.500

[magnumo]

I readily admit that I never expected the Pirates to see .500 this late in the season (almost 30% complete). I remain wary, due to the woeful offense (still the worst in MLB and still at -23 in run differential)..... but I've never been so happy to be wrong!

Barajas seems to have worked his way back toward what passes for "normal" for him..... and Hague appears to have provided a slight spark. Now..... if Mercer can beat out Barmes, if Tabata starts to hit, if McCutchen keeps hitting, if Alvarez avoids returning to a deep funk, and if the rest of the lineup can contribute even a little bit..... AND if the pitchers, both starters and the bullpen, can maintain their effectiveness.....

Still a lot of "if's"..... but some hope, at least.

 

[element1286]

Agree, Mags, a lot of "ifs" but none of the them are unreasonable. Hopefully it is another fun ride, and last longer through the summer this year.

 

[sychmd]

if, if, if, if.......yea a lot of them.
but as element said, they are at least based on some evidence and show some decent probability of happening.

besides, what is the alternative. playing eeyore, and having no light at the end of the tunnel. what will be more fun.

 

[Darkstone42]

I readily admit that I never expected the Pirates to see .500 this late in the season (almost 30% complete). I remain wary, due to the woeful offense (still the worst in MLB and still at -23 in run differential)..... but I've never been so happy to be wrong!

Barajas seems to have worked his way back toward what passes for "normal" for him..... and Hague appears to have provided a slight spark. Now..... if Mercer can beat out Barmes, if Tabata starts to hit, if McCutchen keeps hitting, if Alvarez avoids returning to a deep funk, and if the rest of the lineup can contribute even a little bit..... AND if the pitchers, both starters and the bullpen, can maintain their effectiveness.....

Still a lot of "if's"..... but some hope, at least.

I have bolded the if's I think are closer to when's and underlined the if's I believe are "conditionally" close to when's. Below, I'll elaborate on the latter.

I think Alvarez is going to find consistency this season, but it will be a gradual process. The hot streaks will be about the same as they have been, really fantastic, but really short. The cold streaks, though, I think will get gradually shorter throughout the season as Pedro learns to deal with short-term ineffectiveness. The time gaps will increasingly, then, be filled with steady hitting, not otherwordly like his hot streaks, but solid, low-to-mid-.800 OPS type runs. I also think the funks will never go away entirely, they'll just be shorter and less awful.

For the pitching, the condition is health. If they stay healthy (and the only real concern there is Bedard), they'll be effective. The talent is there and the knowledge has been coming fast. Remember that we're not even at 100% right now. Karstens is probably the smartest pitcher in our starting rotation, and he's not pitching.

Morton has not looked good, but I have to wonder how much of that is related to his offseason surgery. Regardless, with Lincoln around, and Karstens yet to return, we have the option of removing both Morton and Correia from the rotation if they start to hurt more than help, or before if it looks like a collapse is imminent. Having options is always nice.

 

[Burgh Sports Rule]

I am as optimistic as all of you are about this club. However, tonight's game was a steaming pile of Doggie Doo. And, it came against a pitcher in Homer Bailey, that going into this game, I felt we could handle.

Morton needs to pitch better than he did tonight or he needs to be out of this rotation.

AJ Burnett needs to be at his best tomorrow night. Cueto has pitched very well against us recently & we need to come ready to play.

Going to be tough to get 2 of 3 now against the Reds but I hope we can do it?

Burgh