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A David and Goliath comparison would not do it justice. David didn’t win two out of three.
What the Pittsburgh Pirates accomplished in beating the Boston Red in a series this weekend will forever go down in my mind as the proverbial “turning of the corner” by a franchise that has been plagued by losing for almost two decades.
The disparities between the two franchises were abundant, beginning with Boston’s outrageous payroll of more than $161 million. The average salary of a Red sox player is six times that of a Pirates player.
With more than three times the payroll of Pittsburgh, there was no question that the Sox were the superior team entering interleague play with the Pirates. But somehow, someway, the Pirates found a way to beat a team that many favor to win the American League this year.
So how did they do it?
I would like to say that it was thanks to an offensive surge from the Bucs lineup and lights out pitching from the staff, but actually, it was the simple blueprint that the Pirates have stuck to all season.
Beginning with solid starting pitching, the Pirates staff has taken the burden off the lineup to have to score five plus runs every night to win. They’re going deeper into ballgames and pitching more effectively than anytime I can remember in the last ten years.
In the series against Boston, Pirates starting pitching went 18 innings surrendering a total of seven runs, only four of which that were earned. An impressive series to the say the least against a team that averages more than five runs a game, the most in baseball.
Let’s not forget about the bullpen either. The Pirates bullpen has been one of the most important parts in the Pirates success this year. Lead by closer Joel Hanrahan who has been successful in all of his 22 save opportunities this year, the Pirates bullpen has improved by leaps and bounds since last season.
Improving their ERA as a group from 4.57 in 2010 to 3.21 in 2011, no longer do I fear when manager Clint Hurdle has to call upon the pen to come in to protect a lead.
Daniel McCutchen has come a long way since last season, finding work as a middle-inning reliever, Jose Veras has shown that he is capable of pitching in a setup role with Evan Meek on the DL for a second time, and young lefties Daniel Moskos and Tony Watson have not missed a beat getting touch left-handed batters out.
They’re doing it all.
And excluding the Pirates four-error performance on Sunday, the Pirates defense has surprisingly been strength of the club this year, too. Now, instead of the team shooting itself in the foot in the field, it is limited to just Bob Walk and Steve Blass from the broadcasting booth (these two are continuously jinxing these guys).
Pirates’ pitchers are pitching more to contact, letting their defense do the brunt of the work. Despite being hampered by catching injuries all year, the Pirates remain rather strong up the middle of the diamond. Andrew McCutchen is as good defensively as any outfielder in baseball, and I think the double play combination of Ronny Cedeno at shortstop and Neil Walker at second base is well above the league average. What Cedeno doesn’t give you with the bat, he makes up for with an excellent glove and Walker, while a plus defender already, will get better defensively as he learns to play the position every day. The defense has probably been the saving grace for this ball club to tell you the truth.
The final piece of what has made the Pirates an above .500 club, to this point in the year, is their clutch and timely hitting. The Pirates do not have ANY legitimate power hitters. None. They can’t rely on the three run homerun. Manufacturing runs and putting pressure on the defense with base running will be their calling card.
A team .245 averages with runners in scoring position doesn’t show it, but when things matter most, the Pirates have been able to string hits together to get the job done.
Different players step up on different nights. For example, look at Lyle Overbay’s three-run homerun off of Tim Wakefield on Saturday night. With that homer he put the Bucs ahead and changed the entire complexion of the ballgame. This is a resilient bunch of ballplayers that don’t count themselves out of any game until the 27th out is recorded.
As for the question of if the Pirates are division champ material, I would have to say: how can they not be? But material is as far as I will go. I don’t believe they’re ready to take that next step yet. You can’t discount a team that is only 4 games behind of first place and with the Albert Pujols injury; the NL Central division outlook is severely distorted. This could be the Pirates window in. With no one really running away with the division, a few games above .500 could win the division.
The Pirates will head north of the boarder this week to conclude their run of AL East opponents when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays. I expect another well-played series by the Bucs. Finding success on the road this season, the Pirates will look to improve on their NL Central best road record of 20-18 and gain ground on the division leader Milwaukee Brewers.
Written by Shane McFarland
Follow me on Twitter @mcfarlands412 or Email me at stmcfarland5@gmail.com
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