thoughts from his 1st inning...

I'm loving that fastball at the knees. 96 is tough to hit to begin with, and it can be lethal down in the zone.

His slider broke like crazy. Could be a major wipeout pitch if he can control it.

His change Is supposed to be a plus pitch, but at 87 it is a bit hittable. Would like to see it down around 84. Posey juuuuust missed that first change.

This is definitely exciting! Bucs fans have been waiting patiently for this. Post your thoughts!

Looked good during the first inning...Do you think we will see 100 MPH fastball? Who and when was the last Pirate picther to throw one?

Did Hammer ever hit 100? I definitely remember some 97 and 98's. Not sure if he got there or not. Rich Loiselle threw some gas around 1996, not sure if he got to 100 though.

Would love to get a lead for Cole to work with here.

Bob Veale? Dock Ellis? Did they ever hit 100? I think the first K was for effect. Show what he's capable of. Then he stated to mix it up a little, doing what was asked of him. Outstanding first game on the mound. A base hit and 2 RBI his 1st AB? Unreal. An aside- if the Pirates want to be ranked with "the big boys", they better learn to run bases better. Can you say rally-killer?

They get it honestly, go to a few Curve games, I saw 5 of them in 1 game. Putrid! Their next investment should be on whoever develops talent in the Cards, Rays or A's systems. They have stockpiled some talent, fundamentals and baseball IQ still sucks

old school wrote:Looked good during the first inning...Do you think we will see 100 MPH fastball? Who and when was the last Pirate picther to throw one?

Justin Wilson hit 100 on the gun today! He's having a very good year, especially in his first full year in the bigs. He's a guy that I could see thriving in the closer role in a few years.