In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the baseball day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
I can feel the Team Fading Away
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 6-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies last night, their 13th loss in 16 games. The team trailed the entire game and pretty much looked resigned to their fate. I refuse to believe the team has quit. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re checking the calendar and waiting for this season to end. When the team reported to Spring Training all the way back in February, I doubt any of them saw 2016 playing out this way. Coming off three straight playoff berths, I’d wager a losing season was the last thing on the team’s mind.
Steven Brault had a fairly poor start for the Pirates. He lasted just 3.2 innings, allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits and struck out three. It’s easy to label a prospect “a bust” based on their first handful of starts but that is short-sighted. Part of playing the young guys is letting them take their lumps. This is beneficial in the long run and could be vital for success in 2017. Don’t quit on a prospect because of early failures.
The effort last night was so poor, a relief pitcher won our Player of the Game poll. Wade LeBlanc (not to be confused with Matt LeBlanc of Friends fame) made his Pirates’ debut. He threw two innings of scoreless relief, allowed two hits and struck out three.
#Pirates fall to the #Phillies 6-2 tonight. Who is your Player of the Game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 15, 2016
Legs Felt like Stone
One of the bigger throwaways from last night’s game was extremely poor base-running by the Pirates. This has been a problem for a large portion of the season as it seems like the team can’t get out of its own way on the base-paths. Last night’s hero Sean Rodriguez was caught stealing and thrown out at home in the ninth inning.
Judging by purely BsR (the base-running component of WAR) only Starling Marte is an elite base runner on the Pirates. He has a BsR of 7.0, which is considered “elite” by the metric. Remove Marte from the equation and Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison and Adam Frazier are the team’s best baserunners with BsRs of 2.8, 2.7, and 1.1 respectively.
Once you take away Harrison, Mercer, and Frazier, the team is mostly made up of average to below average baserunners. The worst offender on the base-paths, you ask? First baseman John Jaso with a BsR of -5.3. Unlike last season where criticism was misguided, this year, it’s definitely a major issue and something that needs to be addressed in the offseason.
Baseball Talk on the Web
MLB announces 2017 regular season schedule
Yahoo Sports gives you Five Things you need to know about the 2017 MLB Schedule
ESPN.com has comments from MLB HOFer Tony La Russa regarding Adam Jones comments, Colin Kaepernick’s sincerity
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