Don’t look now, but your Pittsburgh Pirates are the sole owners of second place in the cramped NL Central.
After beating the Houston Astros 5-1 last night on the back of another outstanding start from Jeff Karstens, the Pirates are eyeing up the first place St. Louis Cardinals. Now only a game and a half behind the Red Birds, the Pirates front office pleasantly finds itself in a place not seen in some time.
Pirates’ General Manager Neal Huntington has to determine if the Pirates will become buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.
With the possibility of actually being in a division race come August and September, Huntington will no doubt test the trade waters to see what is available to the Pirates. Production from the corner infield and corner outfielders has been mediocre at best. There could be cheap fixes to those problems if the Pirates can find someone willing to work with them.
In return, they might have to part ways with some of their minor league talent, but hey, how often does this opportunity come around? If the Pirates can make a run at St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee, why shouldn’t they go out and improve their ball club?
On the other hand, what if manager Clint Hurdle decides to stand pat with the squad he has now?
He’s winning with a majority of players who have little to no major league experience. The team is full of first and second year guys as well as veterans out to prove something. It’s a lethal combination.
It looks like they’re jelling well together as a team. Why would you want to tinker with that dynamic? By all means, if there’s a deal you can make to get some kind of power-stick in the lineup, they should make it, but I like what they’re putting out on the field now.
It all starts with Manager Clint Hurdle. The team will follow suit. No matter whom the Bucs decide to bring or not bring in, Hurdle will have all 25 guys on the same page.
It is a renaissance of Pirates’ baseball. Aren’t you glad that you’re here for it?
Written by Shane McFarland
Follow me on Twitter @mcfarlands412 or Email me at stmcfarland5@gmail.com
Talking about life, sports, politics, and everything else imaginable.
Listen to offers but dont sell the farm. We need to manage sustained success and selling the farm for a big bat when the pitching could crumble at any minute would be really dumb.
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