The Pittsburgh Pirates proved my point this past week.

I didn’t want them to do any such thing. I wish they wouldn’t have done that thing. As one of the exasperated, frustrated, irritated longstanding fans of the Pittsburgh baseball club, I desperately wanted to be wrong. There is still time. Crow is one of my favorite foods, so I will happily belly up to the table if the Pirates shove that plate in my direction.

The point the Pirates proved this past week is that they aren’t ready to be contenders just quite yet.

Three games on the road against a loaded Astros lineup, albeit one that can’t seem to hit its stride, and three games at home against the best offense in baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Pirates finished those two series 3-3.

On paper, 3-3 would seem like an acceptable result. A result that didn’t erase them from the wildcard hunt, and a result that announces the Pirates can compete with the best. This on the heels of taking two of three from the best in the national league Phillies and two of three from the contending Cardinals.

Unfortunately, the Pirates dug a hole early in the season and can’t afford to simply tread water.

But that isn’t it either.

It is the way the Pirates lost the three games this past week. The reality is, this team should have swept both series. The fact that they did not simply accentuated their weaknesses.

As always, it starts at the top. 

Bob Nutting has the payroll sitting at just under 84 million dollars. The only team less than that is the Oakland-Anaheim-Vegas A’s. The Pirates are over 30 million shy of similarly sized markets Minnesota, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. It is embarrassing.

Nutting owns the team, so nothing changes there. I will believe he authorized spending when I see legitimate spending. He doesn’t deserve the fan support his team is getting right now, but the players sure do.

I would criticize team president Travis Williams but I can’t even remember what he looks like. From reports from Sasquatch hunters, Williams appears to be in lockstep with Nutting.

That brings us to GM Ben Cherington. The man who took limited offseason funds and brought Rowdy Tellez, Yasmani Grandal, Michael A Taylor, Martin Perez, Marco Gonzales, and Aroldis Chapman to town.

Aside from Chapman —who cost legit money by the way— none of these players have been an overall positive. Perez was traded away(Thank God), and the rest —to their credit— have continued to work their tails off to be better. Tellez has turned boos into “Row-Dy” chants. Taylor has been far better the last couple weeks. Even Grandal has increased production of late.

Last week the trade deadline brought some more talent to town. Many have criticized Cherington for not doing more, but I would argue there wasn’t much more to come from the deadline. Trying to pry guys like Luis Robert or Brent Rooker from their respective teams was likely to cost some of the organizations top prospects. I would argue —and did last week in my column and my Musings podcast— that the Pirates weren’t true enough contenders to trade off your best prospects.

Instead, Cherington brought in Bryan De La Cruz and his 18 home runs plus Isiah Kiner-Falefa and his .292 batting average. Lefty reliever Jalen Beeks was also added to the mix. All came at moderate costs, and all are upgrades on paper.

In a super, super small sample size, De La Cruz appears to swing at damn near everything. Kalefa looked good at the plate on Sunday. Beeks arm may fall off after pitching 4 out of five days. All will certainly be upgrades over the long haul, but probably not the difference makers a team like the Pirates need. That was never going to happen at the trade deadline.

This team is hanging around because they always give 100%. Don’t misconstrue Ke’Bryan Hayes’ mighty —and I do mean mighty— struggles for apathy. Taylor, Tellez, Grandal, Jared Triolo, and all the players that have played below the bar bust their tails. Always.

Oneil Cruz still has a lot of kid in him, so on occasion it appears he goofs around on the field. Watch closely. He absolutely likes to have fun. He also hates to fail. Again, watch closely. Nobody seems more perturbed by failure than Cruz.

Based on the hustle and effort shown on the field, Derek Shelton’s clubhouse led by Pirates legend Andrew McCutchen is solid as a rock. That is a plus on Shelton’s report card. Game management balances his card out. More on that in a bit.

Now, about those three losses this week.

With a four run lead in Houston that would lead to a sweep, Oneil Cruz single handedly yanked defeat from the jaws of victory. Three Cruz errors later and the Astros had averted a sweep. Cruz is an immense talent. His hitting has become far more consistent. It still has a ways to go to get him to the level of a star player, but he is well on the way. As for that dreaded defense, I am one of the few that thinks shortstop is still his position of the future. Errors happen to every player. However, plays like this that display a lack of baseball instincts have to stop.

 

 

If and when Cruz finds consistency on both sides of the ball, Pittsburgh is going to have a bona fide star. Still, his defense cost the Pirates an important game. That is simply a fact.

There is one common denominator in all three losses. Colin Holderman and blown leads. Twice the Pirates allowed 4-0 leads slip away. The other game, Friday against Arizona, the Pirates had a sterling comeback to take a late lead. In all three games, in came Colin Holderman.

Holderman is toast. He has been shaky for a month, and this past week bottomed out. He cannot pitch in high leverage situations for the foreseeable future. Holderman had 20 walks all of last season. He has 20 right now this season. Holderman had 4 blown saves a year ago. He has 5 right now this season. For some reason, Derek Shelton keeps running him out there. Even if he doesn’t fully trust some of his other bullpen options —and even if they fail— he has to try some of them. The Pirates are in a pennant race, so Shelton can’t let Holderman “work through it” in high leverage situations.

I have said since day one that Shelton is in over his head.

I still feel that way.

I fully acknowledge Shelton isn’t working with Murderer’s Row with this 2024 Pirates lineup. But running Holderman out time and time again and keeping Hayes in the middle of the lineup as long as he did are two examples of Shelton failing to understand Einstein’s definition of insanity.

The other is that Shelton keeps calling for his players to bunt late in close games. It ain’t 1975. Sad as it may be, these players can’t bunt today. PLUS, all these pitchers throw upper 90’s fastballs. That is a hard pitch to bunt. Most importantly, it is giving up an out. 

Sunday was Shelton’s most egregious error in bunt judgement. Down two, runners on first and second, zero outs, and Falefa at the plate. Falefa came in hitting .290 and had two hits on the day already. Shelton called for the bunt and Falefa popped it up for an easy out. Idiotic doesn’t begin to describe this decision. That feels like five or six times that Shelton has called for a bunt and watched it fail. That means Shelton not only willfully gave away an out, but he also didn’t see the bunt succeed in serving its purpose. Yet, he keeps doing it.

Someone tell him to google Einstein quotes.

I still wonder aloud whether Shelton is the manager that will get this team to the playoffs. I have serious doubts.

Want some good news?

This pitching staff is —what do the kids say nowadays— fire. Bailey Falter has been the most pleasant surprise on the team. Luis Ortiz would be close behind. Mitch Keller has become the steady veteran necessary for any contending team to have on their pitching staff. Jared Jones returns soon with the hope he picks up where he left off. Oh, and some guy named Skenes.

Andrew McCutchen is still a pleasure to watch. This time around as the grizzled veteran who still has fun and still sets an example with his play.

The best good news Pirates fans have is the fact they have two unquestioned superstars to watch play.

Paul Skenes is the best thing to happen to Pittsburgh baseball since Jim Leyland left Pittsburgh.

Skenes has captured the attention of all of baseball, deserving every second of that attention. He had his worst two outings of his career in his last two starts. Skenes lacked command of his pitches. After walking 13 batters in his first 12 games, Skenes has given up 6 free passes in these last two games. He had far fewer swing and miss pitches in these two outings. All that, and Skenes gave up 3 runs in 11 1/3 innings. His ERA skyrocketed all the way to 1.99. Oh, and he was pitching against two of the most dynamic offenses in baseball.

How awful.

Skenes gets fans to the park early to see his warmup routine. He keeps them there by always keeping his team in the game. He wows them with incredible stuff. Even Sunday he got a standing ovation when he departed the game. I think it is safe to say he has captured the hearts of Pirates fans.

Skenes is 22 and still a rookie. A slide, no matter how minute, was bound to happen. His command and velocity have been off the last two games. Skenes innings will most likely start to be managed as the season progresses. As that happens, the Pirates playoff chances diminish a bit. It was always likely to happen.

Enjoy every inning of Skenes you can. He is  indeed, a phenomenon.

 

 

I saved this guy for last.

Bryan Reynolds.

Rarely does Reynolds garner national attention. He is so quiet and unassuming he sometimes doesn’t get a ton of love from local Pittsburgh media. I think he is okay with that.

I have said for the past three years that Reynolds is one of the best outfielders in baseball. Aside from that silly Covid year, Reynolds has been a star. 24, 27, 24 home runs the last three years and already at 19 this year. Tons of doubles, a few triples, and a batting average that is getting closer to that .300 level he was at in ‘19 and ‘21. His defense is very good, and he never isn’t hustling. Between McCutchen and Reynolds, the Pirates are fortunate to have two “lead by example” players.

Reynolds never touts his own accomplishments and seems like he would be just as comfortable if he never had to speak to the media. Reynolds is locked up through 2031 and is the single most important reason the Pirates are looking at their first window of opportunity since 2015.

Enjoy one of the best all around players in baseball, Mr. Reliable, Bryan Reynolds.

 

 

Come October 1, I hope I have a full plate of crow in front of me. The misery Pirates fans my age have suffered through for the bigger parts of 45 years is considerable.

The three losses this past week can’t happen to a team like the Pirates that need every duck to line up in order to reach the playoffs. The losses highlighted a lack of consistency from players, a manager that may not be up to the task, a GM that didn’t acquire the needed talent(in the offseason) aided by an owner with tight purse strings.

There are absolute tangible reasons to be optimistic. The current roster has more talent than in quite some time, particularly on the pitching side. Lots of players are under contract for numerous years. Endy Rodriguez is getting closer to returning. Henry Davis is raking at AAA and might just be a late bloomer. Bubba Chandler was promoted to AAA and is bound to be in Pittsburgh sometime next year. And don’t forget about Johan Oviedo, who will return from Tommy John surgery next year.

This team has the potential to be a contender —a real contender— for the next few years. The owner will always stink, but there are too many pieces falling into place to not see improvement. How real that potential becomes will be dependent upon better managerial execution, player development, and maybe just a tad more investment from ownership.

For now, the past week ending 3-3 instead of 6-0, like it should have been, seems to prove my point.

The 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates are fun and worth following. They just aren’t true contenders.

Two Cent Takes

MLB

~The Phillies are in a rut, to say the least. They have lost 7 straight series and 8 of their last 9. The Dodgers beat the Phillies last night and suddenly the equally struggling Atlanta Braves are only 5.5 games out. Nothing stands out specifically. Some nights it is the pitching, while others it is the hitting. The Phillies do own one of the strangest catches of the year.

 

 

~You can hear my thoughts on last week’s trade deadline on my Musings podcast, but I questioned what the Orioles were doing. They send out Austin Hays and get Phillies castoffs SerAnthony Dominguez and Christian Pache. Then the O’s replace Hays with former White Sox star Eloy Jimenez. The former meaning he hasn’t been a star for a long time. Then immediately after I tape the podcast they release Pache. Baffling trade deadline from a team with real World Series aspirations.

~The Chicago White Sox are going to most likely go down as the worst team in baseball history. The Sox lost their 21 straight game last night, tying the ‘88 Orioles. Later this week the ‘61 Phillies may finally be taken off the hook at 23 straight losses. Just brutal baseball in Chicago.

College Hoops

~In 2018 we were introduced to the charming and delightful Sister Jean, who traveled with the Loyola Ramblers hoops team on their Cinderella Final Four run. Sister Jean still has some game left as she turns 105.

 


NFL

~Brandon Aiyuk may be a Steeler by the time you read this. Or maybe not. Talk about mixed signals from all parties. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the Steelers making this trade, but after looking at numbers I will say this: based on the current wide receiver pay scale, Aiyuk is worth what he will get. He is a top ten wide receiver and finished second in yards per catch a year ago. The receiver ahead of him? George Pickens. I don’t know that I would give up a first round pick, but I would start the discussion at a second rounder.

~In the time it took me to type the above blurb, it now appears Aiyuk is headed to Cleveland or New England. The Row s would allegedly send Amari Cooper back in the trade, which could entice the Niners. Social media has made these situations more like a soap opera.

~The Steelers seem to be liking Justin Fields more and more each day. I would be ecstatic if Fields can legitimately win the quarterback job.

~Let’s hope the electronic monitoring of first downs goes smoothly this preseason. It needs to be installed for the regular season  as it ‘s been a long time coming.

~Aaron Rodgers…Jets…Super Bowl…blah, blah, blah. Please be serious.

College Football

~Will Michigan suffer any consequences from Stallions-Gate? Probably not, but Sherrone Moore may be sweating. As for former coach Jim Harbaugh, he is in deny, deny, deny mode.

 

 

You could play that video for your kids to teach them the basics, but Jimmy may scare them.

Golf

~What does a man who has won everything this year still need? How about a gold medal. Scottie Scheffler won Olympic gold with a stellar final round in Paris. The Louisville police department is the only thing to slow Scheffler down for a minute this year.

~Jon Rahm had gold in his sights, and then silver, and then bronze, and then the choke was complete with him finishing off the medal stand. Despite winning the last LIV tournament, Rahm seems to have destroyed his golf game, mentality, and legacy all for a truckload of cash. He is clearly miserable.

 

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

I am not a big Olympics guy anymore. The whole amateurism thing and all. But easily the best part of the Paris Olympics has been this American treasure. Check these out, and do yourself a favor and go to Twitter and see Snoop and Martha Stewart at the Dressage event. You will thank me.

 

 

 

 


 

Whatever NBC is paying Snoop, it is well worth it.

A Penny For My Final Thought…

I stopped paying attention to the Olympics when it became clear amateurism was no longer a requirement.

Those of you old enough to remember how great it felt to watch our American ice hockey team, a group of amateurs, beat the Russian pros to lead to a gold medal in 1980 understand. Who cares if LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry lead a team of the best professional basketball players in the world to a gold medal, beating a bunch of countries with far less fire power? That just isn’t what the Olympic Games were intended to highlight.

I realize playing for your country is an incredible draw for any athlete. Look at Scottie Scheffler’s reaction during the playing of the National Anthem.

 

 

That’s pretty cool stuff right there.

Admittedly, the track, swimming, gymnastics, and more are events worth watching because, even though many of those athletes are compensated, this is their biggest stage. A chance to shine for their country and a chance to shine personally.

Otherwise, the Olympics have become…eh.

Politics have always tied the Olympics in knots. From Jesse Owens putting his hand to heart during the Anthem after winning gold in front of a Nazi aggrandizing Adolf Hitler to the heinous and tragic attacks on Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics that resulted in 11 deaths to the American and Russian dueling boycotts in 1980 and 1984.

These Paris Olympics had politics seep into the action once again.

Female boxer Imane Khelif has taken center stage in this ridiculous controversy.

We live — and some thrive— in a “gotcha” world. People that are homophobic, transphobic, or any of the phobics, are so ready to pounce on a case so they can say, “See what is happening to our world” they don’t bother to understand the facts.

This really started decades ago when girls wanted to play boys sports. At a high school near me, two boys retaliated by joining the girls field hockey team. At that point it became clear to sensible people that girls should compete with girls and boys with boys. Yet, there are still girls participating in both football and wrestling in Pennsylvania.

It is wrong. It should not happen.

The new debate over the last few years is about transgender females playing against biological females. There is an inherent advantage for the transgender athlete.

That is also wrong. It should not happen.

Khelif’s case is none of that. She happens to be a female with extra testosterone. She was born a female, raised a female, is listed as a female on all official documents, tries to set an example for girls in her country with her hard work, and comes from a country where she most likely would be jailed for being transgender. Algeria is old school like that.

Yet, the mob still has their pitchforks and torches at the ready.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling unloaded.

 

 

Wow. Just wow.

Calling a woman a man, then saying s(he) is smirking. Khelif clearly appears to be consoling her opponent, and again there is mountains of proof she is a female.

Eh, I was never a Harry Potter guy anyway.

Of course, these same people usually don’t let facts get in the way of a good story that fits their agenda. But let’s not do it at the Olympics.

I agree with the premise of preventing transgender athletes from competing against biological females, and I would bet most people do. Maybe more than most. That doesn’t mean you should go on a faux rage to promote that agenda. While these people are making Khelif’s opponents out to be victims they are forgetting the other victim. Imane Khelif. She is trying to have the joy of winning a medal, and instead has been vilified.

The Olympics are supposed to be for amateur athletes, promote competition, and encourage goodwill. Somewhere along the way a lot of that has gone by the wayside.

I lost my zest for watching the Olympics. Maybe it is the fact that I now have 423 channels to watch. Maybe it is the fact the games lost their way. Maybe it is the fact I have become an old fuddy duddy.

Who knows?

Maybe more Snoop will draw me back.

Just my two cents…