Perrotto: Pirates’ Second-Half Regression Discouraging (+)
PITTSBURGH — An awful road trip followed by an awful homestand for the Pittsburgh Pirates is enough to ask for a do over.
When I joined Pittsburgh Baseball Now, my first column was about how the Pirates were beginning to field a representative team. I opined that, at the very least, they no longer stunk, which constituted progress.
However, it’s hard to make that same case a little more than a month later. The Pirates stink again and their latest of a never-ending string of rebuilding plans is taking a step back.
The Pirates’ 14-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday at PNC Park illustrated that point. The gap between the defending World Series champions and the Pirates is that wide.
The loss concluded a 2-7 homestand. That came after a 2-8 road trip.
Since sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in a three-game series at PNC Park from Aug. 2-4, the Pirates have lost 15 of 19 games. The sweep comes with a caveat because the Brewers sleepwalked for three days while reeling from the trade of closer Josh Hader.
The Pirates are now 30 games under .500 at 47-77. Their .379 winning percentage is third worst in the major leagues behind the Washington Nationals (.336) and Detroit Tigers (.376).
The Pirates are on pace to finish 61-101. That is the same record as last season.
No one realistically thought the Pirates would contend this season and only the most optimistic felt they could even flirt with a winning record.
However, as doggedly as the Pirates try to spin everything in a positive manner, another 101-loss season would be hard to sell to the fans as progress. Longtime fans have lived through too many failed rebuilds to believe this one is different.
Of course, the Pirates never use the word “rebuild.” It is as though use of the term is banned throughout the organization.
General manager Ben Cherington insists the Pirates are gaining ground as an organization, though.
“The benefit we have in baseball operations is that we get to be part of all the conversations that are happening inside the organization that are harder to see,” Cherington said. “We’re so energized by the work, and I really do believe we’re making progress in a lot of ways that isn’t showing up — it’s not going to show up publicly — but will help lead us to success.”
Maybe that’s the case. Time will tell.
The Pirates are touted for having an outstanding farm system. Their draft class in 2021 was hailed as the best in the game.
Yet the results aren’t showing up at the major league level. In fact, things are getting worse by the day.
Granted, part of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ slide has to do with trading left-hander Jose Quintana and designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach. David Bednar being sidelined by a back has exacerbated the team’s relief pitching problems.
Rookie shortstop Oneil Cruz almost breaks the sound barrier with some of his line drives but can’t lay off breaking balls in the dirt.
His Statcast numbers are otherworldly. His baseball IQ? Not so much.
Cruz can be pardoned to an extent for being just 22 years old. Yet Cruz often looks like he took up the sport last week rather than someone in his sixth season of professional baseball.
It’s not fair to pick on Cruz alone, though. He isn’t the Pirates only player who does perplexing things on a near-daily basis.
However, he is supposed to be the centerpiece of the rebuild – oops, that word again.
Youth can hinder a team. Sometimes.
The Cleveland Guardians have the youngest team in the major leagues. Yet they lead the American League Central by four games.
So why can’t the Pirates show at least some progress at the major league level?
“The thing is about baseball, there’s no sort of blueprint that you can look up to sort of tell you what a rebuild is supposed to look like — exactly what you do and how long is it supposed to take and all that because every situation is so different,” Cherington said. “Every team’s circumstances are so different. The players that are in place are so different; where they are, how many you have. Every situation is so different. So, no team can be compared to another, I don’t believe.”
It’s doubtful any other team wants to mimic the Pittsburgh Pirates right now. The momentum they were building before the All-Star break came in mid-July is gone. They are 8-23 in the second half.
The Pirates are sliding backward and that is discouraging.