I mean, it was authentic, right? All that April awesomeness?
Hello? Anyone?
On his weekly radio show, before the Pirates were blown up one last time by the Blue Jays, 10-1, Sunday evening at PNC Park to extend their losing streak to seven, Ben Cherington was asked if there's anything the collective could learn from all that's gone awry since the 20-8 start that preceded this.
DO NOT read the quote that follows. I mean that. It's way too long, it strays from the subject, and everyone gets to retain three-plus minutes of their lives. But I'll print it purely for context:
"I think, absolutely, there are things to be learned," Cherington began his reply. "And, you know, some would say that good teams develop and there's lots of different parts of that development. And certainly the players on the roster, the sort of maturation of the roster is a big part of it, of course. But good teams also have to sort of experience different things and conquer different things along the way. And sometimes that's on an individual level, you know. An individual player might have to make an adjustment or recover from an injury or whatever the case may be. But good teams also have to go through tough stretches and learn from that and get better and be that much more prepared to deal with it the next time around. So there's a lot we can learn here from the last few days. We know, during the season, we're going to hit some adversity. We've hit some this week. We are playing really good teams. But, you know, we always also want to focus on ourselves. What can we do? What can we control and get better at? I'm very encouraged by what I'm hearing from players and staff in the clubhouse. Nobody likes to lose. Of course, it's not nearly as much fun. But I'm very encouraged with what I'm hearing downstairs in terms of how we're responding to that and showing up the next day, learning from it, getting prepared, dealing with that. There's still, you know, a healthy confidence in that room, but also an accountability and a realization that, yeah, there's stuff we need to get better at, and there have been some games during this stretch that we haven't played clean baseball. Everybody knows that. But that also means there's a terrific opportunity to get to improve on that and clean that up. There's a lot of season left. So we're going to get to know better baseball here."
All done scrolling?
Cool. Flex that wrist a little now to continue.
For anyone who did cheat and read -- or even scan -- all that ... no, I couldn't find Endy Rodriguez's name, either. Or Henry Davis'. Or the name of anyone who could help right now.
Yeah, right bleeping now.
Look, I'd written all through that awesome opening month that neither this team nor any other, not even the Rays, would stay on some insane .714 pace all summer. There was always going to be comeuppance, as I was calling it.
But this ...
... is something else. That's now seven games of nine total runs, two home runs, 15 extra-base hits and a cumulative .175 batting average.
And this ...
... sure feels like a rotation feeling the weight of that and starting its own fade. That's Whit Merrifield's three-run bomb off Roansy Contreras in the third inning, one that put Toronto up, 4-0. Contreras' erratic outing, added to those of Johan Oviedo and Rich Hill in this three-game sweep, only compounds the sting of losing Vince Velasquez to injury.
Mitch Keller can be the stopper Monday night against the Rockies, but he can't pitch daily.
Mix in some sloppy fielding, stupid baserunning and, just for kicks, that brutal umpiring in St. Petersburg, and this is where things stand:
MLB.com
Funny. Still not so bad, huh?
I put that to Jack Suwinski at his stall afterward, and he gave what I thought was a measured response:
Catch that small smile there at the end?
“It's been a tough week, that's for sure," Suwinski began. But, you know, it's the beginning of May and we're still in a pretty good spot.”
First place, I reminded.
"Yeah, exactly. So, you know, you just want to make sure guys don't forget what we've already done in this short amount of time. I know it's hard to skip back two weeks when you're in a stretch as this, but it's just part of the ups and downs. We're gonna get back to playing good baseball. We’ve done it. We'll be good.”
That was pretty much Derek Shelton's even-keel take, too.
"I think no one expected that pace to keep up, even as well as we played," he'd reply when I asked how to keep the chins up around here. "During that time, we were playing full games and right now we're not. We're not pitching extremely well, we're not swinging the bats extremely well. We've had some plays we should have made. We just need to reset a little bit and get back to the consistency we had. A little bit of that has to do with offensively not trying to do too much."
No question on that latter count. An unsightly percentage of the Pirates' swings anymore appear aimed at hitting five-run homers.
“Just continue to grind," he'd add. "It’s a long season. That’s why, when we were 20-8 and everybody was really excited, it was like, it’s a long season. We had a good month. We’ve had a tough start to this month. We just need to rebound and be resilient. I think, more so than years in the past, we’re built for this. We have some veteran guys who know how to handle this, who have been through tough stretches. It’s one of those things where we’re a little exposed because of the fact that now we’re seeing Cruz being out and Choi being out, that does affect our lineup a little bit. We need to make sure we keep going.”
There's that factor, as well. When all was wonderful, it was easy to set aside the absence of Oneil Cruz, in addition to Ji-Man Choi and all these pitchers clutching their elbows or shoulders. It isn't anymore.
But all of that only buttresses the stance I'm increasingly inclined to take: Cherington needs to turn to his top talent for help.
Seriously, why not just pick up the phone, call out to Indianapolis and summon Rodriguez, the system's premier prospect who's probably capable of hitting in his sleep?
Or to Altoona to summon Davis, a No. 1 overall draft pick who has zero business being stuck in Class AA regardless of the situation in Pittsburgh and whose ongoing eight-game hitting streak has him at 12 for 30 (.400) with four home runs, two doubles and eight RBIs?
Think they wouldn't be able to parachute in and help? And maybe raise spirits, turn the tide and all that other intangible happiness?
Crazy concept, huh?
I mean, it is, but only in the myopic, self-important world of Major League Baseball, where, unlike the NFL, NHL, NBA or any sport on the planet, prospects are bubblewrapped from birth. My goodness, even breathing a syllable about a scenario like bringing up Rodriguez and/or Davis for the specific purpose of helping the big-league operation right itself ... I can just hear it now:
What if they fail?
What if it affects their development?
How will they handle going back down?
Why now when they'll be even better in two-thousand-and-forever?
What if (gasp!) they do well?
Notice I'm not even mentioning the financial or service-time considerations. There's a reason for that: In this case, those don't apply much. Just as Cherington did a couple years ago with the late-season cameo promotions of Cruz and Contreras, they can just report, get all the hugs and handshakes out of the way, grab a bat from the rack and get to work. It can even be with the open understanding that this might not stick. Both can still get the Super-2 treatment down the road, presuming (safely) that's a priority for the front office.
Tell me this: How many times over the course of anyone's career in Pittsburgh can it be expected that the Pirates will open up 20-8?
How many times will they be in first place through a full week of May?
See what I mean?
This season's different. Think differently. React differently. Use all the tools at the franchise's disposal. Won't cost trade collateral. Won't cost cash. Just the cost of a call or two.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow), Rob Zastryzny (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Connor Joe, LF
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
6. Jack Suwinski, CF
7. Miguel Andujar, RF
8. Mark Mathias, 2B
9. Jason Delay, C
And for John Schneider's Blue Jays:
1. George Springer, RF
2. Bo Bichette, SS
3. Daulton Varsho, LF
4. Matt Chapman, 3B
5. Brandon Belt, 1B
6. Whit Merrifield, 2B
7. Danny Jansen, C
8. Kevin Kiermaier, CF
9. Santiago Espinal, 2B
THE SCHEDULE
Rockies, you say? Rockies it'll be! Three games against Colorado, right here at our own modest elevation, begin Monday, 6:35 p.m. Chris Halicke will cover the first two games, and I'll have the finale.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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