close

Pirates fans have fun week

By Adam Brewer, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read

If you are a baseball fan, the last couple of days have been awesome to watch with an action-packed final weekend of the first half, a drama-filled Home Run Derby and a relatively interesting All-Star Game with some great young players.

If you are a Pirates fan, then this week has been an enjoyable one as well.

The Pirates took three of four against the first-place St. Louis Cardinals to end the first half and are currently 2½ games back of the top spot in the National League Central.

The last two games of that Cardinal series were almost unforgettable with the Battlin’ Buccos rallying from deficits and winning with walk-off hits in extra innings.

With both games being on a national stage, Andrew McCutchen launched a two-run homer in the 14th inning on Saturday, while Gregory Polanco roped an RBI single in the 10th with the bases loaded on Sunday against one of the NL’s best closers in Trevor Rosenthal.

Despite starting the season out slow and having fans panic across the area, the Pirates are currently 53-35 and are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

The Pirates are contending in the National League and are relying on strong starting pitching, good defense and timely hitting. Doesn’t matter the season, or the league, or the level of baseball, if a team can execute those three things it allows the opportunity to be successful and compete for a title.

The Pirates have received contributions from everybody in the first half, but the four key pieces to their success in the first half are their four All-Stars.

McCutchen is the face of the franchise and to me is in the discussion of the top-five best players in all of major league baseball. The center fielder can play defense, hit for power and average, has speed, is clutch and has slowly taken on a leadership role within the club.

After years of searching, the Pirates finally have their ace in Gerrit Cole. The powerful righty has an ERA of 2.30 and a MLB-high 13 wins on the season. Cole has arrived and judging from his All-Star appearance, he is ready for the spotlight.

Mark Melancon has been extremely underrated in 2015 and is currently leading the NL in saves with 29 at the break. Melancon has a devastating cutter and is almost a sure thing in the ninth. Sure he will allow some hits and home runs, but when he needs an out, he usually gets it.

The final chapter of A.J. Burnett’s career is getting off to a spectacular start, receiving his first All-Star appearance this season in his 17-year career. Burnett’s ERA is a mere 2.11 and every time he takes the mound he gives the Pirates a chance to win.

The next couple of weeks we are going to hear a lot of trade rumors and just wild accusations of who’s going where and for what.

It’s my favorite time of year (sarcastically) because every MLB clubs’ fans want this trade proposal: our bad players for your good players.

That usually never works and if you want something in the trade deadline, you have to give something up (Sorry folks, I don’t think there’s a market for Jose Tabata this year).

People get way too crazy and overwhelmed by the trade deadline and as for me personally, I think sometimes the best trade is no trade at all. What’s wrong with standing pat?

I mean I know the Pirates have a lot of holes on their team (consistent bat in right field, right-handed first basemen, middle relief and a fifth starter), but hey give this squad credit, they have won 53 games in the first half and have the second best record in the NL.

Small market clubs like the Pirates can’t afford to get a trade wrong and send their future away.

Just look at the Oakland A’s last year. The A’s, a small market club, went all in last season and traded their prize prospects for three top-tier starting pitchers.

What happened next? The A’s struggled in the second half, didn’t win their division and were eliminated from the playoffs in the one-game wild-card by the eventual AL champions Kansas City Royals.

Just like that the season was over, all three top-tier pitchers left for free agency in the off-season and their minor league system was in disarray.

Now Oakland is in last place in their division at the midway point of this season, and is years and drafts away from rebuilding their farm system.

The Pirates can’t afford to make a mistake at the trade deadline and have to be smart with their moves. If you want to get a bat for the bench and another arm in the bullpen, go ahead and make the move, but don’t trade your future for rent-a-players.

There are a lot more buyers than sellers at the trade deadline in 2015 with so many teams being within distance of their division leader. It’s going to be hard to land an impactful trade and get that player that changes the landscape in the NL.

If the Pirates want a trade partner, maybe they should look to the east and state rival Philadelphia Phillies. Outfielders Ben Revere and Jeff Francoeur might be on the table and might come by pretty cheap.

The Pirates just can’t afford to trade their big prospects like Tyler Glasnow, Josh Bell, Jamison Taillon, Alen Hanson or Nick Kingham.

Be patient, Pirates fans, and enjoy the second half of the season.

Enjoy every win, don’t panic over every loss and enjoy the ride. I have a feeling the ride is going to last very long and who knows, maybe a long ride into late October.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today