Snakes Sweep the Pirates, and the Pitching Led the Way

7-21-21 – By Gary Morgan

Bad teams can jump up and bite you. The Pirates have done it themselves to some of the best.

When two bad teams play each other though, all bets are off.

See, bad teams sometimes will play better baseball against teams they have no business beating because everyone gets there bristle up, everyone pays extra attention to situations. Sometimes at bats are taken with just a touch more seriousness.

One thing a bad team can’t afford to do is drop their guard. Playing a fellow bad team sometimes does exactly that.

All that being said, the beat to hell bullpen is the biggest problem right, well, that and hitting with runners in scoring position.

Today Max Kranick was back on the mound and only lasted 3 innings, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs. Spare me the he stinks stuff, one thing many of you need to get through your skull is that rookies often stink. The few who come up and look like the best version of what they’ll become are the exception, not the rule. And in case you weren’t aware, you better get used to watching youngsters find their way up here, because that’s kinda the plan.

It’s why I always caution people to look at the ETAs for prospects in the system and circle the date as when the Bucs will win it all. That’s not when many of those players will be what you’d call good. If every rookie was cut when fans thought they stunk, it would become physically impossible to field a 26 man roster.

No matter how you look at it, a sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 isn’t acceptable. No matter how bad the Pirates wind up being.

Rant over.

The Bullpen just can’t keep this workload going. The effort to save starters from throwing too many innings has caused the opposite in the pen. I understood the concern. I never liked the plan. I like it even more now that I’m watching my worst fears play out.

Bucs lose 6-4 and are mercifully off tomorrow. I’ll say this, they won’t look this bad against the Giants, for the exact reason I mentioned above. Well, depending on departures of course.

News & Notes

• The Pirates have had 10 hits or more in 7 consecutive games. The offense, unlike early in the season, isn’t the biggest issue currently.
• Steven Brault will take another rehab start in Indianapolis next week and it could be his last before returning, hopefully just in time to replace Tyler Anderson.
• Chris Stratton is the best reliever the Pirates have on the market, not Richard Rodriguez. That’s a valuable arm there, one that will hurt to lose, because they have nothing ready to replace him. This is a role I’d really like to see Cody Ponce fill.
• Jacob Stallings had a bunt hit today. The first bunt hit by a Pirates catcher since Cervelli in 2017.
• Believe it or not this isn’t Arizona’s First sweep of the season. That honor goes to the Reds back in April.
• Bryan Reynolds went 3 for 4 today, he’s just locked in. Fun to watch when a player get’s like that and as bad as this team has been we’ve had two most of the year.
• Tough series to watch. They had chances, they had leads, they had home runs. They also had a totally exposed pitching staff.