PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – I get the freak out. The Pirates were in first place for much of April and even in May when they stunk, they stayed right there. Now the Bucs come off a series where they were crushed by the worst team in the sport.
The reality is this happens to teams that aren’t quite ready for prime time.
Yes, the early start got so many thinking of an earlier than expected post-season and, while they are still in the race, the Pirates just aren’t ready for serious contention. There most dynamic player will miss a few more months, their depth is lacking, the rotation is going through struggles with no easy answers. Sure, the division is off to a slow start, and may struggle all year, currently with the perennial favorite Cardinals in last place. They might be in the race, but it’s a team that’s not ready for that level yet.
Oh, they make a move. They could pay a king’s ransom for a starting pitcher especially with Roansy Contreras struggling and Vince Velasquez’s future with the team in serious question. You realize you’re talking about giving up an Endy Rodriguez and potentially a Termarr Johnson (last year’s first round pick) for anything of consequence right now.
Ready to make that move?
What they need to do right now is keep with the plan. If in late July the division is still winnable, entertain thoughts then because you don’t want to throw an opportunity away. Right now, stay the course, knowing you are likely to get Oneil Cruz back in August.
The comparison has been made about this year’s Pirates team—they are just like the building Pirates teams of 2011 or 2012. There are some valid similarities between them, not just with young talent starting to get an opportunity, but those Pirates teams also had wild swings of inconsistent play. Those teams also teased you with being in first place in July, only to play horrible baseball in August. Only 8 wins in August of 2011 and 11 in August of 2012.
In 2011, when the Pirates had seven days in first place including the final day on July 25. Let’s look at that team that would finish 72-90 and 4th in the NL Central.
· swept by a 72-win Marlins team—outscored by 16 runs in 3 games
· swept by a 56-win Houston team, including an 8-2 loss Charlie Morton started
· suffered a 4-game sweep to the Cubs in early August that took the Pirates from 4.5 games out to 7 games back and followed that with a series loss to the 71-win Padres where they were outscored 35-10
· Their roster included Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez (74 games), but also had Lyle Overbay (1B), Ronny Cedeno (SS), Michael McKenry catching and Garrett Jones as a starter in the outfield
· The rotation included Charlie Morton, but also James McDonald, Paul Maholm, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia
In 2012, nearly a winning season, finishing 79-83 with major struggles down the stretch including a 7-win September. They were in first-place for 22 days, the last time on July 18.
· lost 21 blowout games (5+ runs)
· swept by San Diego (76 wins) in August
· swept by a Cubs team that won 61 games that year—one of the games they lost was 12-2 and AJ Burnett started that game
· They had Walker, Alvarez, McCutchen added Clint Barmes (SS), Alex Presley in left, Casey McGehee at first and Rod Barajas was the catcher.
The 2013 team had Russell Martin, Starling Marte (regular starter), Gaby Sanchez at first, Travis Snider, Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison started playing bigger roles. In the rotation, the addition of Francisco Liriano, a healthy Morton, Gerrit Cole, Jeff Locke (before you laugh he went 10-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 30 games) to go with Burnett and Rodriguez. They also had a pair of MLB level closers in Jason Grilli-33 saves and Mark Melancon-16 saves. Plus, they had lefties Justin Wilson (2.08 ERA) and Tony Watson (2.39 ERA).
The Pirates were more consistent, and ended up in the playoffs in 2013, because they were better.
The 2023 Pirates have a 36-year-old McCutchen (who has been fine), a slumping Carlos Santana, great defensive catchers but little offense, a group of young middle infielders and struggles at times from long-term contract players Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds. The rotation features an emerging Mitch Keller, a gamer in Rich Hill, injured Velasquez and a number of young guys figuring it out.
Pirates may call up Henry Davis, Rodriguez, Nick Gonzales, Quinn Priester and a Cal Mitchell or maybe Travis Swaggerty. It would be great experience for them. They might perform well, but the odds they could jumpstart this team into the postseason is farfetched.
This shouldn’t be a surprise the Pirates had wild swings, teams that just aren’t good enough often do. As much as you might feel, or have felt, like the Pirates are the real deal this year, the reality is they aren’t.
Yet.