Andrew McCutchen trots home on Starling Marte’s two-run double in the seventh inning Thursday. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
ATLANTA — “It’s a more talented team. Honestly, I think it’s just a better team all around.”
That was Clint Hurdle, offering a rare comparison of his 2014 Pirates and the 2013 model Thursday in his office at Turner Field, and he just might be right. I’m thinking, actually, that he is.
At the same time, I’m wondering why there’s any hesitation at all to share the sentiment.
Is it for the simple reason that the 2013 team finished with 94 wins while this one, after the 10-1 thrashing of the Braves by nightfall, is 87-72?
Is it because that team flew into the playoffs while this one has had to fight for every inch?
Is it because that team had A.J. Burnett and was brashly inviting opponents to take a seat?
Is it because Pedro Alvarez was the National League’s home run champion and brought the first real feeling of thunder to the lineup in a long, long time?
Is it because the rush that accompanies trade-deadline acquisitions such as Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau never came close to being matched this summer?
Well, whatever combination of all that it might be, know this: Hurdle’s right. This team is better.
The offense is one of the most productive in the franchise’s 128-year history, and it’s a marked upgrade over 2013. This year’s team ranks third in the National League in runs compared to ninth last year, third in batting average compared to 11th, second in on-base percentage compared to ninth and, yes, they’ve actually improved in home runs, from fourth to third.
Really. With Alvarez basically reduced to a non-factor, having nine players achieve double-digits in home runs has more than compensated.
In this one alone, Travis Snider — a bench guy in theory only — smacked his 13th in the opening inning, followed later by Neil Walker’s career-high 22nd, part of a 15-hit output.
“We’ve got a lot of people in here who can hit,” Andrew McCutchen was saying. He’s got 25 home runs to top the team, a modest total in context. “That’s the strength of this lineup, the way we get it done together.”
There’s no mystery to this once the pieces are assembled: McCutchen continued at an MVP pace. Josh Harrison’s 3-for-5 on this night moved him back ahead of Justin Morneau for the league batting lead. Starling Marte has the highest on-base plus slugging percentage in the league over the second half, Russell Martin raised his average by nearly 80 points, Walker’s shown unprecedented power while solidifying his switch-hitting, and the player who gets as much credit as anyone for all this, believe it or not, is Jordy Mercer, the No. 8 hitter.
“Jordy’s the guy who’s made sure the other team’s pitcher doesn’t get a break,” bench coach Jeff Banister said. “Now, we just keep coming.”
“Where are you finding your outs now?” Hurdle chimed in from nearby.
Add to that the constant reinforcement of working deep into counts by Jeff Branson, the excellent hitting coach, and you’ve got a lineup that, even when it can’t hit a given starter, at least ensures he doesn’t stick around longer than six or seven innings.
“That’s us. That’s Pirates baseball,” McCutchen said. “That comes from Jeff.”
The pitching plan, of course, originates with Ray Searage. And while it’s a little harder to discern the upgrades than with the offense, they’re absolutely there.
As Kent Tekulve was musing the other day, “I don’t think you’re going to see another Pirates team for a long time that has the kind of starting pitching, front to finish, that last year’s had. But what you’ve got with this team now is a group that’s getting the job done when it counts.”
Exactly. The overall staff ERA of 3.47 right now ranks fifth in the league compared to third last year at 3.26. But last year’s group fatigues and faded down the stretch, its post-break ERA rising to a below-league-average 3.52. In contrast, this year’s group is only getting going, ranking second in post-break ERA at 3.01, second in wins, and No. 1 in opponents’ batting average at .240.
And for September alone, the Pirates rank No. 1 in nearly every major pitching category. In the entire majors. I could cite all those, too, but a .209 opponents’ batting average should suffice.
Hurdle has that figured out, too: “We’ve had Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole miss a lot of time. But now they’re healthy, and their batteries are still fresh.”
Sure, and the one guy who’s gotten it done all along, Edinson Volquez, kept right on cruising Thursday to his staff-best 13th win with seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts.
He’s got a 3.04 ERA now, and he’s the No. 3 option.
“I feel blessed,” he said after this one, and he wasn’t just referring to taking the league’s worst ERA of 2013 among qualified starters and soaring to No. 13 under Ray Searage. “I feel blessed for what’s happened to me, for Ray and the coaches and for the other pitchers here. It’s a competition we have, so I don’t want to say that. But when we see one starter pitcher well, the next guy wants to the same. That’s been big for me.”
Don’t know about you, but I’ll take a team that’s pitching lights-out in September over one that’s doing so in April and May.
And I’ll take this offense.
And I’ll take this team’s added experience and toughness.
And as a result of that, I’ll raise another topic that feels even more taboo than comparing this team to 2013, one that borders on the unmentionable: Why not the Pirates?
As in … you know, why not the Pirates?
Ha! Sorry, just having some decidedly not-working-for-a-newspaper-anymore fun Thursday afternoon and asked all those guys to pitch in. My sincere thanks to all involved.
But no, seriously, why not?
Let’s start with this, posited by Jeff Locke: “The big thing is to get in. That’s what it’s about. Once you’re in, anything can happen. We’ve seen that countless times over the years, and chances are good we’ll see it again. It’s not always the teams or even the names you expect. But you can’t win if you aren’t in.”
That’s obviously got a check mark. Next up is the field, and there isn’t exactly a powerhouse in play on the National League side. The Angels and Orioles do in the other circuit, but no one would put the Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals or Giants in that class. Or anywhere close.
As far as facing the American League goes, as Locke suggests, a seven-game series in baseball can swing either way far more easily than in other sports, if only because of the immense variable that is using a different starting pitcher each day. Show me a team favored to win the World Series in recent years, and I’ll show you a runner-up.
From there, add this from Walker: “No team would want to play a game or series at PNC Park. With our fans, with what we’ve got going on there … no way.”
Yep. The home record of 51-30 is second only to the Angels’ 52-29 in the majors. The road record is 35-42, but the extra edge in Pittsburgh might be enough to neutralize, say, an unfavorable pitching matchup or two along the way.
Look, I’m not making some grand prediction. The Pirates could just as easily go down in a day as they could win their sixth World Series championship.
But that’s the point. They’re in. And they’re good. And they’re confident.
So why not?
Don’t think they’re not thinking about it.
“Last year, we got a taste as an organization of what playoffs were like. And this year, we want to bring home the silverware,” Martin told me as he stripped off the tools of ignorance after this one. “That’s how it is. Anything else, to me, would be a disappointment. I mean, you know, I’m happy we made the playoffs, but that was the plan from the get-go. But the bigger plan …”
He paused and slightly shook his head.
“The plan is to win a World Series. And hopefully, the people who believe in us, including everybody inside the Pirates organization, will be very happy and not all that surprised. But I’m sure a lot of people will be shocked.”
Allen thrives as 'veteran voice' in secondary
2:30 pm Friday
Pitt shows up late to tip Western Carolina
11:17 pm Wednesday
Jaso signs with Pirates, will play first base
5:39 pm Wednesday
September 25, 2014
Column: Why not the Pirates?
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
Andrew McCutchen trots home on Starling Marte’s two-run double in the seventh inning Thursday. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
ATLANTA — “It’s a more talented team. Honestly, I think it’s just a better team all around.”
That was Clint Hurdle, offering a rare comparison of his 2014 Pirates and the 2013 model Thursday in his office at Turner Field, and he just might be right. I’m thinking, actually, that he is.
At the same time, I’m wondering why there’s any hesitation at all to share the sentiment.
Is it for the simple reason that the 2013 team finished with 94 wins while this one, after the 10-1 thrashing of the Braves by nightfall, is 87-72?
Is it because that team flew into the playoffs while this one has had to fight for every inch?
Is it because that team had A.J. Burnett and was brashly inviting opponents to take a seat?
Is it because Pedro Alvarez was the National League’s home run champion and brought the first real feeling of thunder to the lineup in a long, long time?
Is it because the rush that accompanies trade-deadline acquisitions such as Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau never came close to being matched this summer?
Well, whatever combination of all that it might be, know this: Hurdle’s right. This team is better.
The offense is one of the most productive in the franchise’s 128-year history, and it’s a marked upgrade over 2013. This year’s team ranks third in the National League in runs compared to ninth last year, third in batting average compared to 11th, second in on-base percentage compared to ninth and, yes, they’ve actually improved in home runs, from fourth to third.
Really. With Alvarez basically reduced to a non-factor, having nine players achieve double-digits in home runs has more than compensated.
In this one alone, Travis Snider — a bench guy in theory only — smacked his 13th in the opening inning, followed later by Neil Walker’s career-high 22nd, part of a 15-hit output.
“We’ve got a lot of people in here who can hit,” Andrew McCutchen was saying. He’s got 25 home runs to top the team, a modest total in context. “That’s the strength of this lineup, the way we get it done together.”
There’s no mystery to this once the pieces are assembled: McCutchen continued at an MVP pace. Josh Harrison’s 3-for-5 on this night moved him back ahead of Justin Morneau for the league batting lead. Starling Marte has the highest on-base plus slugging percentage in the league over the second half, Russell Martin raised his average by nearly 80 points, Walker’s shown unprecedented power while solidifying his switch-hitting, and the player who gets as much credit as anyone for all this, believe it or not, is Jordy Mercer, the No. 8 hitter.
“Jordy’s the guy who’s made sure the other team’s pitcher doesn’t get a break,” bench coach Jeff Banister said. “Now, we just keep coming.”
“Where are you finding your outs now?” Hurdle chimed in from nearby.
Add to that the constant reinforcement of working deep into counts by Jeff Branson, the excellent hitting coach, and you’ve got a lineup that, even when it can’t hit a given starter, at least ensures he doesn’t stick around longer than six or seven innings.
“That’s us. That’s Pirates baseball,” McCutchen said. “That comes from Jeff.”
The pitching plan, of course, originates with Ray Searage. And while it’s a little harder to discern the upgrades than with the offense, they’re absolutely there.
As Kent Tekulve was musing the other day, “I don’t think you’re going to see another Pirates team for a long time that has the kind of starting pitching, front to finish, that last year’s had. But what you’ve got with this team now is a group that’s getting the job done when it counts.”
Exactly. The overall staff ERA of 3.47 right now ranks fifth in the league compared to third last year at 3.26. But last year’s group fatigues and faded down the stretch, its post-break ERA rising to a below-league-average 3.52. In contrast, this year’s group is only getting going, ranking second in post-break ERA at 3.01, second in wins, and No. 1 in opponents’ batting average at .240.
And for September alone, the Pirates rank No. 1 in nearly every major pitching category. In the entire majors. I could cite all those, too, but a .209 opponents’ batting average should suffice.
Hurdle has that figured out, too: “We’ve had Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole miss a lot of time. But now they’re healthy, and their batteries are still fresh.”
Sure, and the one guy who’s gotten it done all along, Edinson Volquez, kept right on cruising Thursday to his staff-best 13th win with seven scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts.
He’s got a 3.04 ERA now, and he’s the No. 3 option.
“I feel blessed,” he said after this one, and he wasn’t just referring to taking the league’s worst ERA of 2013 among qualified starters and soaring to No. 13 under Ray Searage. “I feel blessed for what’s happened to me, for Ray and the coaches and for the other pitchers here. It’s a competition we have, so I don’t want to say that. But when we see one starter pitcher well, the next guy wants to the same. That’s been big for me.”
Don’t know about you, but I’ll take a team that’s pitching lights-out in September over one that’s doing so in April and May.
And I’ll take this offense.
And I’ll take this team’s added experience and toughness.
And as a result of that, I’ll raise another topic that feels even more taboo than comparing this team to 2013, one that borders on the unmentionable: Why not the Pirates?
As in … you know, why not the Pirates?
Ha! Sorry, just having some decidedly not-working-for-a-newspaper-anymore fun Thursday afternoon and asked all those guys to pitch in. My sincere thanks to all involved.
But no, seriously, why not?
Let’s start with this, posited by Jeff Locke: “The big thing is to get in. That’s what it’s about. Once you’re in, anything can happen. We’ve seen that countless times over the years, and chances are good we’ll see it again. It’s not always the teams or even the names you expect. But you can’t win if you aren’t in.”
That’s obviously got a check mark. Next up is the field, and there isn’t exactly a powerhouse in play on the National League side. The Angels and Orioles do in the other circuit, but no one would put the Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals or Giants in that class. Or anywhere close.
As far as facing the American League goes, as Locke suggests, a seven-game series in baseball can swing either way far more easily than in other sports, if only because of the immense variable that is using a different starting pitcher each day. Show me a team favored to win the World Series in recent years, and I’ll show you a runner-up.
From there, add this from Walker: “No team would want to play a game or series at PNC Park. With our fans, with what we’ve got going on there … no way.”
Yep. The home record of 51-30 is second only to the Angels’ 52-29 in the majors. The road record is 35-42, but the extra edge in Pittsburgh might be enough to neutralize, say, an unfavorable pitching matchup or two along the way.
Look, I’m not making some grand prediction. The Pirates could just as easily go down in a day as they could win their sixth World Series championship.
But that’s the point. They’re in. And they’re good. And they’re confident.
So why not?
Don’t think they’re not thinking about it.
“Last year, we got a taste as an organization of what playoffs were like. And this year, we want to bring home the silverware,” Martin told me as he stripped off the tools of ignorance after this one. “That’s how it is. Anything else, to me, would be a disappointment. I mean, you know, I’m happy we made the playoffs, but that was the plan from the get-go. But the bigger plan …”
He paused and slightly shook his head.
“The plan is to win a World Series. And hopefully, the people who believe in us, including everybody inside the Pirates organization, will be very happy and not all that surprised. But I’m sure a lot of people will be shocked.”
Big grin.
“That’ll be fun.”