Pirates Play-By-Play Voice Greg Brown joined the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show to discuss all things Pirates following their disastrous loss in Houston that saw them blow a 9-5 lead with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was the fifth time this season that the Pirates had more than an 88% win percentage at some point during a game and still lost.
Brown started off by mentioning that because the Bucs’ issues in the bullpen have become so glaring, it’s likely teams are now poised to try and take advantage of their desperation to acquire a new arm.
“That’s the conundrum, it’s easily identifiable. Everyone knows it,” Brown said of Pittsburgh’s weakness in the bullpen. “(Other teams) know that when a phone call comes from the Pirates looking to acquire, they can hold them for ransom.”
Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington made his first of likely many calls Tuesday when he dealt right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence to the Minnesota Twins — who the Bucs swept days ago — in exchange for cash.
After starting the year confident in role players like Yohan Ramírez, Gregory Soto, Evan Sisk, and Dennis Santana, among others, Pittsburgh’s arsenal of relievers simply hasn’t done enough to back up the team’s offensive firepower this season.
On top of that, the recent drama surrounding the demotion of Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen and his temporary placement on the unrestricted list hasn’t helped things, either.
“The probability of acquiring one or more pieces to improve the bullpen is very high. They will get something done. I don’t know when, but they will get something done,” Brown said.
Toward the end of his segment, Brown emphasized the importance of the bullpen in baseball, especially today, and added a quote from former Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox. It certainly applies to the Pirates now more than ever.
“As Bobby Cox said every year with the great Braves teams, the bullpen in baseball is the most volatile area year-to-year of any piece of a winning puzzle, and it has not worked out liked the Pirates have hoped and thought. They’re trying everything, and everything they’ve tried just hasn’t worked,” Brown said.
