Davis’s Debut
Henry Davis made his Major League debut in the Pirates 8-0 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park Monday night, and a brief 2nd inning downpour and the team’s seventh consecutive loss weren’t enough to take all of the bloom off of the arrival of the 2021 MLB Draft’s first overall pick.
That Davis had a good night at the plate – 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, a strikeout – shouldn’t surprise anyone. In six ‘first games’ at a new level in his college and minor league career, Davis was 7-for-15 with four extra base hits, seven RBIs, and a 1.617 OPS, highlighted by his first professional game with the Gulf Coast League Pirates in August 2021 when he went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs.
Davis is now 8-for-18 with five extra base hits and a 1.542 OPS in seven ‘move-up’ games.
What may be surprising to some – even Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton, which we’ll get to in a moment – is that Davis immediately stepped in and had two of the Pirates’ four hardest hit balls last night.
Perhaps Davis’s ability to give a moribund offense is news to the aforementioned GM and Manager.
This is Offensive
The flip side to the excitement of seeing Davis arrive and immediately have offensive impact is the frustration over the fact that he’ll apparently do very little, if any, of his work behind the plate.
It’s not that any of us expect Davis to immediately step in and handle a pitching staff as well as a veteran like Austin Hedges. It’s that there is no possible way he could be less effective at the plate than Hedges.
Of the 32 Major League catchers with at least 130 plate appearances this season, Hedges has the single worst offensive value, according to Fangraphs.
According to Fangraphs, Hedges also has the third best defensive value among that same subset of 32 catchers with the most plate appearances in MLB.
You don’t need to examine those charts for long to see that Hedges is basically a replacement player when you balance his offense (or lack thereof) with his defense.
The idea of continuing to get him at bats, while trying to shoehorn Davis, Andrew McCutchen, Jack Suwinski, Connor Joe, Ji Hwan Bae, and even Josh Palacios into a DH spot and a pair of outfield spots is absolute insanity for a team that’s been one of the worst offensive clubs in baseball since May 1.
Yet, here we are, watching the Pirates lose seven in a row while scoring a Major League-low seven runs in the past week, while Hedges and his .175 batting average continue to play nearly every day.
On the Brink
The most tenured player on the Steelers’ roster is on the verge of team history.
Cam Heyward is just two sacks away from breaking James Harrison’s team record of 90.5.
After reading about Heyward being quizzed by The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly on the 48 quarterbacks he’s sacked – Spoiler Alert: There are a LOT of Cleveland Browns on the list – I started wondering who Heyward may get for the record breaker, and wouldn’t you know it: The Steelers host the Browns and Deshaun Watson on Monday, September 18.
For a lot of reasons, it’d be nice to see Heyward break the record in that game. First and foremost, breaking records against Cleveland ensures yet another moment that will live in Steelers history as Pittsburgh doing something to torment Cleveland. Secondly, it would be in primetime, for most of our football-crazed, sports-loving nation to witness. It’s never bad to remind fans across the country just how good Heyward has been, and registering his 91st career sack on national television. Finally, at least in my opinion, it would be appropriate that a person as good, both on- and off-the-field, as Heyward get his record-breaking sack against an (alleged) dirtbag like Watson.
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Outdrink ‘Em
Many Pirates fans have become interested in LSU baseball as the Bucs hold the first overall pick in next month’s Major League Draft, and the top two prospects, Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes, play for the Tigers.
Well, LSU lost a heart breaker to Wake Forest in the College World Series last night, surprisingly placing the team on the brink of elimination.
One thing LSU won’t be losing though? A drinking contest.
Roccos' Pizza in Omaha, Nebraska hosts a Jell-O shot challenge every College World Series. Fans from the competing schools see who can put away the most Jell-O shot, with proceeds supporting local food banks, and food banks in the towns that are home to each participating school.
As one LSU alum told me last night, “At least we have the Jell-O shot record.”
The Tigers face Tennessee in an elimination game tonight at 7pmET. LSU is 3-1 against their SEC rivals this season, including a 6-3 win over the Vols Saturday night.
That was with Skenes on the mound though, throwing triple digit gas and striking out 12 over 7 2/3 innings of work.
Wings On Him
I’m not sure how it compares to the deer you hit on I-79 down past Clarksburg that one time you were driving back from the beach, but I doubt you were going quite this fast.
Max Verstappen, who’s now won six of Formula One’s eight races this season, won’t let anything get in his way; including a bird.
Verstappen apparently has a thing against small animals, as he ran over a squirrel at the 2021 Italian Gran Prix.
Touching Tribute
The Pirates paid tribute to Stan Savran in the PNC Park press box Monday, placing his Media Wall of Fame plaque on display.
Savran’s funeral will be held tomorrow.