The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best offense in their team history.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for most runs scored in baseball. 

 

 

The Pirates have two players —Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn with over 60 RBI, one —Bryan Reynolds— with 59, and another —O’Neil Cruz— with 44 who has missed the past month. Nick Gonzalez has little power but is hitting .308, which is unheard of these days. Three players have 18 or more stolen bases. Jake Mangum reminds me of Pete Rose, which is great when he is on your team. Henry Davis is hitting .166, yet he has a positive WAR. Even Marcel Ozuna hit a home run on Sunday.

Then there is rookie Esmerlyn Valdez, all of 22 years of age. Valdez doesn’t have 100 at bats yet. Nonetheless, he has 10 home runs and 27 RBI. He is nicknamed The Magician, and The Magician has been marvelous.

 



Led by this reincarnation of The Lumber Company, the Pirates are 50-47. It is the first time the Pirates have 50 wins at the all star break since 2015. That year was the last of their playoff years.

Still, the Pirates are two games out of the last wildcard spot.

Why?

The starting pitching has not lived up to billing, the defense can be suspect, and the bullpen has been putrid.

Hey, Ben, go get this team the pitching help it needs. I’ve been calling for Ben Cherington to trade for bullpen help for two months, stating that waiting might cost the big time.

Finally the Pirates are legitimate contenders.

They do need some reinforcements. Bullpen first, then maybe another starter. Mitch Keller can no longer be trusted in the rotation. Another starter, not just because of Keller’s collapse but because guys like Braxton Ashcraft will most likely have innings limitations. A six man rotation wouldn’t be out of the question.

If the Pirates are going to truly make a playoff push several things will have to happen.

  • The return of vintage Paul Skenes. They have to get 7/8 innings from Skenes every time he pitches. A dominant Skenes would do wonders for a team that needs to hide the bullpen a bit. Or more than a bit.
  • Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler finding more consistent command. This would allow both pitchers to go extra innings.
  • Get healthy and find at bats for everyone. Konnor Griffin won’t be back until September, but O’Neil Cruz and Spencer Horowitz will be back shortly after the all star break. Hopefully Cruz can pick up where he left off. He will be inserted back in centerfield. Jake Mangum will most likely be dropped to a spot starter. He can still start at least three times per week. Horowitz could become a valuable trade chip. I would much rather see Ryan O’Hearn playing first base. That would push Horowitz to DH rendering Marcel Ozuna even more useless than he has been the past month.
  • Release Ozuna. Not being able to play the field really hinders Ozuna’s worth. And hitting .205 makes it an easy choice.
  • Trade for a closer. The Pirates have tons of prospects that would be enticing to teams. While you are at it, add some regular bullpen arms. This bullpen is more than a small tweak away from being acceptable.

A couple of those things are player generated. The rest is up to management. It won’t be easy because all but about 7 teams probably consider themselves in the playoff hunt.

 


Those standings are before Sunday’s games, but you get the picture. Finding willing sellers may not be easy this year, and the competition for those players could be fierce.

Bob Nutting, Travis Williams —if he is still alive— and Ben Cherington owe it to the fans, and maybe more importantly the players in that clubhouse, to go for it this year.

Oh, there have been plenty of frustrating moments in the first half of the season for Pirates fans. Bullpen blowups, defensive derailments, and stagnating starting pitching have all been the causes of many thrown objects at TV’s and new curse words created.

Those things aside, this team has easily been the most exciting and entertaining team to take the PNC Park diamond in the past 11 seasons. And it isn’t close. Not only have they clubbed the stitches off the baseball, but 1st they are a fun group. They seem to get along, they cheer for one another, and they genuinely look like they have fun playing together. That kind of camaraderie can be hard to find sometimes. The Phillies have it, but ask the Mets about that feeling.

There have been a couple of years where the Pirates convinced themselves, and in turn Nutting and crew, that they were truly contenders. It led to disasters like the Chris Archer trade. This team is different. This team actually has the hit gene. They score runs, which makes them dangerous. If the starting pitching just gets close to where we all thought they would be, then this team has a real shot.

Give them some reinforcements. Show that you believe in them as much as the fan base is starting to believe in them. It has been a long time. And how much fun was Sunday with 30,000 fans watching this team put up a ten spot in the fourth inning?

The time is now to take a chance.

Wouldn’t a Pirates/Phillies first round playoff matchup be sweet?

Tweet of the Week

Larry David on the driving range is as hilarious as you would expect.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

Dennis Santana has not been good. This is good. Very good.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

My final thoughts got swept out to sea this week, while walking along the Jersey Shore. Hopefully they will wash ashore by next week.

Just my two cents…