When Does the Losing Stop for Pirates?

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Donnie Roberts II. Follow him on Twitter @OnTo74

It’s been over a week since the Pirates have last won a game. Losing is something that the Pirates fall accustomed to often over the past decade. Maybe they’re allergic to winning? Or perhaps they enjoy the misery of the fans. How does a team go from 20-8 and dominate almost every offensive category while having the pitching outperform expectations, to the complete inability to understand the game? Watching the Pirates right now makes my eyes bleed and here’s why: 

They can’t hit, which means they don’t score. I know us fans are tired of seeing the hitters strike out, ground out or fly out. I don’t understand what happened to this team offensively, other than the fact that Austin Hedges or Jason Delay are in the lineup everyday. I mean, players go through slumps all the time but the entire team going on a month and a half slump is unheard of. Maybe it’s time for a change. Andy Haines, what do you do? 

Oh, by the way, they can’t pitch anymore. A lot of that is due to the demise of once highly touted arm Roansy Contreras. Once a dominant force that struck fear in the opponents eyes this pitching staff is showing its true colors. The Pirates need Mitch Keller to be that Cy Young worthy arm that pitched a complete game. And don’t even get me started on the bullpen. They are a disaster currently. What’s the point of even having David Bednar if he doesn’t get to pitch? 

They need to call up more prospects. Calling up Henry Davis is a step in the right direction, but let’s not stop there. Bring up Endy Rodriguez. At this point we need bats from the catcher position and Endy provides that spark. Bring up Nick Gonzales. He provides a better bat than the players they have right now like Tucupita Marcano and Rodolfo Castro (and yes I’m aware of the high strikeout numbers). Bring up the pitchers who don’t give up three or more runs by the second inning. 

The Pirates need standards. They need a winning culture. If they don’t get the young players accustomed to winning, then this team will always be losers. It might be time to part ways with Ben Cherington. It’s long overdue for Bob Nutting to sell the team. And there’s no faith in Derek Shelton. These three have a losing mindset and it’s shown by the team’s inability to create a spark.



And I’m not sure they’ll find that spark, anytime soon.