Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis
I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here. Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push. The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central. On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it. I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh. In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in. And here it is: Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month. So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).
The Good (with some unavoidable Bad and Ugly Mixed in):
Freddy Sanchez 2B- His average dipped to .282 in June, but is back up in the .330s for July. Overall his BA is .316 with 6 homers, 34 RBIs and a .478 slg and 27 doubles, but has 47 strikeouts with only 19 walks
Garrett Jones OF- Just started with the Pirates July 1, but for the month is batting .310, with a .762 SLG% and .370 OBP. His line so far for the month is 42 AB, 5 HR, 32 TB, 8 SO and 4 BB. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.
Andrew McCutcheon OF- Has only played in 36 games for the Bucs this year, yet is batting a tidy .292 with 2 HR, 23 RBIs, 9 2B and 5 3B with 7 stolen bases (pathetically, that leads the team).
Adam Laroche 1B- But you probably already know about him. He only has a .250 avg., yet he still somehow sports wood like a porn star: .447 SLG, .336 OBP with 12 HR, 39 RBI, and 22 doubles with 136 total bases. Perhaps the Sabermetricians are correct about batting average being a poor judge of a batter’s true ability.
Zach Duke P-a 3.29 ERA, but it’s not as good as it sounds. Here’s his ERA by month: April-2.43 May-2.98 June-3.83 July-4.50. Still, he has 65 SO compared to 32 BB and a 1.26 WHIP. Not that great, but he’s the only Pirates starter with an ERA below 4.29.
Matt Capps P- Has a disgusting 6.21 ERA, yet has 19 saves in 21 opportunities, and 20 SO in 29 IP. How is that even possible?
Evan Meek P- A solid middle reliever good for 1-3 innings of work per game. Has played in 28 games, posting a 2.67 ERA with 26 SO in 33.2 innings, giving up only 2 HR and a WHIP of 1.02. Bring this youngster along, Pirates.
Team Stats- 23 triples, 5th best in MLB, Hit-By-Pitch 33 times, also 5th best. The pitching staff has given up the 7th fewest Hits and Runs in the Majors, the 5th fewest Home Runs, and the 10th fewest Total Bases. Not bad. But here’s
The Bad:
These are all team stats, since I don’t want to single out specific players. I’d be up all night.
Hitting: Team average- .261, 14th in baseball. Hits-18th. Runs-21st. RBI-20th. SO- 13th most. Stolen Bases-16th. Extra Base Hits-19th.
Pitching: ERA 4.33, 18th in the Majors. Saves-24th. Earned Runs-18th. Walks-12th most. Stolen Bases allowed-10th most. SLG-18th worst. Walks per 9 innings- 8th most. Hits per 9 innings-13th worst.
So already the Good’s not that great and the Bad is at best middle of the road, but brace yourselves, Buckos, for
The Ugly:
Once again, all total team stats.
Hitting: SLG- 6th worst in baseball. OBP- 9th worst. OPS-7th worst. HR-2nd fewest. Total Bases-6th fewest. Walks-4th fewest drawn.
Pitching: Only 4 Complete Games (same as the Nationals). SO-fewest in MLB. WHIP- 6th worst. Opponents BA-4th worst. Strike Out to Walk ratio- 2nd worst, behind only the Nats.
I like the Pirates. I really do. And given the weak division they are in, anything is possible on paper. In reality, though, the outlook is at best dispiriting and at worst downright depressing. I wish I could say they are rebuilding, but with the owners shown interest in dumping off salary space even that’s a stretch. I’m not a hater; like I said, I’m suddenly a Pirates/Orioles/Nationals fan, but I just don’t see anything major happening this year. I’m still researching the Pirates Minor League teams, so maybe there’s some crazy future talent I haven’t yet foreseen, but there will be no World Series for Pittsburgh in the foreseeable future. Just be happy with the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup and give the baseball team a few years. They’ll eventually come around. Just don’t stop supporting them.
Yarrr!
Keywords: Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals
