Running storyline

Let's face it, there is no team in professional baseball that is worse at running the bases than the Pirates. A mediocre youth league team could teach the Pirates a thing or two about when to tag on the fly ball or when to advance on a throw from the outfield to home plate.

Sometimes, however, I think - yes, I do think every week or so - the Wild Things are trying to give the Pirates a run for the bad baserunning title.

Call me conservative, call me a traditionalist or call me old school - heck, my wife calls me worse than those every day - but I like baseball teams to follow one simple rule when it comes to baserunning: Never make the first or last out of an inning at third base, or the first out at home plate.

In the last three games the Wild Things broke my Baserunning 101 rule three times:

* In the 8th inning Saturday against Chillicothe, with Washington holding a 4-2 lead, Pat O'Brien drew a leadoff walk but was the first out when he tried to go from first to third on Mario Garza's pinch-hit single to right field. Washington would go on to score in the inning and win 5-2.

* In Monday's 8-7 win over Florence, with Washington trailing 4-3 in the 5th inning, Matt Sutton doubled down the right-field line but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple. It was the third out of the inning. Sutton was already in scoring position, so why gamble and try to make it to third with two outs?

I'll give O'Brien and Sutton a pass on those moves because the ball was being fielded behind them. There was, however, no excuse for the costly baserunning mistake in the 5-4 loss Tuesday to Florence:

* With no outs in the 4th, Rene Quintana singled to left field scoring Robbie Knapp from second base and making it 4-4. Garza tried to go from first to third on the play, though the ball was in front of him. He was thrown out left fielder-to-third base for the inning's first out. Had Garza remained at second, he likely scores on the two groundouts that followed.

Manager John Massarelli loves to play an aggressive style in which players are always looking to take the extra base, but sometimes it pays to follow my Baserunning 101 rule.

And have I mentioned how much I hate the run-on-contact play with a runner on 3rd base? That play almost never works.