In each of the two seasons preceding this one, the Pirates have undergone a big roster turnover at the end of July and limped to the end of the season. This year, the Pirates turned the roster over early and as a result, they’ve hit their huge slump early as well. They’ve now dropped 22 of 27 and frankly, whenever I watch them I get the distinct feeling that they might not ever win again.
That’s an exaggeration, of course, and with the young players that they have up now struggles are bound to happen. But that doesn’t mean that the losing isn’t frustrating. On top of all the losses, the Pirates have to play without Neil Walker for the rest of the weekend thanks to a concussion that will keep him out until at least next week. Walker’s been all over the place in his month as a Pirate, but at least he represents something different than the guys he replaced. With him out of the lineup until next week, that’s just one less interesting player to watch on the Pirates.
Tonight, the Pirates keep trying to salvage something out of this interleague road trip as Dan McCutchen makes his return to the black and gold. You may recall that McCutchen was in the starting rotation to begin the season, but then he took part in a 13-run inning and a 20-0 loss, and was banished to Triple-A never to be seen again. Except that now we are seeing him again. Let’s say that my hopes are not up.
First pitch tonight is 10:05, some semblance of a Clemente/Cangelosi update is after the jump.
Not sure what this is? Check here and here. Short version: in the comments pick the Pirates you think will be most and least valuable in today’s game. If you haven’t jumped aboard yet, it’s been a lot of fun so far and now’s as good a time as any to join in.
OK, between the USMNT losing, the server hijinx, and regular Saturday shenanigans, can we just say that it’s been a long day and I haven’t had time to update the C/C standings? I’ll get to it before tomorrow’s 4:10 game, I promise. Until then, just keep making the picks and I’ll find them where ever they end up.
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