In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
Riding The Roller Coaster
This 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates season is starting to feel like a roller coaster.
Roller coasters can be fun, but they can also make you sick.
Just a day after having their spirits buoyed by Jameson Taillon‘s gem, Pittsburgh Pirates fans were brought back down to earth at the hands of Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets. Before scratching across a couple of runs in the ninth, the club was on the receiving end of a blown-open shutout, and the final was 11-2. You can relive all of the gory details with our TnTs.
While it is important to note that the Pirates can still win the three-game series over the Mets, the manner in which the team lost to an undermanned Mets team was disturbing. Jeff Locke, Arquimedes Caminero, Rob Scahill and Cory Luebke all looked shaky in the loss.
Perhaps that alone encapsulates the issues preventing this team from enjoying long stretches of winning baseball. A good major league team can be successful even if its offense comes and goes.
No major league team expected to contend for the playoffs can be successful with problems up and down their pitching staff.
Time to Tinker
For the first time this season, Andrew McCutchen did not bat second in the lineup. He swapped spots with Gregory Polanco, who hit third. Results were not immediate, as the duo combined to go 1-for-7 yesterday. Regardless, the move is interesting for several reasons.
First, it could be a sign that Clint Hurdle is finally giving in to the notion that McCutchen is no longly simply “slumping.” McCutchen’s average sits at .236. His OPS is at .710 – easily lapped not just by Polanco and Starling Marte, but also by John Jaso and Josh Harrison. His 24.6 percent strikeout rate is second on the club, and it represents a near seven percent increase over his career numbers.
Is it fair to wonder if yesterday’s move to lower McCutchen in the lineup is the first salvo from the club that they are now going to draw a harder line with the 2013 NL MVP?
Yesterday’s Player Of The Game
After each game – win or lose – we put out a Twitter Poll to find out who you feel should take home ‘Player of the Game’ honors. Here now is yesterday’s results, for each game.
Who was your Player of the Game from tonight's 11-2 #Pirates loss to the #Mets?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) June 16, 2016
Keep an eye out for our POTG polls after each game on our twitter feed after each game, win or lose.
Baseball Talk On The Web
- Call To The Pen highlights the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of their weekly Minor League Rundown.
- Jose Reyes has been designated for assignment.
- Bleacher Report thinks that Taillon could MLB’s next young ace.
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