In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates wake up today two games out of an NL Wild Card spot. With 12 straight games against opponents with sub-.500 records, the time has come for the club to make hay.
It feels like we’ve said that a few times before, but in facing the Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres – who carry a combined 123-181 record – Pittsburgh needs to avoid playing down to the competition. Though Miller Park has given them trouble in the past, the team should be able to find it’s way to at least nine wins in these 12 games.
An Appreciation Partay
Our own Tyler Waite noticed something exceptional about one Starling Marte, and it led to a very interesting bout of Twitter Trivia
Marte is only NL position player on pace for a WAR of at least 5 each of the past 4 seasons.
Name the 4 AL position players on pace as well
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) July 28, 2016
Four straight seasons of 5+ WAR performance is truly elite. Marte has been incredibly consistent this year, slashing .318/.373/.472. He is the only Pittsburgh Pirates regular batting above .300, and has 36 stolen bases to boot.
With apologies to his recent four RBI night, Andrew McCutchen continues to slog through a tough year. Will Clint Hurdle finally drop him in the lineup, perhaps replacing him with Marte? Time will tell, but Marte has certainly done enough to warrant a look in a more natural run-creation spot.
(In case you were wondering…the answer to our question is – Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler)
Baseball Talk on the Web
- We just saw them in town, but Off The Bench wonders if the Seattle Mariners have just given up.
- File this under sentences I never thought I’d write: Jays From the Couch is still buzzing over the Melvin Upton Jr. trade.
- Hey everybody! A trade actually happened! The Miami Marlins acquired Andrew Cashner from the Padres. MLB Trade Rumors is all over it.
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