The Pittsburgh Pirates started 2012 with a record of 3-7. This does not reflect the progress they have made in one important department of the game. It does, unfortunately, speak to the lack of progress made in the other major department.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Pirates were the first team since the 1988 Rangers NOT to have scored or allowed more than five runs in any of their first ten games. Their tally of runs allowed is near the bottom of Major League Baseball. But they were also DEAD last in runs scored.
Pittsburgh had five quality starts in those first ten games. That’s not a superlative total, but it’s better than what the Bucs have been used to.
More to the point, the five non-quality starts featured at least FIVE innings with no more than three runs, which is to say that they were all “near misses,” or what I call “quasi quality starts.” With this level of pitching, some other team might be 7-3 instead of 3-7.
The Pirates’ problem still lies with their hitting. Andy McCutchen, remains, well, Andy McCutchen. But most of the rest of the team is far behind him.
The main competitor to McCutchen in the batting sweepstakes, after ten games, is Michael McKenry, a backup catcher whose on base percentage actually exceeds McCutchen’s. Alex Presley and Casey McGhee are also hitting well (although their on base percentages are below league average because they don’t walk much).
Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker, Matt Hague, Josh Harrison, Clint Barnes, Rod Barajas and Nate McLouth are ALL below the Mendoza line, with Garrett Jones barely above it. With the notable exception of McLouth, none of these batters make up for it by walking more than the league average.
It’s sad but true that pitchers such as Erik Bedard, Kevin Correia and James McDonald have been at least as productive offensively (so far) than these position players.
Pirate batting has always been near the bottom of the league since the mid-summer 2008 trades of Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, followed by the 2009 exchanges of then-stars Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan, in most cases, to get pitchers (Craig Hanson, Bryan Morris, Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Dan McCutchen, Charlie Morton, Gorkys Hernandez and Joel Hanrahan).
This pro-pitching bias also reflects in recent drafts. Admittedly, the Pirates got outfielder Josh Bell along with Gerrit Cole in the first two rounds (the ones most likely to be meaningful) of the 2011 draft.
But they drafted hurlers Jameson Taillion and Stetson Allie with their 2010 picks, two pitchers (counting a compensation pick) along with catcher Tony Sanchez in 2009, Tanner Schepper (who didn’t sign) and the lackluster Pedro Alvarez in 2008, Dan Moskos and another pitcher in 2007 and Brad Lincoln and another pitcher in 2006.
Pitching is genuinely important, and the Pirates have worked hard to solve this problem, signing veterans Erik Bedard and AJ Burnett in 2012 (plus Kevin Correia, last year). But in so doing, they have neglected their hitting. With only one of the two elements working for them, the Bucs will struggle to even hit the .500 mark.
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