No one expects much out of the Pittsburgh Pirates this year; that’s what 18 consecutive years with a losing record (the longest such streak in North American professional sports) will do to the expectations of a fan base. But the Pirates have won 10 of their first 22 games, which is as good a start as you would think they would have. However, they may not be able to keep their head above water for much longer.
The Pirates are 10th in the National League in ERA, 11th in quality starts, and ninth in opposition batting average, and that’s not good enough given the dire state of their offense. Charlie Morton, Kevin Correia and Paul Maholm are the lynchpins of the rotation, but the Pirates are still looking for a couple of pitchers to step up and fill it out to boost their MLB odds. Jose Veras and Even Meek are decent in middle relief, while Joel Hanrahan has been good when he has the opportunity to save a game. Those opportunities may be few and far between, so Hanrahan has to make his chances count.
Offensively, the Pirates are 15th in runs scored, 12th in average, 14th in homers, and they’re also third in the league in strikeouts. Four players have three homers apiece, so at least there’s balance, but there’s not enough power to go around in the Pittsburgh lineup. Andrew McCutchen is off to a poor start this season, especially on the base paths where he has stolen three bases, but he has been caught three times as well.
But where Pittsburgh really hurts their chances is in the field, because they’re not good enough offensively or when it comes to pitching to make mistakes with the glove. The Pirates are 13th in the National League in fielding percentage and errors, and Pedro Alvarez has been the biggest culprit at third base with five errors. In a division with Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee and even the Chicago Cubs, the Pirates can’t afford to put themselves in situations where they can get out of an inning, but an error extends it, and bad things happen. Until they sort this out, it’ll be a battle with Houston to stay out of the Central basement.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
