Deflating Sweep to Cubs Bookends Inconsistent Homestand

Posted byDrew CaglePosted inOpinion & Analysis, SeriesTags:, , , , , , ,

8-30-24 – By Drew Cagle – @cagles_bagels

The Pirates’ last seven games served as a bit of a proving ground, in my opinion, to emerge from last place in the division and overtake teams like St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Things were looking up after taking three of four from the Reds over the weekend, but the weekday series against the Cubs was a different story. Chicago swept the Buccos, posting 41 runs over three games, and stealing a game on Wednesday where the Pirates led 10-3 after six innings.

The end of this season will be a bit all over the place, just like this homestand was

I’d like the team to finish over .500, or at least improve on last year’s 76-win total. It’s certainly doable, seeing that the team needs to finish the year 14-15 to match that mark.

But I don’t believe that’s the most important part of this closing stretch of games.

Seeing guys like Billy Cook, Liover Peguero, Nick Yorke, Henry Davis, and Jack Suwinski at the major league level remains a priority. Davis is already up, and I hope we see more of him, even after Joey Bart returns from injury. As I wrote weeks ago, the worst-case scenario for the end of this season is not only losing, but not knowing anything more about the aforementioned prospects and how they can help in 2025. Two things can be the case: this was an awful series against the Cubs, and there are still other objectives beyond wins and losses.

Pitching struggles, unless your name is Skenes

41 runs. Forty-one. To a Cubs team that isn’t setting the world on fire offensively, ranking below-average in OPS, batting average, and other offensive metrics. Adding fuel to the fire, those runs were scored in games started by guys that I’d argue are the Pirates’ top three starters, Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, and Paul Skenes. What started as a four-inning start on Monday that required Rowdy Tellez to pitch, ended up with a taxed bullpen that blew a seven-run lead in the final innings on Wednesday.

Paul Skenes didn’t have his best stuff Wednesday afternoon, conceding three runs over just five innings, but giving the Pirates a chance to win. Frankly, I was ready to write about how Skenes got a much-deserved win in the series finale, making up for one of those games earlier in the year where he got little-to-no run support. Well, he was staked with 10 runs by the Pirates offense, and it still wasn’t enough. The bullpen’s struggles let things get away, culminating with another blown save by David Bednar.

Derek Shelton should take some accountability

Accountability is a big word, one that we’ve discussed here previously on Steel City Pirates. Before I say what I’m about to, I want to make one thing clear: I think that the Pirates can win with Derek Shelton. I’m not “out” on him, nor do I think, as many other fans do, that the Pirates should fire him.

With that said, Shelton needs to take some level of responsibility for his decisions and the execution when those decisions are made. Oftentimes, we’ve seen him say things like “we have to execute better there” or “we have to make a better pitch”. Those things may be true, but to see a manager rarely admit to making a mistake or wrong decision is something that needs to change.

The odd timing of Oneil Cruz in center field

If you’d have told me on Sunday that Oneil Cruz would be moved to center field, and still wouldn’t be the biggest talking point of this article, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet, here we are.

I’m not a fan of moving Cruz during the season, but moving him off of shortstop was a move that I saw as imminent this offseason. There are more questions than answers right now, and it’s a decision that I’m not betting on succeeding. Ultimately time will tell, but I’d expect some growing pains in the final games of 2024.

One thought on “Deflating Sweep to Cubs Bookends Inconsistent Homestand”

    1. Peguero and Suwinski haven’t demonstrated this season they can consistently hit AAA well. I wouldn’t be in any rush to MLB with them, especially Peguero, who’s been spared from the seemingly mindless back and forth shuttling Suwinski got. The others, yes, likely should get that look.
    2. Skenes has kept the ERA down but has had pitch count issues all along. That needs to improve. Keller is a mixed bag who’s not had the stuff as much of late. I don’t think that’s merely the magic voodoo or whatever lots of people make it to be–there is a reason for it, usually physical or technique. Jones and Falter (less so) remain in injury return even as I type this, results lackluster so far. Ortiz I still see more good than bad in, glad they gave him an extended chance in the rotation. Bullpen imploded, seemingly only Santana immune. Despite the low ERA, Beeks weirdly doesn’t impress me. Nicolas and Chapman largely turned corners, and I am hoping Mlodzinski finally has too after a long way back to the firm he’s capable of since injury to start the year. Stratton became a casualty of foolish defense, even if fluke, a shame because he was finding his niche this year. The rest has been expendable. I’m overall encouraged by the pitching, but that Cubs series last week was awful, yeah.
    3. Absolutely.
    4. Although I agree, I do think this was the spot that’d make sense going into winter. The timing is the only part I don’t agree with.

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