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 are now playing out the string after being eliminated from playoff contention.
That does not mean that there can’t be moral victories, or shining individual performances.
The club got both of those last night, as they touched up Jake Arrieta and got a cycle from John Jaso. Jaso’s cycle was the first from a Pirate at PNC Park, and was the team’s first since Daryle Ward in 2004.
With the way the ball that became his triple died at the wall, it may have been predestined.
[mlbvideo id=”1193499783″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]While happenings such as Jaso’s cycle will not soothe fans’ pain at not making the playoffs and slogging through a tough year, they are still nice to see and remind us why we all love this game.
Divvying Up The Blame
Yesterday we asked you who you think deserves the lion’s share of the blame for the Pittsburgh Pirates missing the playoffs in 2016. You came through with some great participation, and here are the results:
Who is CHIEFLY to blame for the #Pirates missing the playoffs in 2016?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 28, 2016
Despite near season-long grumbling from many regarding the front office’s perceived lack of commitment to winning, the majority – granted, a small majority – rests the blame with the players themselves. It is hard to argue that point from far away, but an interesting article in the Trib from Travis Sawchik saw many in-house hinting at other issues.
Manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged that more talent might be needed. “We took some chances on some things early that didn’t work out like we anticipated” Hurdle said, as quoted in the article. Those chances chiefly trusting two-fifths of your rotation to Ryan Vogelsong and Juan Nicasio.
Andrew McCutchen also hinted at the need for stability derived from front office moves. From Sawchik’s piece:
“In order to have a good team you have to keep a core group of guys,” McCutchen said. “It’s very important to have a core and keep a core. A core doesn’t change.”
This could easily be read as dissatisfaction with the front office, or it could speak to numerous injuries and moving parts keeping the Pirates’ core from being on the field at the same time. It is hard to parse these words – though follow a link below from Colin Dunlap, who puts up a valiant effort – but in the coming months, with the benefit of hindsight after the season is over, perhaps they will carry a different meaning.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- As mentioned, 93.7 The Fan’s Colin Dunlap takes a stab at parsing McCutchen’s words.
- Neftali Feliz will not take the mound again for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season.
- FanGraphs has a fantastic post looking at home runs and how they affect the MLB’s middle class.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
