Fireworks.

Cookouts.

Red.

White.

Blue.

Baseball’s halfway point.

Oh, and my Two Cent midseason analysis.

All tremendous traditions for summer.

My focus is the tragedy that is the Pittsburgh Pirates, so I will do my midseason review and analysis of Bucco baseball here in the main column. This week’s Two Cent Takes will be my report card type analysis of each division in baseball. Finally, my Final Thought will be on the state of Major League Baseball.

It is the All American week of weeks, so it is a full slate of the artist formerly known as America’s Pastime in this week’s column.

A Pirate ship full of potential gone wrong

I could take the easy way out and just give the entire team an F, with a needs Improvement comment to the side.

That wouldn’t be entirely accurate, nor would it be entirely fair. What would be fair is to say Pirates fans should be deeply disappointed things are not better in year 5 of the current horrible GM’s tenure. Certainly, more progress should be noticeable at this point. A winning record should not be a pipe dream, but rather an expectation. Finally, a playoff berth should also be an expectation rather than the current position of “hoping they can make a run”.

Okay, so let’s break it down.

The team is currently 40-43, 9.5 games out of first place and 3 games behind the final wildcard. Two weeks ago, I wrote in my Final Thought that in my opinion the Pirates needed to go 14-10 getting to the All Star break to be taken seriously. To date, the Bucs are 5-6 in those games. They would need to finish 9-4 over the next two weeks to reach those serious talks.

If you have been watching you know that is quite unlikely, meaning the Pirates have as much chance to be sellers as buyers at the trade deadline.

In other words more of the same old, same old.

Here is my positional midterm report card:

  • Catcher: D-. Joey Bart is the only reason this position doesn’t get an F. Bart was a nice find, and has been more than adequate as a backup. For that fact, Jason Delay is a reliable backup as well. The problem is the team doesn’t have a competent starter. Henry Davis started his AA rehab assignment with 4 strikeouts in 6 at bats. He is totally lost, and that would appear to be his confidence as well. He may not be able to be counted on this year at all, or possibly ever. Yasmani Grandal is exhibit A of what you get shopping in a dumpster. He stinks and should be cut. He is lucky the GM wants to continue justifying his signing. The day he allowed home to be stolen whilst he lazily lobbed the ball back to the pitcher should have been the last straw. If not that, how about this.

 

 

 

  • First Base: D+. I added the plus because Rowdy Tellez has been relatively hot the last three weeks. Unfortunately that hot streak still has him sitting at .230 with a measly 4 home runs. In addition, Tellez won’t remind anyone of Keith Hernandez, or any other marginally decent defensive first baseman for that fact. Another dumpster dive gone awry.
  • Second Base: A-. Nick Gonzales started the year in AAA, figured things out, and came to Pittsburgh in May swinging. His defense has been better than advertised, too. Gonzales draws few walks, but has been a huge upgrade from original starter Jared Triolo. Liover Peguero, who is playing shortstop at AAA, could still be the best second baseman in the Pirates near future. Gonzales is 25 years old and Peguero is 23. It is nice to have some young options.
  • Shortstop: B-. O’Neil Cruz is a freak. For now, Cruz is an inconsistent freak. For every mammoth home run he hits, there are a half dozen strikeouts with flailing swings. For every eye opening throw across the diamond, there is a botched routine play. For every extra base his speed gets Cruz, there is a mental lapse. At 25, Cruz just completed what would equate to a full season. The faster that consistency comes, the faster Cruz becomes a star instead of a freak athlete that wows the crowd twice a week.
  • Third Base: F. This position gets an F because of the monumental disappointment Ke’Bryan Hayes has become. After showing gap power during a great two month stretch to end last year, Hayes not only is showing no power but he is struggling just to get base hits. Hayes is hitting .232 with a paltry 3 home runs and countless horrible at bats. On top of the return of his weak bat, Hayes looks little like the gold glover he was a year ago on defense. The sad thing is that there is literally no drop off when Jared Triolo plays third base.
  • Right Field: D. The combination of Jack Suwinski, Edward Olivares, and Connor Joe has been bleak. Joe got off to a great start, hasn’t completely dropped off a cliff, and always plays hard. He is the sole reason this grade isn’t an F. Olivares has been somewhat marginal at the plate but lousy on defense. Suwinski is an official train wreck, which is a shame. He is easy to root for.
  • Center Field: F. Sometimes manager Derek Shelton moves the train wreck to center field. Sometimes they play the dumpster fire that is Michael A Taylor, and the A is not for awesome or even alright. Ji Hwan Bae got a cup of coffee, but he certainly isn’t an answer. Center field is a black hole.
  • Left Field: A. Bryan Reynolds just lost his 25 game hit streak, but he is a bona fide all star. One of the best left fielders in the National League, Reynolds often is the only player worth watching.
  • DH: B. Andrew McCutchen is becoming like the Energizer bunny. He just keeps going, going, and going. In addition to showing some old guy pop in that bat, Cutch also walks a lot, making him an ideal leadoff hitter for the Pirates.
  • Starting Pitching: A. There are many teams in baseball that salivate at the thought of having Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller as their top three starters in the rotation. Keller will get all star consideration, while Skenes should make the team without question. Skenes is the hottest thing going in all of baseball. Jones has sort of become the forgotten man, but continues to provide quality starts. Bailey Falter has become a surprise solid fourth starter, while Luis Ortiz just may be putting a stranglehold on the fifth spot in the rotation. Plus, the Pirates have more arms waiting in the wings, with Bubba Chandler —currently at AA—turning the most heads. Oh, if only this great pitching staff wasn’t being wasted by an inept offense.
  • Bullpen: B-. David Bednar has now been hurt twice this year. He never has truly found that all star form from previous years. He was better leading up to his most recent injury, but he is still giving up a decent amount of hard hit balls. Aroldis Chapman had horrible control problems for the first two months of the season. That ship has been mostly righted, and Chapman has been throwing great of late. Colin Holderman is one of the better setup men in baseball. The rest of the pen has a few good arms and like most pens, a few atrocious arms. If Chapman and Bednar would have began more solidly, this grade would be higher.

Some promising stuff up there on the report card. Unfortunately I haven’t graded the front office yet.

Bob Nutting will always and forever get an F- as owner of the Pirates. If only he was being graded on his performance in clown college.


When an F- owner hires people they probably won’t be great at their jobs either. I mean, what legitimate GM wants to work for an owner who will ultimately make your job nearly impossible. Again, for all his faults, Neal Huntington at least got this team to the playoffs for three years. Here we are in year five of the Ben Cherington experience and things never improve.

The team is: “still building”, “Of course we expect to win”, “We like what we see”, “ We need to improve internally”. 

Um, yea, Ben Cherington gets a solid, meaty F as GM of the Pirates.

Cherington wasn’t any good in Boston, so I am not sure what people expected from him working for a penny pinching owner like Nutting.

Team president Travis Williams gets an incomplete because I still don’t officially know if he is alive.

Manager Derek Shelton gets a D. He was, is, and will remain in over his head as a major league manager. He continues to manage the team like it is little league, where everyone gets a chance. In fairness, a manager can only do so much with limited talent. And, boy, is there limited talent on this Pirates roster.

The Pirates hired a hitting coach in Andy Haines who Milwaukee fired because he made them worse. Even though I strongly believe that hitting is 90% on the player, how can you continue to employ this man considering the results of so many hitters on this team is below expectation. Even if it is simply for appearance sake, you must fire this guy.

This is why nobody should take this team seriously.

They don’t spend serious money, meaning on par with teams such as Milwaukee and Kansas City. They don’t acquire serious players, meaning players that have recent track records of real success. They don’t mange seriously, meaning that some decisions look like they are simply punting on that day’s game.

They don’t play serious baseball.

Multiple times in the first couple months of the season we had the pleasure of watching infielders and outfielders come together on pop ups and look at each other while the ball dropped. As mentioned above, the Pirates veteran catcher, who constantly lobs the ball back to the pitcher, allowed home plate to be swiped while doing so. Just the other day fans were treated to yet another Pirates player who couldn’t execute a basic slide.

 

 

Olivares looked more like a 75 year old man easing himself into the bath than he did a ball player trying to score the go ahead run.

Oh, and for good measure O’Neil Cruz was called out on strikes via pitch clock violation.

This is just not a team or organization to be taken seriously at this time.

Where would this team be heading to the Fourth of July cookout if Jack Suwinski, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Henry Davis were hitting to —or even close to—expectation? Instead they look like a guy who can’t adjust, a guy we thought we could trust, and a flat out bust.

Where would this team be if they were managed properly and developed players? Instead they far too often resemble the Bad News Bears…without Kelly Leak.

What if this organization was run by an owner that truly cared about winning and spent an acceptable amount of money on his team. Maybe a competent GM would actually want the job. Instead they are managed by SpongeBob, always looking for the bright spot and making everyone happy. The general manager resembles Patrick Star, a man who just isn’t bright enough to win the day. And the fans are left being a bunch of Squidwards, always annoyed by the incompetence.

If this were Nickelodeon the Pirates would be in good shape. Unfortunately it is Major League Baseball and more will be required in the second half of the season.

In my humble opinion, this team isn’t truly a contender. If the Padres and Cardinals keep trending up, that will become even more clear. Let me repeat, don’t be surprised if the Pirates end up taking on their usual role as sellers rather than buyers at this year’s trade deadline.

There is enormous hope when looking at the pitching staff. Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen are leading the way on offense, but more than Nick Gonzalez and occasionally Oneil Cruz will need to follow. Until then the Pirates will remain an also ran.

Eat some hot dogs and hamburgers this week, and go out and enjoy some fireworks. The Pirates certainly haven’t created many fireworks to enjoy.

Two Cent Takes

AL East

This is essentially a two team race and has been for some time. Baltimore caught the Yankees over the weekend and could pull away. The Orioles young lineup is phenomenal, led by the youngest in Gunnar Henderson. Henderson has MVP written all over him. If not this year, for years to come. The only thing I worry about with the O’s is the back end of the rotation and the closer. I worry about any team that employs Craig Kimbrel as their closer. Look for some possible additions at the deadline.

The Yankees have some big time boppers in Aaron Judge(MVP for now), Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton. The pitching just won’t hold up. Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt have been real finds, but the vets won’t hold up. No way do I trust Marcus Stroman. Gerrit Cole is just getting back to form, but I think this is a wildcard team right now. They will watch the Orioles leave them in the dust.

Boston has eyes on a wildcard spot, while Tampa is holding on for dear life. Toronto is easily one of my most disappointing teams. It sounds like the Jays are open for business at the deadline.

Midterm Report Card

  • Orioles A
  • Yankees A
  • Red Sox B+
  • Rays C-
  • Blue Jays D-

AL Central

As I type this, the Cleveland Guardians are the second best team in baseball. Let that sink in. If you don’t look closely, the only thing that jumps out at you is the yearly awesomeness of Jose Ramirez. Upon closer inspection Josh Naylor has become a bopper, Steven Kwan is a machine at the plate, and Emmanuel Clase is one of the best closers in the game. Tanner Bibee has improved on a solid rookie campaign, but the rest of the rotation is questionable. It really is amazing what is happening in Cleveland. Just steady, solid, baseball from the Guardians of Cleveland.

The Twins are the poster child for solid and steady. Veteran Carlos Correa leads the offense and Joe Ryan leads a steady if not spectacular pitching rotation. Minnesota has slipped past KC for second place in the AL Central.

I picked the Royals to win this division because they have the best young player in the AL and the best young pitcher in the AL. Bobby Witt is a five tool stud. He is hitting .312 with 12 HR, 22 2B, 9 3B, and 22 SB. Insane numbers for the best all around player in the American League. Along with Witt, Salvador Perez is having a rebirth of a season behind the plate. Cole Ragans has, indeed, been solid on the mound. However, it is Seth Lugo leading the way for a really solid rotation. The bullpen is iffy, which may cost the Royals in the second half.

Detroit continues to be Detroit, and the Chicago White Sox will have to hustle for 40 wins this year. And that is before they start trading off the few good players they have.

Midterm Report Card

  • Guardians A+
  • Twins A
  • Royals A+
  • Tigers D
  • White Sox F(promotion in danger due to lack of effort)

AL West

I predicted Seattle in the World Series and the Mariners are still in position. The Mariners do it with pitching. Offensively, Seattle only has two hitters over .250 with several hitters under .210. The pitching is led by George Kirby, Luis Castillo, and Logan Gilbert. The hitting is bound to improve, while the pitching will have to maintain. Pitching was always going to carry this team. My pick remains, but I must admit I don’t feel good about it.

That streaking orange blur in the Mariners’ rearview mirror is the Houston Astros. I am convinced the more the Astros cheat the better they play. Houston is 9-1 in its last 10 games. There is just too much talent on this roster to continue floundering. The offense is loaded, and the pitching keeps having someone new step up every year. This year it is Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti. Closer Josh Hader has 70 strike outs in 37 innings. The Astros are going to make the playoffs, and probably win the division.

The Rangers have come back to Earth. The Angels are putting the finishing touches on ruining Mike Trout’s entire career. How is Trout 32 already? The A’s balloon burst a while ago, and reality is now set in.

Midterm Report Card

  • Mariners B+
  • Astros C+
  • Rangers D-
  • Angels F(promotion in danger for impersonating a MLB team all these years)
  • A’s F(promotion in danger but where do we send the notice?)

NL East

The best team in baseball resides in Pennsylvania. Haha, no Parrot, not your guys. The Philadelphia Phillies have done almost everything successfully. Pay free agents, the correct free agents. Develop their own players. Trade well. Bryce Harper would appear healthy. Alex Bohm is hitting his stride. Aside from Nick Castellanos -0.1 WAR, the entire offense has a positive WAR. Everyone. Every starting pitcher other than Tijuan Walker —and I have no idea why he is still in the rotation— has an ERA under 3.50. Four starters —if you count Spencer Turnbull— have an ERA under 2.75. That is insanely good. Even the bullpen, typically a Philly sore spot, has come together. Probably the best thing you will hear about this team is their togetherness. I think a lot of that can be attributed to Harper’s leadership.

The Braves were my World Series pick in the National League. Then their best pitcher was lost for the season. Then their best position player was lost for the season. The Braves are still good. Before those injuries the Braves had the best roster. The Braves will earn a wildcard spot, but I just can’t see them having the pitching to win a playoff series.

The Mets have rebounded, but still don’t impress me. The Nats had a moment, and now it is closer to normal in Washington…with the baseball team I mean. The Marlins are lousy and I am guessing nobody in South Beach cares.

Midterm Report Card

  • Phillies A+
  • Braves B
  • Mets C
  • Nationals C
  • Marlins F(promotion in danger…tell those five fans at the ballpark)

NL Central

The Milwaukee Brewers let manager Craig Counsell walk away straight to Chicago. I thought for sure that would hinder the Brewers. Wrong again. The Brewers are the quintessential team. Ten players have 5 or more home runs. Seven players have at least 7 stolen bases. Five players have 10 or more doubles. Nobody strikes out excessively like so many other teams. Freddy Peralta has turned into an ace, while the Brewers piece together the rest of the rotation. So far, so good. The Brewers have the division on lock down right now, and I see no team capable of rising up to catch them.

The Cardinals have improved over the last month, despite Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado being shells of themselves so far this year. This is another doubles hitting team that scores just enough. Sonny Gray leads a staff full of thirty somethings. I just don’t have a lot of faith in this roster.

I covered the Pirates in the main column. The Reds are almost a mirror image of the Pirates, but with far less pitching. The Cubs are making Craig Counsell look like a bum and making Cody Bellinger available.

Midterm Report Card

  • Brewers A
  • Cardinals C
  • Pirates C-
  • Reds D
  • Cubs F

NL West

The Dodgers have the best roster money could buy. Shohei Ohtani is the MVP front runner, and he isn’t even pitching. I bet he would not have wagered that at the start of the season(sorry, I had to). Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Andy Pages, and Will Smith are a nice supporting cast. However, there is a lack of depth on this roster. The pitching is rock solid led by Tyler Glasnow. If the Dodgers could get Walker Buehler healthy they would be unbelievably deep on the mound. Just remember, Dave Roberts is still the manager so playoff failure is right around the corner.

The Padres finally got hot. Jurickson Profar is exceeding expectations, but Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis, and Jake Cronenworth still have some room to grow into their expectations. The pitching has been quite solid, led by Dylan Cease.  Joe Musgrove will return later this year, giving added depth to an already strong staff. Maybe the Padres will finally reach and succeed in the playoffs with all this talent.

The Diamondbacks and Giants are lingering just below .500, but could potentially get in the wildcard mix. The Rockies are the National League’s White Sox.

Midterm Report Card

  • Dodgers A
  • Padres B
  • Diamondbacks C
  • Giants C
  • Rockies F(promotion in danger due to high altitude pitching problems)

I almost never change my picks part way through a season. A Braves vs Mariners World Series could still happen, but I don’t like those chances. Instead I can envision a two hour drive on I-95 for a Phillies/Orioles World Series. I’m a sucker for a story line.

I would not count out the Astros in the American League and the Padres in the National League. I will root for the Guardians and/or Royals in the American League and the Pirates in the National League. Oh, shut up. I know. I’ve been rooting for the Pirates through 45 years of misery, so why stop now.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

Maybe the coolest batboy of all time. Odds are he saved Shohei’s melon with that move.

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Baseball in July of 2024 is no longer America’s pastime. It hasn’t been for some time.

First and foremost, the owners refuse to negotiate a salary cap into the collective bargaining agreement. Scott Boras loves it. As a matter of fact, the super agent may have a bigger hand in no salary cap than we know. It makes baseball the only professional sport without some sort of salary cap.

That means small market teams like the Pirates, Reds, Brewers, Rays, Guardians, etc. have to be almost perfect in what they do in order to achieve success. Teams like the Brewers, Rays, and Guardians have found success but never have won it all. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies, etc. can buy their way out of mistakes they make.

With a cap would come a floor, meaning cheap owners like Bob Nutting would be forced to spend to a certain amount. It would create an even playing field. You know, sort of like the NFL where teams like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and Kansas City can have massive success.

The NFL has become America’s pastime. Baseball is second rate.

It is an absurd system.

Other smaller things about the game put it in a bad light.

Like most sports, baseball is branching out to streaming services. But Roku? Luckily, I have a Roku so I have the Roku Channel(truth is I didn’t know there was a Roku Channel). That is where I found Sunday’s Pirates/Braves game…at 11:30 AM. Great marketing tool. Put games on a channel some didn’t know existed.

Roku Channel? That is absurd.

Earlier this season, baseball had the Phillies and Mets play a series in London. It was part of the London Series, which began in 2019, was revived last year, and then played again this year. A sport that has trouble building a larger fan base in America is worried about growing the game in England? Players from England have participated in a total of 677 MLB games since 1945. The Brits care about soccer, not baseball. But, hey, if you are super interested you can sign up at mlb.com for advanced notice of the next London Series.

Total absurdity.

Putting the strike zone box on TV was a great thing for fans. Seeing the umpires miss call after call after call is not great for anyone. There has never been any accountability for umpires. Angel Hernandez was given the option to retire earlier this year. He should have been fired five years ago. Umpiring in general has taken a hit, and their tolerance level for being questioned is low. It is a bad look for baseball.

It is absurd the umpires aren’t better.

The pitch clock has been great. There is certainly nothing wrong with keeping the game moving. Another rule that was instituted a year ago was starting a runner on second base when a game goes to extra innings. Again, the theory of the rule was to speed up the game and prevent games from going 17 or 18 innings. It is stupid. It isn’t baseball, and it isn’t really speeding anything up. Speeding up the game is great, but not if you are changing the rules.

The extra inning rule is absurd.

Analytics are fine within reason. Unfortunately, baseball seems to only be about analytics.

Pitchers are all about mph and spin rate. Very little pitching occurs. Consequently we see very rigid pitch counts, and pitchers rarely going deep into games. Complete games are almost a thing of the past.

Hitters are trained as young as Little League to worry about launch angles. It is all about the home runs. Batters up and down the lineup, including the bottom of the order, try to swing for the fences. Launch angles have created a bunch of .230 hitters. Only 13 batters are currently hitting .300 or better. The best average in all of baseball(with enough at bats) is .317.

Launch angles are an absurd way to teach hitting at any level. Just ask George Brett.

 

 

I love baseball. Always have. Always will.

I wish it didn’t have the plethora of problems it has now. Baseball seems to have lost its way. Hopefully some day the game I love will find its way back. For now, we must tolerate the absurd.

As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, I am much more adept at dealing with the absurd than most.

Just my two cents…