0-Fer-the-Trip
The streaking Pirates continue to be just that: Streaky.
Sunday’s loss to the Brewers was their sixth in a row, completing a winless road trip to Chicago and Milwaukee and punctuating a 2-9 run that followed a six game winning streak, that followed a 6-19 run in May, that followed a 20-8 start to the season.
As middling as their record says they are (34-36, 2 ½ GB in the NL Central, 4 GB in the Wild Card), there’s been very little consistency that’s guided them there.
Don’t expect that to end anytime soon. This is what young, relatively inexperienced teams do until they find their level: They play up at times, they play down at times.
And save the arguments about how this isn’t really a ‘young’ team, please. They are the 4th-youngest team in baseball, and even that number is buoyed by Rich Hill, Carlos Santana, and Andrew McCutchen, and just two other 30-somethings. Austin Hedges, 30, has played more than 105 games in a season just once in his career. Connor Joe, also 30, is on pace to play in as many games this season as he has in the past three seasons combined.
They are young in their relative lack of experience.
They’re not going to get any less experienced, either. Henry Davis is on the way (which we’ll get to in a moment), and one can imagine more young pieces may follow. Which means young, inexperienced ball players will get hot at times, will bottom out at times, and will take time to find consistent production.
Until that experience bakes itself in then, expect more streaking.
It’s cool. Bring your green hat.
Here Comes Hammerin’ Hank
At last, the long national nightmare is over.
Overstating things a bit?
OK, at least the mildly irritating Austin Hedges experiment could be nearing its end.
Henry Davis, 2021’s first overall draft pick, is coming to Pittsburgh.
After a quick climb up through the AA level last year that included an .852 combined OPS and 10 home runs in 255 minor league plate appearances, Davis returned to Altoona this spring and promptly began destroying baseballs with a purpose. He had 10 HRs in just 187 PAs and a .981 OPS before being promoted to AAA Indianapolis just two weeks ago. He didn’t slow down with the Indians either, going 10-for-35 with five extra base hits and a .946 OPS.
The experimentation with placing Davis in right field in order to get him in the lineup sped up, as well. After just two appearances in the outfield last year, Davis started in right field 13 times in his 51 minor league starts this season.
The Pirates are the lowest scoring team in baseball since May 1. So whether in right field, behind the plate, or as a DH, Davis was called up because they expect his bat to play and can no longer stomach Austin Hedges’ .472 OPS.
Again, what took so long?
Well, if you look at it through the prism of minor league plate appearances, Davis is actually the fastest position player drafted first overall out of college to ascend to the majors since Bob Horner went straight from Arizona State to the Atlanta Braves 45 years ago.
Speaking of first overall picks…
There’s a Bucco In There
It’s never quite the same as watching a college football player on Saturdays and imagining him on the Steelers the following fall, but with the College World Series being played in Omaha this week, take the opportunity to watch LSU at some point if you haven’t already.
There is a very good chance that either outfielder Dylan Crews or starting pitcher Paul Skenes will have their name called Sunday, July 9 when the MLB Draft takes place and the Pirates select first overall.
The latest mock draft at CBSSports.com has Crews and Skenes going 1-2, which would be the first time in the history of the MLB Draft college teammates have gone 1st and 2nd overall.
For what it’s worth, Pirates fans seem to prefer Crews, the everyday player with the monster bat, over the triple-digit, heat-bringin’ Major League-ready ace in Skenes.
The Tigers play Wake Forest at 7pmET tonight on ESPN.
The Next Guy
The fallout from Bob Huggins’ Friday night DUI on the North Side and subsequent resignation as West Virginia’s Head Men’s Basketball Coach continues, as new Athletic Director Wren Baker says they will conduct a “nationwide search” for the Mountaineers’ next head coach.
With the impressive financial backing available to the athletic department – do some cursory research on the Country Roads NIL collective and what they’ve been able to do with that – the instant reaction from many ‘Eers fans has been “let’s spend the money to go get someone who’s the long term answer… NOW!”
Let me counter that with this: Who are you gonna get right now?
The hiring cycle has ended. There are no big names available unless you’re willing to wildly overpay. And moreover, if you’re worried about keeping a strong roster intact, why wouldn’t you retain the staff that helped bring them in?
Also, you never want to be the guy who replaces The Guy. As off the rails as Huggins was toward the end, he is still a mythological figure in Mountaineer basketball, second only to Jerry West.
Who wants to be the person to have to replace that? No one who isn’t going to ask for a major commitment in terms of length on their contract. And again, have all the leverage in the world in getting overpaid.
The perfect opportunity is laid out in front of Baker and President E. Gordon Gee: Spend a year holding things together, MacGyver-style, with the remnants of Huggins’ staff. Let Ron Everhart steer the ship and retain the talent that was recruited by he and his fellow assistants. Compete in a re-vamped Big XII.
And then a year from now, entice Joe Mazzulla to come back to Morgantown.
Who knows, with the outsized expectations in Boston, it’s entirely possible Mazzulla is made scapegoat if they shouldn’t find their way back to the NBA Finals in what is a stacked Eastern Conference. If not, nothing short of winning the title should keep Gee, Baker, and the entire state of West Virginia from luring Mazzulla back to his alma mater.
You wanna make a splash? That’s a Spruce Knob-sized splash.
Life Comes At You Fast
A really cool moment scheduled for yesterday afternoon by the Atlanta Braves was scuttled just hours before it was supposed to take place by … the Atlanta Braves?
The Braves had scheduled Charlie Culberson to receive the ceremonial, pregame first pitch from his dad, Charles.
However, a little less than five hours before first pitch at Truist Field, the Braves made a roster move.
Culberson had been on the roster for a month without appearing in a game during his second stint in Atlanta after hitting .204 in 24 games with their AAA affiliate in Gwinnett, GA to start the season.
Braves outfielder and 2022 National League Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II and his father were given the pregame honors instead.