9-4-23 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter
Sorry it’s late, but life always wins, and this time, there was just no avoiding it.
1. 63-74 – It’s Not the Goal, but It Certainly Isn’t Nothing
The Pirates have surpassed their win total from last year, and as a head nod to their own futility have for the first time since 2019, ensured they would not lose 100 games, even if 2020 has to remain a perceived loss total only.
Look, that’s a good thing folks. And with 25 games left, even against really tough competition, every single game they win from 63 on up is now an improvement.
You can feel it should have been more, that’s certainly valid. You can believe with Cruz and Brubaker and Velasquez it would have been even better, that has to of course cross ones mind.
Sometimes, you just have to take it for what it is. They’ve improved despite challenges and injuries, they’ve managed to better themselves.
Now if that number needed to be 81 this year for you, ok, I simply never thought it was really on the table before the season started. In fact the only time it entered my thoughts was after they climbed to that insane 20-8 mark.
If that start poisons the overall and admittedly slight upward trend for you, hey, I get it, but you also can hardly take the accomplishment off of them either.
2. Enjoy Your Andujar
I’ve said just about everything I have to say about calling up Miguel Andujar. To be clear, I wouldn’t have wasted my time with it.
That said, since they’ve decided to call him up, go ahead and observe how they use him. Regardless of performance, really sit back and watch how they use this player.
They claim he’ll play a little first base, and outfield and some DH too, some of you really believe it’s an audition for next year.
I don’t share those beliefs.
This is a player entering his 2nd year of arbitration, the Pirates could of course retain him by simply offering him a tender, and being willing to give him 1.5, maybe 2 million next year.
As you watch him play, you’ll see even while they say it’s on the table, they won’t use him at First Base, not often anyway, and when they do, you’ll know he’s not really an answer there even if they did.
He could hit 10 homeruns from here through the last game of the season, the realities of how his skill set fits with what this team needs in 2024, and who will fill those roles won’t change.
DH is going to once again likely be filled by Andrew McCutchen, Right field unless there is a huge change in what we’ve seen is going to go to Henry Davis and Jack Suwinski. First base is at the very least going to go so someone they feel can field the position and it’s this point, well, series of points I just can’t get past with him.
So enjoy your Andujar time, have fun telling people who didn’t want to bother they were wrong, but I don’t see it making a lick of difference this offseason.
For what it’s worth, I hope he pounds baseballs for the rest of the waning season, my point has always been it simply can’t matter for next year, not if they truly want to improve.
3. Calm Down, it Was the Royals and Cardinals, They Stink
True of course, both of those teams are pretty bad this year, but the Cardinals are 4 games back of the Pirates in the loss column. The Bucs posted a 9-4 record against the Red Birds this year, so, in a way, aren’t the Pirates kinda responsible at least in part for their bad record?
This stuff always comes around. They’ve beaten the Padres, yes, yes with a bad record, again, one they personally helped them have. They’ve beaten the Braves or at least held their own in their first series with them, surely they don’t stink.
At some point, you can’t play that game, wins either matter or they don’t. The sweep of the Dodgers last year in Los Angeles, meant no more than the A’s kicking the Pirates’ butts this year in May.
Say what you want, but even the worst teams in the league beat the big guys every once in a while, and when we play the minimize game, really all we do is create a silly little game that the course of the entire season created.
If the Pirates played the Yankees in April, impressive wins, and this year when they play them in September, if they happen to win it’ll be because the Yankees stink.
All that stuff matters, but it also evens out most of the time. If they get swept against the Brewers, yes, I’ll acknowledge the Crew is a better team, hell, I’ll acknowledge it now, but as a fan, do the previous 6 suddenly count only if they secure 2 of 3 from the Brewers?
The wins against the Angels and the relative silencing of Ohtani, those probably don’t matter either because now they fully stink right?
Rant over, but it’s a silly way to take in a season.
4. Can Paul Skenes Fill an Immediate Rotation Slot?
For just a moment, put aside all you think you know about how the Pirates will handle Skenes on his path to the Majors. The most jaded of you could see them “hold him back” until 2025. Most of you who pay moderate attention will at least assume they’ll make him start in AAA until the extra year of team control threshold takes place. And of course some of you poor die hard good faith having folk, of course think he could start on opening day.
Here’s my take on this, I think Skenes has the talent to make the jump but next year I think this team needs to ensure he doesn’t have to.
The Pirates have a bunch of young pitchers that could come into Spring after a full off season looking better, the next wave guys will start making noise on their way into AA too, and Skenes rightly is the most exciting one. But I want this team to ignore all that good to great stuff that could happen. Ortiz figures it out, Contreras finds his fastball, you know what I’m talking about.
I want this team to physically block them. Have Keller, Oviedo, 2 free agents and allow one spot for the others to fight over. These two free agents could be beaten out, in fact if they do, great, but to WIN in 2024, you simply can’t count on a rookie, no matter how sexy his tools are, and you can’t count on a struggling kid to show up right either.
Buy plenty of insurance, allow nature to take it’s course and yes, probably over pay a guy or two. Price of doing business. Winning teams don’t leave a rotation in dire straights and cross their fingers. Winning teams prepare for seasoned pitchers to pitch professionally, and slowly be phased out by youth.
Again, even if I think Skenes could start on Opening Day, I personally would advise having a veteran free agent. Lots of options, doesn’t equal lots of depth when none of it is tested.
5. Scrapple & Fodder & Last Shots Too
The Pirates today called up Hunter Stratton, a long suffering prospect and 16th rounder back in 2017. This is a big kid, with a big arm and in the second half of this season he’s looked like a guy worth taking a look at, as opposed to just moving on from the almost 27 year old.
He took the place of Rob Zastryski who just came back himself.
The Pirates will do this sort of thing most of the rest of the season. Making decisions now to clear up the 40-man or start protecting players you plan to protect in the month of September used to be easier with expanded rosters, but now you see more guys one by one replace others who have had as much time as they’ll get.
This won’t involve a guy like Jared Jones, but it could involve a guy like Aldred, or Cody Bolton could get DFA’d. Little moves, little decisions, that’s kinda what it is now.
The back of the bullpen is shaping up. Mlodzinski, Bednar and Holderman have done well, Stratton is a guy who could in theory be that extra guy for the 6th or even to fill in when the others are resting. Worth a shot.
Steel City Pirates 