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The Pirates at The All-Star Break

Since we last analyzed the Pirates, they have gone 14-17. This is their best stretch of games barely, by a half of game. When you look at this team statistically it is really hard to believe that they had this good of a stretch. Their total record at the break is 39-54, which is still a surprise considering the fact they are in in the bottom 6 of every important statistic of hitting, pitching, and fielding. The only thing that is league average is their home run total which puts them 15th in baseball. In terms of analytics the Pirates have been just plain lucky to have such an unaspiring 15 games below .500 record. As usual, let’s take a look at each aspect that determines how a team is performing.

Hitting: The Pirates did pick up in hitting the long ball. At one time, they were as high as 12th in all of baseball, but they have cooled off some to fall back to 15th. Despite all the home runs, their offense overall has been pretty pathetic. In On Base Percentage, Runs per Game, and OPS+, they rank 28th, 28th, and 27th, respectively. As I wrote in the 62 game report, thank God for the Tigers and the A’s. The Pirates strike out a lot. In a nutshell the Pirates take a lot of strikes and swing at a lot of balls. The perfect formula for being a poor hitting team. Two players, that the Pirate press box say are hitting, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Michael Chavis are really not. Both have OPS+’s of 95 or under which means they are below average major league hitters. The loss of Bryan Reynolds is will not help the offense and there is no telling how long he will be out. You hope that Oneil Cruz will start to pick up with the bat but that is not a guarantee. There is not a reason to believe that the hitting is going to improve much, and it is cause for future concern.

Pitching: Again, the stats are skewed a little bit because of some very bad games. In Runs Allowed per Game, Fielding Independent Pitching, and ERA+, they are 25th, 26th, and 26th, respectively. A little better than the offense but not much. The Pirates are still over .500 in one run games at 14-12. The bullpen has done well in these close games. The bullpen has protected leads for multiple innings. The Pirates have lost 16 games this year by 5 runs or more. They have had 3 games this month, where they have given up a total of 48 runs. There is no question, that when this staff goes bad, it really goes bad. The good news is that the rotation has at least 3 arms for the future. Mitch Keller, J. T. Brubaker, and Roansy Contreras have all established themselves as solid mid rotation starters. J. T. Brubaker to me, has been the biggest surprise. Last year this man gave up 28 home runs and had an ERA+ of 80. He has given up 9 home runs so far this year and his ERA+ is 105. Keller’s ERA+ is at 93 which is still below league average but is a lot better than last year’s 69. In the last 13 innings he has given up 1 earned run. There is no question that Contreras has a chance to be a no. 1 starter. Zack Thompson has shown some solid potential over this stretch of games. The bullpen has been holding its own with some new arms. I have been most impressed with Tyler Beede. In his last 20 innings he has given up 5 earned runs and struck out 22 batters. It will be interesting to see if this staff can really build some momentum down the stretch.

Fielding: With my favorite fielding stat, Defensive Efficiency, the Pirates are tied for last with the Colorado Rockies. This is really scary considering the Pirates have one of the best if not the best defensive 3rd basemen in the entire league. It just shows how bad the rest of the players are in the field. The Pirates have committed the most errors 66 in all of baseball. In Defensive Runs Saved they are 23rd in the league. The bottom line is the Pirates have trouble making the routine plays. They also insist on playing infielders in the outfield for no good reason. This part of their game, at least for the moment seems pretty much hopeless, with no improvement in sight.

Management: Well, management is pretty much management, still not trying to win games this year and trying not to make losing games on purpose, too obvious. I will say this, I named 8 players in my view that should have been DFA’d and felt that none of them would be. They did get rid of 4 of them, but there is still a lot of dead wood, that would not be in the Major Leagues, if it were not for the Pirates. Depending on how long Reynolds is out, I think this would be a great time to see if Travis Swaggerty is ready to play Major League baseball. Why not stick him out in centerfield for next 4 to 6 weeks and see what he can do. Jake Marisnick needs to get on a Greyhound Bus. Moves like that make all the sense in the world. I know this team no matter what is done, would not contend for a playoff spot this year. However, giving the right players the opportunity, this team could win around 75 to 80 games. Obviously, this would not help the draft in 2023. This is what the Pirates and other teams in baseball have come down to. It is really sad.

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Pirates Morning Report, Slumber Company Wakes Up

Final Score: Pirates 8 Rockies 3

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates scored 8 runs on 16 hits, 3 walks and 1 Rockies error. All 10 batters got at least 1 hit. The Pirates had 13 singles and 3doubles, no long ball yesterday. They scored 6 of the 8 runs after 2 were out. The Turtle hit the longest single in time, in the history of Major League Baseball. It was a nice way to go into the All Star Break.

Key Moment of The Game: Removing Bryce Wilson in 3rd inning and getting out of the inning with only 1 run scoring. That inning could have been a total disaster. The pitching staff gave up 9 hits and 3 walks, but the Rockies could only manage 3 runs.

Next Game: Friday, Marlins in Pittsburgh. A welcome break with the All Star Game. Will take a look at these 39-54 Pirates sometime this week.

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Pirates Morning Report, Thin Bats, Not Air

Final Score: Pirates 0 Rockies 2

Why The Pirates Lost: They did not leave the hotel room with the exception of Mitch Keller. Keller pitched another nice game, giving up no earn runs, but got the loss anyway. The offense got 6 hits, with only one extra base hit. This game was just painful to watch. The All Star break can’t come soon enough.

Key Play of The Game: The rocket throw by Oneil Cruz, which led to the only run the Rockies would need. The Pirates may have tied the game in the top of the 6th, if anybody in the world would have been on 1st base but The Turtle. Yoshi Tsutsugo is 6 for 33, with 0 home runs and 0 RBI’s, since returning from the IL. He’s doing much better, now that he is completely healthy. The Shadow said for the 28th time this year that he is seeing signs that Tsutsugo is ready to break out, and start hitting home runs. As we all know, only the Shelton knows.

Next Game: Today, Rockies, in Denver. Mercifully we all get a break after this game. The Pirates took theirs, 3 days early.

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Pirates Morning Report, Watching Batting Practce

Final Score: Pirates 2 Rockies 13

Why The Pirates Lost: The pitching got rocked. The Rockies got 9 singles, 4 doubles and 4 home runs. Ten players made plate appearances and 9 of them got at least 1 hit. Quintana, whose value is dropping faster than the Stock Market, threw 103 pitches in 5 innings, and only 63 were strikes. The Pirates threw 173 pitches for 8 innings. The Rockies had 116 pitches for 9 innings. The offense wasn’t much better, getting 2 runs on 6 hits, and looking disinterested most of time. Ben Gamel struck 3 times in a row and hardly swung at any pitches. Maybe the Pirates think the All Star break has already started and these games don’t count.

Key Moment of The Game: Brendan Rodgers’s 2 out double, on a pitch out of the strike zone, that cleared the bases and gave the Rockies a 4-1 lead, in the bottom of the 3rd. The rout was on.

Next Game: This afternoon, Rockies in Denver. Let’s hope the Pirates show up today, but even if they do, the Rockies are hot and this could get real ugly. I am sure Yu Van Meter will be playing and leading off. He’s done a great job so far.

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Pirates Morning Report, Base Running 101

Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 3, in 11 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: This was a complete offensive debacle. In 11 innings the Pirates scored 2 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks, striking out 16 times. Then there was the base running that just made you shake your head. Cruz caught stealing twice and of course the Jake Marisnick, I think I’ll just try to sneak home from 3rd base. You have heard of the hidden ball trick. Marisnick thought he would try the invisible runner trick. A great move by one of our accomplished Major League players recently brought up. He was just trying to make up for those 2 home runs he hit and felt he had to give one back. Another good start, this time by Zach Thompson, was wasted. Will Crowe may have set some kind of recored. Threw 5 pitches and gave up 2 hits and loss, no outs. The Pirates did not wait to get to high altitude to become light headed and dizzy.

Key Moment of The Game: Allowing Billy Hamilton to get a hit. It resulted in the run that kept the Pirates from winning 1-0. This guy is one of the worst hitters in baseball. It’s a wonder he is not on the Pirates.

Next Game: Tonight, the Rockies in Colorado. No matter who starts tonight we will see if anybody knows how to play this game. Everyone seemed out to lunch yesterday.

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Pirates Morning Report, Mismanagement at Its Best

Final Score: Pirates 4 Marlins 5 in 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: I could not believe that they could have started a worst lineup than the one they did the other night, but they managed it. I wonder how many teams this time of the year lead off the game with a batter not hitting .200. I thought the headline might read one hit, one run, and one win, with Brubaker pitching a great 7 innings, allowing 0 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 9. That’s what I thought it would be, until DUJ came into the game in the bottom of the 8th. He had been doing a pretty good job lately and got the first 2 outs. Then he imploded by hitting a batter, walking a batter and hitting another batter. He did help speed up the game. A single then drove across the 2 gift wrapped runs. The Pirate staff walked 4 and hit 3 after giving up no walks in the first 2 games of the series. The Pirates battled back with 1 in the 9th and 2 in the top of the tenth to take a 4-2 lead. But they blew the lead in the bottom of the 10th when an obviously tired David Bednar gave up 3 runs on multiple rocket shots and ended this debacle by wild pitching the winning run home. Management was all smiles tonight.

The Key Moment of The Game: Bringing Bednar in for the bottom of the 10th and having no one ready when it was obvious, he did not have it last night. Bednar threw 12 strikes, and they all were either fouled off or rocketed in play, a bunt being the exception, with 2 of them nearly taking his head off. The game would have been over sooner if it were not for a baserunning gaffe by the Marlins that got the 1st out. This game went past Shelton’s bedtime.

Next Game: This Afternoon, Marlins in Miami. I cannot imagine who they might play today or won’t play. It is a shame, because if they played the best players, brought up some better players and cut the dead wood, this team would be so much better.

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Pirates Morning Report, Bottoms Up

Final Score: Pirates 3 Marlins 2

Why The Pirates Won: For the second game in a row, it was the bottom third of the order that carried the load. Jake, yes, I know his name is Jake, Marisnick, Oneil Cruz, and Jason Delay, each drove in a run, and went 3 for 9 for the game. The bullpen continued their resurgence by having a great bullpen game, only allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and again no walks. No free passes for the Marlins for the second straight game. There is no question the most improved Pirate pitcher is Tyler Beede. Last night he was brilliant with 6 up and 6 down, with a little luck at’em ball for the 6th out. It’s hard to believe that we are seeing a player improve once he gets on the Pirates. Whatever Beede has found let’s hope he keeps it. Last night he was throwing 97 MPH with some great movement.

Key Moment of The Game: In the top of the fifth the Pirates had a runner on first with 2 out when Cruz and Delay decided to do some 2 out lightening, bang, bang. Cruz lined a triple to the right field corner and on the next pitch Delay singled in Cruz to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead. The Marlins got a run in the bottom of the 5th to make it 3-2. From that point on, the bullpen went into shut down mode, and the Marlins could only get a check swing single in the top of the ninth, for their only hit in the last 4 innings. THE BULLPEN IS BACK BABY.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Maimi. Will the bottom of the lineup continue to shine? Will Jake Suwinski get a hit before the All-Star break? These are the questions on Pirate fan’s minds right now. Like we always say, who knows, only the Shadow knows.

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Pirates Morning Report, Three Road Wins in a Row, Even With That Lineup.

Final Score: Pirates 5 Marlins 1

Why The Pirates Won: God only knows. With a lineup featuring at least 4 players who probably won’t be on the team next year, the Pirates cruised to victory. The big surprise of the game was the play of Yu Marisnick. No relation to Yu Chang, but similar baseball skills. Only hitting .168 coming into the game, he raised his average almost 30 points, with a double and a 2-run home run, in his first game back from the injured list. The bottom third of the order had 5 hits, drove in 2 runs, and scored 3. It was quite a day for the bums. It didn’t hurt that Mitch Keller pitched his best game of the year, going 7 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits and ZERO walks. Way to go Mitch. Many of the Marlin players are on suicide watch, losing to the team that the Pirates put on the field. There is also the rumor that 11 of the Marlins players are going to be DFA’d today because of the loss.

Key Moment of The Game: It was early in this game. The top of the first the Pirates got the first two men on base, but then Chavis and the Turtle struck out. Diego Castillo saved the day by getting a soft liner to drop in centerfield, to score both runs to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Kevin Newman got a big 2 out hit in the 2nd inning to drive in the 3rd Pirate run and Keller protected it well going the strong 7 innings.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. Even though there is a lefty going again for the Marlins, Marisnick probably did himself in by having a big game, so he probably won’t start. Management is pulling out all stops to end the 3-game road winning streak. They have not announced the pitcher yet. Right now, they are leaning toward Van Meter. Michael Perez is rumored to be playing right field. This is getting serious.

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Pirates Morning Report: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

Final Score: Pirates 8 Brewers 6

Why The Pirates Won: They brought out the long ball with 4 home runs that accounted for 6 of the 8 runs. The bullpen has had a revival, as they protected the 1 run lead for 3 innings. I have been ripping the left-handed relievers for some very poor performances, but Manny Banuelos did the job yesterday. He came in with a runner on 2nd and nobody out and went strike out, harmless fly ball to left, and strike out to end the bottom of the 6th. This was in a part of the game that the Brewers were breaking back every time the Pirates had a taken a lead. This time they did not.

Key Moment of The Game: Craig Counsell brought in a right hander to face Ke’Bryan Hayes in the top of the 9th. He promptly walked Hayes to put runners on 1st and 3rd with 2out. With the 3-batter rule, this allowed The Turtle to face a right-handed pitcher. Doing it the only the way The Turtle can, he took 5 straight pitches to get to a 3-2 count. He then launched the 6th pitch over the center field fence, to give the Pirates an 8-4 lead. It turned out, they needed those 3 runs, as the Brewers scored 2 runs on a McCutchen home run, in the bottom of the inning to make the final 8-6 Bucco’s.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. A surprising series win in Milwaukee, especially with the number of runs the Pirates scored, against one of the better pitching staffs in the National League. The lineup was pretty good yesterday, so maybe management is giving up on the high draft pick for next year. The bullpen has come alive again and was a big reason the Pirates took the last two games of the series. Can we fry some fish next?

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Pirates Morning Report: One Good Inning

Final Score: Pirates 4 Brewers 3

Why The Pirates Won: For 8 of the 9 innings, the Pirates got 1 hit, walked 4 times, struck out 14 times and scored 0 runs. However, for one inning, the top of the 7th, the Pirates got 4 hits, scored 4 runs and struck out once. It was good enough to get a win. Ben Gamel’s home run was the big blow to give the Pirates a lead 4-3, they never relinquished. What was interesting about the 15 Pirate strikeouts was that a lot of them were called strike 3’s, or they swung at a ball way out of the strike zone. There were only a couple of strikeouts where the batter swung at a strike and missed. The bullpen protected the lead like they did in the early part of the season and the Pirates came away with an amazing win.

The Key Moment of The Game: The Pirates took the lead in the top of the 7th and Dwayne Underwood Junior, who from now on will be referred to as DUJ, because I am not typing that name anymore, came into pitch the bottom of the inning. Right away, the Brewers got two fluky hits to put runners on the corners with no one out. DUJ then bore down and struck out Andrew McCutchen. Kolten Wong grounded to Tsutsugo, who threw a strike to home plate to nail the runner trying score. DUJ struck out the next batter and the inning was over. From that point on, the Brewers went 6 up and 6 down to finish the game.

Next game: This afternoon, Brewers in Milwaukee. I was right about Reynolds not starting last night and Gamel starting, but his new best friend Van Meter did not. I can’t wait to see the Sunday lineup. This is more exciting than when you use to wait for Casey Kasem to reveal the no.1 song of the week on Sunday morning.