Freddy Sanchez, is for real?

[mtortolero]

Until this year I knew PNC Park, which was open three or four years ago, as a neutral park, however the huge gap between home and away figures in avg and OPS for the whole team : 285 /776 in home vs 245/687 away makes me wonder if there was a change in the park which was not issue to the public.
In fact opposites teams are doing so well when play in PNC (.278 AVG / 767 OPS) and they are crushing the Pirates offensive by 44 points of avg. and 142 points of OPS in difference (.289/.829) when Pittsburgh is visitor.
Freddy Sanchez is not an exception in this "monster" season in PNC:
388 avg, 422 obp, 519 SLG (941 OPS) but only a "so so" season in the other 15 parks of NL: .305 avg, .340 OBP, 440 SLG (780 OPS). Very similar his season to any hitter of Colorado.
The lone exception in this "mirage" of offensive explosion by the Pirates lineup in PNC is Jason Bay which looks the same guy home and away:.290 avg, 918 OPS at home vs .281 avg, 942 OPS away.
PNC is a new kind of hitters paradise? Is Sanchez, who will be 29 years old in three months, so real as hitter as he looks according to his raw numbers?

[Zito75]

Didn't Jack Wilson tear the cover off the ball there a couple years ago? I remember him having a good year in Pittsburgh, but can't really recall what he's done since.

[Bukanier]

A possible explanation for the batting average is the large dimensions in left field, which leave a lot of space for line drives, but don't allow home runs. Likewise, SLG to BA ratio is higher on the road for both the Bucs and the opponents. The dimensions don't really favor Bay as a right-handed power hitter, obviously.

Jack Wilson was supposed to improve his hitting by adding some bulk in the offseason. He did show some power in April, but has regressed to his light-hitting .273/.314/.369 since then.

[mtortolero]

Is so weird the gap between home and away figures that Jose Castillo hit 301Avg /800 OPS at home and 212/637 away. Really the Pirates management must do a deep review of this aspect of the game.

[trosmok]

Got me thinking about some of the really young guys I watched in AAA before they were called up, and look at CF Duffy's splits:

Home .290 BA, .349 OB%, .697 OPS
Away .206 BA, .277 OB%, .582 OPS

PNC is still one of the best places on the planet for a ballgame. The sightlines are flawless and the view of the Iron City is breathtaking. Plus, the Pirates dedication to developing young talent is coming to fruition, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them over .500 in '07, and contending for the NLCentral the season after. Duke and Snell may be the best young combo of SP in a decade. (and the Bucs have played better than my stinking Cubs this year.):gt