Pirates pitching future looks very bright
 

The Pirates have had a losing season every single year since 1992. Rooting against them is like rooting against a handicapped child...only Justin Dew would do that.

Obviously, that futility will end this year. Despite being a money-line underdog on the strong majority of nights so far, they're 14 games over .500

In all of baseball, only the St. Louis Cardinals have a better record. The Pirates .595 win percentage even tops the AL best Boston Red Sox.

Jeff Locke (Age 25) is the only Pirates starting pitcher who has stayed healthy this year, in his 15 starts, he has a National League best ERA of 2.01 among all starting pitchers.

Gerrit Cole (Age 22) was a recent #1 overall pick in the draft. He's made just 3 career starts, and he's got the winning decision in all of them, over former Cy Young winners Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke ...and Friday night he beat Angels ace Jared Weaver in a game where his fastball repeatedly hit 100 MPH.

Locke doesn't have the overpowering stuff Cole has...but he paints the corners and pounds his fastball down in the strike zone. He hasn't always got the respect from the home plate ump that he deserves.

In one outing against the Cubs at Wrigley, he gave up just one-hit in 5.2 innings...But allowed 7 walks. K-Zone graphics had him painting the edge of the corners on pitches called balls all game long.

Gerrit Cole has electric stuff, but is far from a savvy and artful pitcher like Locke. 3-0 record or not, he belongs in the minors and needs more time to develop. He simply bears down with his fastball and throws it right over the heart of the plate. He has a very good slider, but he hasn't used it often enough on 2 strike counts.

The Pirates bullpen is sensational.

Grilli is 26-for-27 in save opportunities, with an ERA of 1.07 and a WHIP of 0.74

Melancon (Age 28) in 37 appearances, has an ERA of 0.99 and WHIP of 0.88

Justin Wilson (Lefty, Age 25) has pitched 41.2 innings, with an ERA of 2.16 and a WHIP of 1.01 -- his fastball has reached 100 MPH on several occasions and his oppositions batting average is .176

Bryan Morris (Righty, Age 26) has pitched 32.2 innings with an ERA of 2.48 and a WHIP of 0.95

Even the best hitters from the Pirates are very young. The great Andrew McCutchen is 26 years old. Marte is 24 years old. Neil Walker is 27 years old. Pedro Alverez is 26 years old. Jordy Mercer is hitting .290 with power at shortstop, and playing great defense, he's only 26 years old.

The last time the Pirates had a winning record, George H. W. Bush was president and Ron McAnally won his his 2nd straight Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer.

The Pirates are 0-for-8 with Clinton, 0-for-8 with Dubya, and 0-for-4 with Obama, so far. A losing record all the time.

An overabundance of talented young players is changing that.

I hope you're right about them...but they were 67-54 on August 19th last year & finished 79-83. Hopefully it will be different this year.

Won't be long before top prospect Jameson Taillon, the number 2 overall pick in 2010 will be added to that staff too.

Cole looks like he is for real. I know it is only 3 games gut he throws strikes, 100 MPR, and the balls that are hit kind of thud off the bat. The problem with the Pirates in the past couple if years is they don't really manufacture runs. When a guy or two are hot they score runs but they are susceptible to long run scoring slumps. That is what happened the last two Augusts after promising starts.

A 6-1 Pirates win over the Angels tonight.

The Angles opened up as a -130 favorite tonight, albeit at home, but with a bullpen guy named to start facing off against Francisco Liriano.

Of all the great pitching on the Pirates staff ... Liriano has actually been the guy who has been getting the worst looking swings from opposing batters this year.

He whiffed Mike Trout and even got a few very silly looking swing and misses out of him. Liriano's change-up has been very good. He's now 6-3 with just a 2.30 ERA.

They have a chance to sweep the Angels tomorrow...but will have to do it as a clear-cut underdog again.

Angels starter J. Blanton, who is 1-10 with a 5.62 ERA is a favorite against Pirates sinkerballer Charlie Morton.

Pirates now have the clear-cut 2nd best record in all of baseball, and they're an underdog a strong majority of night. Especially since A. J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez have gone to the DL.

Yes..1992..I was at one of the playoff games in Pgh with my Dad and Son. We were in the right field stands and Bonds lined a home run over our heads..My Dad says 'what happened':), told him Bonds won the game..still have my ticket stub...Been a Buc fan since before Bob Prince..still have an unopened 6-pack of Iron City beer. 'Pirates - Back to back Eastern Division Champions'. and another 'Saluting the 1995 AFC champions'. Big Steeler fan also of course..
Been torture last 20 years following the Pirates, in contention half the season then winding up in last place..Think finally they may hold on for the playoffs this year..
Favorite Pirates, Roberto Clemente and ugh Barry Bonds:eek:

Dave Parker and Willie Stargell were best in my lifetime.

Angels have gone up from a -129 favorite to a -153 favorite.

Clint Hurdle is giving both McCutchen and Martin (the 2 and 3 hole hitters) a day off.

Hurdle has been trying to milk this team along, it's frustrating, but hopefully it pays off in the deep stretch of the season.

Big Pirates win today to sweep the Angels on the road. Winning as clear-cut underdogs in all 3 games. And their 4th straight win, the first of which came as huge underdogs on the road in Cincy with minor league call-up Brandon Cumpton starting.



There is gossip going around that he could be the key piece of a trade with the Marlins that would bring Giancarlo Stanton to the Pirates.

Grilli got knocked around in the ninth yesterday. Hopefully he's not wearing out.

Yeah Taillon looks like what it would probably take to get Stanton, probably have to throw in Gregory Polanco too. Stanton would be a major upgrade hitting wise in RF though and adding him this year would show that the Pirates are serious about being contenders.

What's your thoughts on adding Stanton this year? The only problem I see with Stanton is his heath, he's missed a number of games over the past few years because of knee problems among other things...when he's healthy though he's one of the best power hitters in the major leagues.

I don't know enough about the business and economics of baseball, especially as it relates to a small market team. I know Stanton is young and cheap himself...and adding A right handed power bat in right field would be the best way to upgrade the current team. They say Tallion has an excellent fastball and curve, but he's benn stuck in AA because his change up is mediocre and they want him to develope that pitch a little more.

Ethier or Rios would be a huge upgrade though both dont come all that cheap. LA would certainly more or less give Ethier away of the Pirates would pay all of his salary but that won't happen. Even so you'd give up 10% prospect-wise for him or Rios compared to Stanton who seems to always be hurt.

Tough to see Huntington and Nutting paying a steep price in salary...though either of the two players mentioned puts them that much closer to a real playoff contender, I'd probably rather go with Rios.

It will be interesting to see how much they believe in Taillon and Polanco, as Taillon is about a year away from likely joining the rotation and Polanco who is still a few years away from making it to Pittsburgh looks like he has a higher ceiling than Marte, who has been great for the Pirates thus far. At this point I don't know how much you can trust Stanton to stay healthy to make the deal worthwhile.

We need a right-handed bat in right-field...and Ethier bats left-handed, so he isn't worth it imo.

Travis Snider is a young player without great numbers, but, against right-handed pitching, he's had a lot of good at-bats and hit the ball extremely hard, but a lot of times right at people. He plays good defense for a right fielder, runs the bases well, and I just like him against right-handed pitching.

Snider is useless against left handed pitching, though.

The Pirates have a losing record against Left-Handed starters this year. They're DH'ing a minor league call up Catcher for the 2nd game in a row tonight...because the opposing pitcher for Seattle is Left-Handed.

In my opinion, adding a good right-handed bat in right-field is the best way to upgrade the team.

Our everyday Second-baseman Neil Walker (switch-hitter) is batting .178 with 0 Homers from the right-side this year, but .271 with much better power from the Left.

Our everyday Third baseman Pedro Alvarez is hitting .179 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best Right Fielder bat in general, Travis Snider is hitting just .111 against Left Handed Pitching.

Our best bat at 1st base in general, Garrett Jones is hitting .083 against Left handed pitching this year, and is just a career .195 against left handed pitching.

Adding Andre Ethier, who is a .222 hitter against left handed pitching, isn't going to address what I see is the biggest flaw this team has.

Love the bullpen, love the starting rotation when healthy, love the line-up against right-handed opposing pitchers. However, the line-up is VERY shaky against Left handed opposing pitchers, and the poor record this year against Lefty Starters proves that out.

Miami is in no hurry to trade Stanton because he is under club control for years and its still early in the season so teams aren't desperate enough yet. He is going to probably get in the $7 million a year neighborhood next year in arbitration if he stays relatively healthy so it isnt like the Pirates are gonna get him past this year at 500k. IMO the Pirates should try to acquire 2nd tier vets like Rios and see how much of his salary the Sox will pay to make him go away. LA has to be desperate to dump Ethier with Puig looking so good though for them it is similar to Miami's situation timing-wise as everyone knows when Kemp comes back they dont have enough space for everyone and NOONE is taking Crawford. As other teams fade guys will become available near the deadline and as long as they don't overpay in prospects they should add payroll to make a run at a suspect NL this year. St Louis is solid as are the Reds and the Braves look good but the Nat'ls and Giants are both mediocre, its hard to believe in AZ or Col, the Phils are done and who else is there?

Locke is going to regress to the mean as he is outperforming his best minor league seasons, the bullpen will probably also regress somewhat as they get used more. Their older pitchers are dinged up. They are gonna need more offense and it can be had if they are just willing to pay some salary. Even a Josh Willingham will probably be available and his contract is very favorable at 7 million signed through next season. Morneau may be available as a relatively cheap 1/2 season rental. I don't know if Milwaukee would be a trading partner in division and he would cost a good prospect but Aoki would be a perfect addition to the lineup. Speed and OBP and a decent enough OF, makes peanuts and is old enough not be considered prime prospect. As a leadoff hitter he'd instantly make that lineup better.

Moorse of Seattle might be a good deadline option. He's a free agent after this year. Career .300 hitter against Left Handed pitching. Rent him. Start him against lefties and every other game him with Snider against righties ...which could keep his old ass fresh and add a great pinch hit option when Snider starts.

When teams aren't willing to spend they have to get what they can get which is why Ethier would be in play if LA is willing to eat money. He may not be great against LHP but he is a major upgrade over Snider who just isnt a starting level caliber player. Plus Ethier can play all 3 OF positions though you wouldn't want to see him in CF too much. Your main competition in the NL is StL, CIN and Atl and those teams have 3 LH starters of the 15 in the rotation one of whom is Paul Maholm who no one is scared of.

He is a terrible, terrible defensive OF, one of the worst in the league. Plus he is always hurt. He can hit but hurts immensely in the field.

Right field is by far the least important defensive position. We already have a great defensive outfield. You can hide a guy out there. Russell Martin, who is number 1 in all of baseball in catcher ERA and hasn't played the outfield since junior college, has been started in right field this year against left handed starters. Have to get a good right handed bat to hide out there some how.

Hopefully they're not thinking that the platoon of Snyder and Tabata will do the rest of the way.

I agree.

It was a good idea at the start of the season...both guys are young, can run, play good defense for RF, and maybe one would break-out.

I like T. Snidely Whiplash a lot against right-handed pitching. He works the counts, he has good at-bats, he usually gets the job done when he has to move runners over, he's been clutch with several timely hits in key spots, and he's been a little unlucky...hitting a lot of balls hard, but right at people.

Still, the offensive stats for him are mediocre. Cannon Shell can make a case with numbers that Ethier is the much better option ... but I feel good about Snider. At age 25 and a former mid 1st round pick, I still feel like he's a threat to get hot with the bat. However, he's a major liability against Lefty's.

Tabata, has the stupidest tattoo I've ever seen... lips on his neck, and can't stay healthy. Even though he hits right-handed, he doesn't get it done against left-handed pitching. He has a lot of annoying at-bats where you curse him, unlike Snider.

Other than right-field ... I don't see an upgrade. I'm fine with the Gabby Sanchez/Garrett Jones platoon at 1st base. We are absolutely set everywhere else.

If the Angels continue to struggle ... what about Mark Trumbo?

And playing right field for the Pirates tonight...Brandon Inge. Get the White Sox on the phone...

The Pirates need good ole #39 in Right Field - Dave Parker

One of the 1st ballplayers to fashion a diamond earring and the fans loved to hurl batteries at him while he played his outfield position - his famous quote back in 1980 was - "When the leaves turn brown, I'll be wearing the batting crown"....

Brandon Inge in RF...that Clint Hurdle is a genius

LOL. He smokes a 3-run homer.

He could be the right-handed power bat we've been looking for in RF...if you ignore his .198 batting average, otherwise lack of power, and decrepit age.

It's not pretty when you have Gabby hitting clean-up, a hotshot young Minor League call-up Catcher known more for his defense as your DH, and Inge as your right-fielder...but it's working great tonight.

I know right? After I posted about the White Sox, Inge goes and hits a 3 run homer. I had to give Hurdle credit and tab him a genius lol. Right now he's pushing all the right buttons with this team.

Honestly, Inge is the only right-handed hitter that they have available to play right-field with Tabata on the DL.

It was either that, or a 3-Catcher line-up...using Russell Martin in right-field, and have one Catcher DH and another one Catch.

But, you can't put Russell Martin in right-field with Locke on the mound. The two of them have a great chemistry. The announcers claim that Locke has not shaken off Martin a single time this year, which is unbelievable. He's literally thrown every pitch that Martin has called for.

Here's a crazy fact ... the Pirates have won all 7 games that Jenmar Gomez has started this year.

He was a huge underdog on a couple of occasions.

Still, I can't believe he is only a +140 underdog against King Felix in Seattle today.

If a Jenmar Gomez VS King Felix match-up in Seattle happened at the start of the year, Seattle would have been about a huge favorite.

They'd be tough to take against Hernandez today at only a +140, really depending on what the starting lineups look like with it being a day game after a night game today...who's going to be sitting, if anyone's getting a few extra days rest with it being an off day tomorrow. I know they tried to give both McCutchen and Martin off Sunday but ended up using both of them in that wild win against the Angels.

With Gomez just coming off the DL for the forearm after that bad start he had against Cincy last out where he gave up like 4 runs in one inning of work...he seems kind of shaky even against a light hitting team like the Mariners. It'd be nice though to sweep the 5 game road series against the AL West.

Pirates win again! 18 games over .500 now.

Just a half game behind St. Louis for the best record in all of baseball.

Nice outing by Gomez and it was obvious the Pirates had no intentions of resting anyone, big time sweep of the AL West on the road. Twelve of their next fifteen games at home.

They need a better player regardless

You dont think SS is a problem? Barmes has been awful at the plate and according to the defensive metrics has slipped in the field too. The young kid platooning with him is sure to regress.
1b for Pitt is a below average position.

They are near the bottom of the NL in most offensive categories, they dont hit HR's, they dont walk much, they don't score much. These are gonna be issues later in the year as the pitching fades.

Teams rarely trade guys under club control (ie-cheap contracts) for 3 more years

He's not platooning with him. Mercer is now the everyday starter.

Barmes lost the job. His defense was outstanding. He was robbing people of hits and making great plays every other game. He is just terrible with the bat.

I suppose it's a relative thing ... but I'm not worried at all about shortstop and I don't think the team is either.

The team has been a lot more successful since benching Barmes, but I still feel very good about having him.

Gabby Sanchez and Garrett Jones are both terrific defensive 1B's ... and they are a perfect platoon, because Gabby only hits left-handed pitching well and Jones is great against right-handed pitching but useless against lefties.

All this team needs is a good Right-handed bat in RF. The team is 8-0 when Jenmar Gomez starts games. He's just 25 years-old, he has a .276 ERA, a .114 WHIP, he pitched 5 innings of no hit-ball in his final AAA rehab start, and pitched very well today ... yet he's out of the starting rotation and headed back to the bullpen when Wandy and A. J. Burnett get back into the rotation.

The bullpen is unbelievable. I can see why AAA Indianapolis has been the best minor league team in baseball over the last few years.

This is not even close to the same team as last year. Last year, McCutchen, A. J Burnett, Walker and the bullpen were carrying the team by themselves for a long time. Those three guys have all been banged up this year, especially the latter two, and they've played below expectations.

This team got a monumental upgrade at catcher in Russell Martin. Liriano has been a nice addition to the starting rotation. And Melancon has been sensational in the bullpen. But, it's the youth movement that has made all the difference.

After the Cards just lost to the Houston Astros tonight...the Pirates now have the best record in all of baseball.

And...

12 of the next 15 Pirates games are at Home.

And 12 of the next 15 Pirates games are against teams with losing records.

They have a big chance to tack on to their 18 games over .500 record.

What an amazing job Clint Hurdle has done with this team. Maybe the best managing of a team I have seen in some time. I know a lot of ball left to be played but this guy looks to be a lock to get manager of the year award. :tro:

The problem is that most of the pitchers have exceeded what their norms would be and the team is still near the bottom of the league in offense.

Liriano isn't likely to make it through the season with a 2.30 ERA
Gomez is really unlikely to continue at his current pace
Locke is unlikely to continue at this pace
Burnett is 36 and hurt again
Wandy Rodriguez is hurt but is the only SP on the team not having a career year at this point.
Bryan Morris, Melancon, Grilli, Wilson all having career years or have stats that are exceeding their minor league numbers

The pitching coach obviously is doing a great job and the park factors help but it is unlikely that they all will continue to perform at the current level.

They are gonna have to add some bats to the lineup or they will just be the Oakland A's of the NL. Make the playoffs with young, cheap guys and castoff vets but get wiped out in the playoffs when they have to face the other teams best pitchers only. Understandably making the playoffs for a team that hasn't in 20 years is a huge deal but hopefully management doesnt make the mistake in thinking that this team as currently constructed can make any noise in the playoffs without an extreme amount of good fortune. Not hating on your team but it would be nice if they had a single guy hitting .300 or more than one with more than 8 HR's heading into July.

I saw where Paul Konerko might be available. Would seem to be a great fit. Add's needed power, the "intangble" of veteran leadership and most importantly for the Pirates is a FA after the season so they commit no money beyond this season.