Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – No Quit, But Something Else

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the baseball day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

Another day, another frustrating Pittsburgh Pirates loss.

Yesterday’s 12-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals was frustrating to fans and players alike. “I guarantee the people in the stands are not as grumbly as we are,” second baseman Josh Harrison said to the Tribune Review’s Rob Biertempfel (Full article here).

That’s all well and good, but to the fans in the stands, the lackluster efforts seen lately from the Pirates come off as quitting. Though I truthfully do not think that is the case, that is how the past week-plus of Pirates baseball has been perceived.

The team is now under .500 for the first time since July 2nd. Perhaps it is time for the fan base to drop antiquated notions of the team “quitting” and truly ask itself what it expected out of this 2016 club. With each passing day, the questions get louder.

Did last year’s 98-win team overachieve?

Is Clint Hurdle‘s seat getting warmer?

Were the Pirates right to bank on the youth movement?

Much like the team on the field, many will be searching for answers in the weeks to come.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Against Tonight’s Starter

It is hard to fathom, but the Pirates can still win the series against the Cardinals if they win the next two games. They start that undertaking tonight against rookie right-hander Luke Weaver.

Weaver has made but four starts in the major leagues to date, and this will be the Pirates first look at him. Here now is a look at Weaver’s season – and career – to date.

Weaver carries a full mix of pitches, with a four-seam fastball being thrown 61.1 percent of the time. He tempers that with a changeup – 23.4 percent – and mixes in a slider, curveball and cutter. The Pirates should be in attack mode right away, as Weaver throws fastballs on first pitch 71.88 percent of the time. If the Pirates can jump on the pitch early, they could inflict some damage and rattle the 23 year-old.

Yesterday’s Player of the Game

After each game – win or lose – We put out a poll on Twitter asking for your choice for Player of the Game honors. Here is the poll from yesterday.

The Pirates lose an ugly game 12-6 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 5, 2016

Baseball Talk on the Web

• The San Francisco Giants dealt him away earlier this year, and they may have dodged a bullet. Matt Duffy will miss the rest of the season.
• FanGraphs has a look at the Brewers’ incredible stolen base trends.
• Brian Dozier of the Twins is enjoying an incredible power surge. Baseball Prospectus has some notes on that as well as other Labor Day leftovers in their takeaways column.