4-6-25 – Ethan S. Smith – @mvp_EtHaN
The Pittsburgh Pirates returned to PNC Park on Friday, and, well, things didn’t go great.
On the field, Max Fried and the New York Yankees decimated Mitch Keller and the Pirates 9-4, with the Yankees dominating from the offset. Off the field, “Sell the Team” chants were heard just about every half inning, alongside numerous other “Sell the Team” fan fare, from a plane flying over the North Shore, to protests and even t-shirts and other apparel asking owner Bob Nutting to sell the franchise.
Gary Morgan wrote a piece on Opening Day and the weird vibe that surrounded it, and it’s fascinating, seeing as a home opener for any franchise, in any sport, is usually an event of celebration, not remorse, but that was the case yesterday.
Having been to my second home opener, first being last year versus Baltimore, things felt off everywhere, from the on-field product, will be of major focus in this piece, to everything happening in the stands, from arguments, to New York Yankees Paul Skenes jerseys and well, the men’s bathroom lines.
Things rightfully felt weird, and, sadly, there’s a clear premise behind the thought process of the fans that were at the game yesterday, “Is it ever going to get better?”
That was asked to me by a few people in section 124, some Yankees fans asking from an outside perspective and to be quite honest, a completely different mindset on the game of baseball, and of course lifelong Pirates fans, who have seen the ups and downs of the franchise much longer than I have.
My answer to all comers was the same, “They can only go up from here right?”. Sounds like a cop out answer, sure, but let’s look at some things we’ve seen from the first eight games and the past six years under this managerial regime.
For starters, 2025 has sucked for this Pirates group, just about every worry we as fans, and the team mind you, has come to light and hit the team like an 18 wheeler on I-22. David Bednar has already been sent down to AAA-Indianapolis amidst more struggles that carried over from last season, and I want to believe he can rekindle his back-to-back All-Star form at some point, but he’s going to have to do it fast.
The offense, oh that beautifully bad offense, has yet to surpass the four runs scored mark in any of their eight games this season, ranking 26th in baseball with 23 runs scored, just ahead of the Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies while being tied with the Texas Rangers. Right now, only Endy Rodriguez and Oneil Cruz possess multiple extra base hits, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been arguably their most consistent bat, and he’s batting ninth in the order most days.
The starting rotation, the clear strength of the roster, has overall been fine. We’re just getting through the second turn through the rotation, and Paul Skenes seems to have his eyes set on a Cy Young candidacy, Mitch Keller is having his usual ups and downs following his start Friday, and Bailey Falter, Andrew Heaney and Thomas Harrington, or whoever is the fifth starter, are finding their footing early on.
All of this is true about the first eight games. The offense stinks, the bullpen is shaky at best and the starting rotation has questions in the back end but is an overall good group. Will the offense continue to be this bad? More than likely no. Will the bullpen eventually find roles for all of the newcomers and become a more serviceable unit? More than likely yes, seeing as Bednar’s absence has shaken some things around.
We’re eight games in, and firmly, this team can still be around .500 or even above it if the right cards are dealt and the chips on the table work their magic. Will that happen? History would tell us no, seeing as manager Derek Shelton hasn’t sniffed a .500 or better campaign in his time with the Pirates, but, you also have to ask yourself this, “Is this the best version of the 2025 Pirates?” The clear answer is absolutely not.
Jared Jones will be sidelined for awhile. Where the team will be by the time he returns is a mystery, but he no doubt helps this roster more than he hurts it. Nick Gonzales will return from a short IL stint soon, and although he’s not a massively impactful bat, he should help things more than hurt them, seeing as I’d rather see Gonzales as second base rather than Jared Triolo or Adam Frazier.
Bryan Reynolds is working through a minor injury but still designated hitting at the moment, and Reynolds is a historically good player and will eventually progress to his mean averages, which help the team. Oneil Cruz appears to be taking baby steps towards being the clear impact bat of this lineup, Ke’Bryan Hayes advanced Statcast numbers say luck will eventually teeter towards his favor and some of the young guys, like Endy, will get more comfortable as the season progresses.
This, all before Nick Yorke makes his way here, before Billy Cook makes his way, before the likes of Bubba Chandler or any number of young, talented arms the Pirates have make their way here. This is the product we’re being fed for now, and its not a winning one, that’s for sure, but, with the ingredients spread around the organization, and hopes that regression to the mean come into play, the only direction this team can go is upwards.
You’re probably wondering how I can take any sliver of positivity out of what I watched in person yesterday, and your wonder and curiosity makes a ton of sense, but let me explain.
If the Pirates were in the same position, 2-6 through eight games, and were fielding their best 26 players, I’d be massively more worried, but they aren’t fielding their best 26, partly because they can’t due to injury and partly because they have their own plans set for some players that can contribute throughout the remainder of 2025. If you think of it that way, it becomes a little easier to bite the bullet on what we’ve witnessed throughout the first week and change of the season, mainly because we don’t have a “best version” to compare to what we’ve seen so far.
Is the best version of this 2025 team a competitor? Maybe, but we’re practically seeing what the worst possible scenario is for this ball club, all outside aside, which is a ball club not seeing their young talent, specifically bats, develop, and veteran signings not making worthy enough contributions for it to even matter.
The Pirates play the Yankees again two more times over the weekend, and every game is an opportunity to right the ship, but for now, the Pirates are at their lowest point, they can only go upwards, its up to them just how far up they can go.
Steel City Pirates 