RECAPPING THE WEEK THAT WAS
The trade deadline came and went last Monday at 6:00PM, the Pirates overhauled their bullpen by acquiring Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates and Luke Bachar. And then they went out and just kept losing this week. They went 2-5 this week and in the stretch of 17 games without an off day, they went a pathetic 5-12. They now drop to 58-62 and sit 5.5 games behind the NL Wildcard race.
The bullpen hasn’t been bad, they’ve actually been pretty good since the trade deadline, but of course the rotation is going downhill and the offense continues to be a problem…especially against left-handed pitching. It’s bleak right now and folks are not happy:
I don’t know if I’d agree that they are unlikable because I believe that it all comes down to winning. If the team was 10 games over and leading the wildcard race, this team would suddenly seem likable.
Damn, how dare we be negative after watching this team go 6-14 since the Cleveland series, not pick up a hitter that can hit lefties at the deadline and watch lifeless loss after lifeless loss. Are these people serious???
Stumpf’s Had Enough
On today’s episode of OffBeat, Alex Stumpf was about as fired up as I’ve seen him be. He calls this rock bottom and asked the question if this is the most disappointing Pirates team?
I definitely think this is one of the more disappointing Pirates team of my lifetime. I would say 2016 was probably more disappointing, but expectations are a bitch. They were expected to compete this season, they did compete for part of it and now are in the process of falling apart.
NEWS & NOTES
A Collapse?
I keep seeing people online call this the latest collapse just like 2011 and 2012, but can we even call this season a collapse? They never really went on a sustained run that put them well above .500. Their high mark for this season was five games over at 34-29 and then they’d fall back to .500 immediately then go three or four games back up then back to .500. They just played a weird season where they play a couple games over then regress back to .500 and did a good job of staying right at .500 until about a week ago. And they were 5 over on June 5, not in the second half this season. In 2011, they were 51-44, seven games over on July 20 in the second half. And in 2012 they were a wild 16 games over .500 (63-47) on August 9 before falling off a cliff and finishing below .500. Now that was a collapse. This season just seems like it’s water finding it’s level. They were never that good to go 10 games over and they were never that bad to drop far below .500. This team was talented, but just had too many holes to really distance themselves from the rest of the division and .500. They hovered around it all season which tells me that they are just a .500 team at the end of the day, but this is much different from a collapse.
Heart and Hustle Award
Jake Mangum won something called the Heart and Hustle Award…
When I saw this, my first thought was “well, this will go over well with some of the fanbase.” I honestly have never heard of this award, apparently each team gets a winner for this award. It’s apparently voted on and handed out by the MLB Players Alumni. You learn something new every day! This one is a new one for me. Congrats to Jake I guess. He definitely goes all out and leaves the fanbase split on him when he does something well and then turns around and allows triples by diving at a ball in center like he did on Sunday.
Santana Gets Picked Up
Dennis Santana has a new team:
It’s a shame how things turned out in Pittsburgh for Santana, but it was time for him to go. I’m sure we will see him again at some point and I hope he sticks with the Diamondbacks.
Cruz Rehab Started
It’s been a long time coming and had a setback, but finally Oneil Cruz is on his rehab assignment:
Of course, Cruz went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Sunday for Triple-A Indianapolis. And old friend Josh Fleming started, who’s a LEFTY, so Cruz will fit right in here with this lineup. I don’t care what his performance is at Indy as long as he’s healthy. Get back here soon, Oneil.
Why Didn’t the Pirates Pick Up Austin Hays?
So the Pirates can’t hit LHP, they ignored the problem at the trade deadline and didn’t pick up anyone. Austin Hays, who has hit LHP for the most part across his career, was DFA’d by the White Sox and then released two days later. He was essentially free to pick up, would have cost very little. The Pirates didn’t move on him and the Padres, who’s also ahead of the Pirates in the wildcard race, did this past week signing him to a deal. And just as fate would have it, look what he did against a LHP Sunday night in a win over the Astros:
Can you see my major eye roll right now? It’s one thing to not want to spend any prospect capital on a rental bat that can hit lefties, but Hays was released and costs you next to nothing. That’s right up the Pirates alley! But they sat on their hands and lost to another lefty Sunday.
Disappointing Pitching Numbers
Dan Zangrilli’s tweet following Sunday’s game had people going:
Just look at the comments on his tweet. Nearly everyone talking about the pitching coach change from Oscar Marin to Bill Murphy. It definitely was a curious move at the time considering how well the staff did last season under Marin. It’s a valid criticism for sure. A lot of pitchers have regressed instead of improving. Who knows what they’ll do in the offseason, but I’m not sure how you stick with Murphy for another season of this.
Nathan is spot on. The rotation has been a major disappointment. The rotation is what I thought would help the Pirates make small runs this season and go on nice winning streaks because you expected each starter to go out and one up the other and give at least 5-7 quality innings. We haven’t had that besides maybe very early in the season. The Pirates have a stellar rotation ON PAPER, but they haven’t performed like a top rotation in 2026.
We just keep coming back to it. The pitching and this season has been one big disappointment.
THE UPCOMING WEEK
The Pirates finally enjoy an off day today and then begin a three-game series against the Marlins in Miami before coming home to welcome in the hottest team in the universe, the Boston Red Sox. The Marlins series is obviously huge as they are 2.5 games behind them and trail them in the wildcard race. I’m pretty sure the season is already over for the Buccos, but if you lose this series, it’s game over. Somebody has to step up like Bubba Chandler did on Saturday. Paul Skenes starts Tuesday night as we see if labors through another outing to try and get through five innings. The good news is the Marlins don’t appear to have any lefties that will be starting this week unless they find someone at South Beach who throws left-handed and sign him. I seriously would call up anyone from the minors who was a lefty and start him if I were the Marlins.
We Have an App!
Don’t forget we have a new app! If you haven’t downloaded the new North Shore Nine app, shame on you for six weeks! But you can correct that wrong by downloading it here. The app has live Pirates scores, all of our videos, podcasts, blog articles from Neil and I and you can earn points to become a top fan to win monthly prizes, live chat throughout the day and during game. Come join the NS9 community and let us know what you think of the app. We listen to all the feedback.
That’s all I have for this NS9 Report. Thanks for reading and watching/listening all week and let’s hope, no…pray for a better week from the Bucs. And after 17 straight games (and mostly shitty ones), enjoy the off day too!
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