After playing 96 of their 162 regular season games (59.26% of the season), the Pirates are essentially where they began the season–at .500. At this juncture, the team has 48 wins and 48 losses heading into tonight’s home-run derby in Arlington, Texas, where eight sluggers will aim to hit baseballs 500 feet for three hours like cavemen with clubs. Now, just because the Pirates’ win-loss differential is the same as it was on opening day, that does not mean that the season has been uninteresting or without its ups and downs. In fact, the exact opposite would be the case.

The Buccos got off to a fantastic start, racing out to 5-0 and 9-2 records. They were even 11-5 after splitting a road series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who many consider to be the best team in baseball at the all-star break. It quickly went downhill from there, though, with the Pirates losing six straight games to the Mets and Red Sox, against whom they could only muster nine runs in those half-dozen contests. On May 3rd, they were 14-19, having lost five straight–a series sweep to the lowly Oakland Athletics, bookended by a 3-2 loss on the road in San Francisco and a loss at PNC Park to an awful Colorado Rockies ballclub. A little 3-game winning streak in the last two games of the Rockies series and the opener against the Halos got them to 17-19, but that was immediately followed by a 3-game losing streak in the final two games of the Angels series and the opener of a 3-game set against the Cubs. That would be the last 3-game streak–winning or losing–until this past week.

It was time for a change. On Saturday, May 11th, the 2023 number 1 overall pick, right-handed flamethrower Paul Skenes made his MLB debut in one of the stranger games in recent memory. Skenes’s line was deceiving. He gave up 3 runs in 4 innings, striking out 7 while scattering 6 hits and walking 2, but two of those runs that scored were inherited by a bullpen that decided to walk six-consecutive batters. After a long rain delay, the Pirates ended up winning the game 10-9.

Skenes has been absolutely incredible since. He is the National League’s starting pitcher in Tuesday’s all-star game, as he has posted other-worldly stats. In 11 starts, he is 6-0 with a minuscule 1.90 ERA, recording 89 punch-outs in just over 66 innings of work, and allowing just 0.92 walks and hits per inning pitched. He has also never left an MLB game while the Pirates have trailed. He is also only the second pitcher in the modern era (joining Nolan Ryan) to record multiple starts of 6+ innings, 11+ strikeouts, and zero hits allowed in the same season…and he is a 22 year-old rookie.

It is not just Skenes, though. The Pirates’ starting rotation has, overall, been a bright spot. Mitch Keller has an ERA a tick below 3.50 in 19 starts, amassing a 10-5 record. Jared Jones, before being placed on the injured list, had a 3.56 ERA while recording 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Luis Ortiz, who has recently found himself inserted into the rotation due to injuries, has a 2.84 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

The huge problem with this team is, of course, the offense. Bryan Reynolds made the all-star game, for good reason. He has been one of the best hitters in baseball since the beginning of June. For the season, he has an OPS of .834 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs, and also had a 25 game hitting streak during June. O’Neil Cruz has had his moments, although he has been as up-and-down as a yo-yo. A .738 OPS is a bit low for a player of his caliber, but in the last 15 days, he is hitting .325 with a .978 OPS. The inconsistency has been very frustrating, but the talent is there.

Rowdy Tellez’s numbers have risen from the grave like Jesus Christ Himself (forgive me if this offends you, it is extremely accurate). From a slash line of .192/.286/.219 in April and .143/.160/.163 in May to June’s .333/.380/.545 and July’s .308/.349/.641, the turnaround that Tellez has demonstrated is nothing short of miraculous. From being booed after every at-bat to having his name chanted for curtain calls at PNC Park, it is a redemption arc that the likes of Homer could not have written.

Now, the issue is that those are the only guys that hit on this team. Everyone else, frankly, sucks. Nick Gonzales has had his moments. Ke’Bryan Hayes just had a good series on the South Side of Chicago. But, overall, the lineup is anemic at best.

The team is, somehow, only 1.5 games out of a wild-card spot. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games. You would think that management would want to strike while the iron is hot, while their ace is on a rookie deal, while everyone is affordable. You would imagine that trading for bats would be the priority…right?

BUZZ! WRONG!

Before this miniature streak on which the Pirates embarked, general manager Ben Cherington had suggested that he did not feel as though parting with future prospects for current players was the correct move. At the time, I understood. The team was sputtering a bit, and injuries were piling up. But, Marco Gonzales has returned and pitched well in his first start after injury. David Bednar is back. Ryan Borucki is close. Four of the Pirates’ next six series are against teams that are also jockeying for wild card positioning. There is an opportunity to be seized! Surely, Cherington has changed his mind!

Cue the tweet from Post-Gazette Sports: “Pirates GM Ben Cherington says trade deadline plans remain the same despite hot stretch.”

Are you kidding me??? The National League wild card race is an absolute JOKE and you want to waste an opportunity to make a run while your young studs are affordable? What are you waiting for, Ben? How often do we actually develop prospects into competent ballplayers? How many goddamn pitchers do we need in the system when Jones, Keller, and Skenes all have multiple years of team control remaining??? Do you ever see us making the playoffs with four guys starting day games with OPS values under .600? Give me a damn break. This is a golden opportunity to make a run with such a shitty conference…and you are just going to hold on to guys who may never turn into anything. What a joke.

Anyways, all of this is to say that, if you had told me that the Bucs would be 48-48 at the all-star break, I would have taken it, no questions asked.

Have a good week!