Pirates at 28-30
June 6th 2011 15:49
In 2005, the Pirates hit a "magical" 30-30 mark; it was the latest in many seasons that the Bucs had reached the .500 barrier, and unfortunately it was the high water mark of the recent years. I bring this up because this year has a strange feel to it. Let me explain.
In the write up about this weekend's series win against NL East-leading Philadelphia, manager Charlie Manuel had good things to say about the Pirates. "They came to play," he said, and the inference here is that not only did they come to play, but they were capable of playing and at a high level. After all, they beat Cole Hamels (despite Hamels only giving up one hit...okay, and let's be fair, Hamels left the game in a no-decision position), then won again on Saturday. Yesterday was a wash, and those games will just happen even to good teams. But the Phillies came away maybe a little impressed - or at least their manager was.
Or was this just a smoke screen, for a manager who's team just lost the series to say nice things to the home crowd just to make us feel better? It is the Pirates, after all, the laughingstock team of the entire major leagues. Why say anything nice about them?
Why do I say this? The Pirates are 28-30, that's true. They have improved their pitching immeasuably - yet with primarily the same guys. So...do you expect them to continue on an upward path or revert to form? More worrisome is that after 58 games (35% of the season) the Pirates are in deep in the bottom third of all offensive categories. 24th in runs, 27th in average, 26th in slugging. These are all indicators of a sub-par offense. Now pitching, they are 10th in ERA, 18th in BAA, 10th in quality starts. Call that upper mid-tier rankings in general, despite the 18s. Meaning that if you balance offense and defense, you're looking at a team settling out statistically around 20th. To me, a 20th total combined ranking team does not win more than they lose. They lose more than they win. Maybe by 7 games, but they do not finish above .500.
Yet, if the Pirates flirt with .500 this year, they'll put more butts in seats than have been at PNC for years. Why? I think that many fans are like me - so desperate for a good story about the Pirates that rooting insanely for them to just be respectable is a worthy cause. In one way, you have to learn how to win before you can expect to win. These Pirates need how to learn to win. Fan support at home would help tremendously - imagine late August or September games with packed stadiums, with that buzzing energy that is unique to a great baseball game. Yeah, that's something this city has been lacking for most of those 18 years.
Do I act the cynic and expect them to fall short? Or do I hope against hope and root for them to end their professional-sport-legacy of losing?
I don't know. But I will be watching. And maybe, just maybe, heading down to see a game or two.
In the write up about this weekend's series win against NL East-leading Philadelphia, manager Charlie Manuel had good things to say about the Pirates. "They came to play," he said, and the inference here is that not only did they come to play, but they were capable of playing and at a high level. After all, they beat Cole Hamels (despite Hamels only giving up one hit...okay, and let's be fair, Hamels left the game in a no-decision position), then won again on Saturday. Yesterday was a wash, and those games will just happen even to good teams. But the Phillies came away maybe a little impressed - or at least their manager was.
Or was this just a smoke screen, for a manager who's team just lost the series to say nice things to the home crowd just to make us feel better? It is the Pirates, after all, the laughingstock team of the entire major leagues. Why say anything nice about them?
Why do I say this? The Pirates are 28-30, that's true. They have improved their pitching immeasuably - yet with primarily the same guys. So...do you expect them to continue on an upward path or revert to form? More worrisome is that after 58 games (35% of the season) the Pirates are in deep in the bottom third of all offensive categories. 24th in runs, 27th in average, 26th in slugging. These are all indicators of a sub-par offense. Now pitching, they are 10th in ERA, 18th in BAA, 10th in quality starts. Call that upper mid-tier rankings in general, despite the 18s. Meaning that if you balance offense and defense, you're looking at a team settling out statistically around 20th. To me, a 20th total combined ranking team does not win more than they lose. They lose more than they win. Maybe by 7 games, but they do not finish above .500.
Yet, if the Pirates flirt with .500 this year, they'll put more butts in seats than have been at PNC for years. Why? I think that many fans are like me - so desperate for a good story about the Pirates that rooting insanely for them to just be respectable is a worthy cause. In one way, you have to learn how to win before you can expect to win. These Pirates need how to learn to win. Fan support at home would help tremendously - imagine late August or September games with packed stadiums, with that buzzing energy that is unique to a great baseball game. Yeah, that's something this city has been lacking for most of those 18 years.
Do I act the cynic and expect them to fall short? Or do I hope against hope and root for them to end their professional-sport-legacy of losing?
I don't know. But I will be watching. And maybe, just maybe, heading down to see a game or two.
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