Perrotto: Pirates May Not Have Enough Left to be Spoilers (+)
Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland used to always say the pennant race starts Aug. 15. So, using the Leyland calendar, here’s wishing everyone a happy second day of the pennant race.
The first time I heard Leyland say that was in 1990. The Pirates really were in a pennant race that year with Leyland as manager as they went on to win three consecutive National League East titles.
However, August and September have rarely been important to the Pirates in the ensuing 30 years. The Pirates have been to the postseason just three times, each year as a wild card from 2013-15.
The current edition of the Pirates has long dropped out of contention.
With a 45-70 record, the Pirates are last in the National League Central, trailing the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals by 18.5 games. The Pirates also trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 18.5 games for the third NL wild card.
The Pirates are also coming off a dreadful 2-9 road trip in which they lost two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles and three of four to the Arizona Diamondbacks before being swept in a three-game series by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend.
Sadly, though not unexpectedly, the Pirates’ primary goal between now and season’s end is to try to improve their chances in the draft lottery. They can do that by losing, which is troubling if for no other reason than the basic premise of competitive athletics is to win.
The Pirates do have a chance to impact some pennant races, though. They play 33 of their final 47 games against contending teams. For the sake of this exercise, we’ll consider any team within five games of a playoff spot as a contender.
That includes three games against the Boston Red Sox in a series that begins Tuesday night at PNC Park. The Red Sox are 57-59 and in last place in the American League East but still 4.5 games out of the third AL wild card.
The Pirates certainly can have a say in the tight NL Central race in which the Cardinals hold a 1.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.
While the Pirates have just three games remaining with the Brewers from Aug. 29-31 in Milwaukee, they play the Cardinals nine more times, including three games from Sept. 9-11 in Pittsburgh. The last six matchups end the regular season — a three-game series from Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in St. Louis and a three-game set from Oct. 3-5 at PNC Park.
The Pirates also have three-game home series with the Atlanta Braves from next Monday-Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays from Sept. 2-4 and New York Mets from Sept. 5-7.
The Pirates visit the Phillies for a three-game set from Aug. 26-28.
Of course, it is easy to question if the Pirates can even spring a few upsets over the season’s final weeks.
The starting rotation lacks a veteran stabilizer since Jose Quintana was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 2. The bullpen is out of order with closer David Bednar injured. The offense is inconsistent and misses the pop and on-base percentage provided by Daniel Vogelbach, who was dealt to the New York Mets last month.
Thus, the chances of the Pirates being a spoiler don’t seem particularly good. That leaves fans hoping perhaps the Pirates’ rebuilding process will have the major league club in a better position come next Aug. 15.