MILWAUKEE -- Unless Henry Davis somehow stowed a half-dozen clones into the overhead compartments on his Sunday evening flight from Des Moines to Pittsburgh, he's not about to solve even half of what's wrong with the Pirates' sickly offense.
Because it might not be player-related.
There should be no shortage of parsing, my friends, at Derek Shelton's somewhat striking assessment after his team's sixth consecutive loss, this by a 5-2 count to the Brewers on this Sunday at American Family Field, one in which Bryan Reynolds' early two-run home run ...
... would wind up one of four freaking hits amid 11 strikeouts and probably double that number of outright non-competitive at-bats.
"Yeah, I mean, we have to execute," Shelton would reply regarding the offense to the opening question of his postgame session, even though it was about pitching. "We did not execute offensively. We have to be better. We were not good in this series, and we have to figure out a way to be better."
Mm-hm.
In being swept in three games here, the offense squeezed out all of six runs and 14 hits, just five for extra bases, while striking out -- hang on, they're still tabulating -- wow, 26 times!
And it's not as if it's some new development: Since that spectacular 20-8 start, the Pirates' .674 OPS -- on-base plus slugging percentage, the sport's most complete offensive statistic -- ranks 27th among Major League Baseball's 30 teams, they've struck out in 23.4% of all plate appearances and ... well, they stink.
Really, no additional data's required when I can just have Connor Joe demonstrate how pathetic, how passive this offense has become:
That alone might be the most excruciating element within the broader problem. Players, and Joe more than any of them, appear to be stepping into the box looking to walk. It's one thing to be selective, but it's quite another to hope that the pitcher's offering bailouts.
I'd show video of Jason Delay's early strikeout with the bases loaded, one in which he watched all six pitches zip by, but this is a family site, so I'll limit the graphic nature of the content to an actual graphic:
MLB.com
Oh, for real. Bat never budged.
And that's not some new development, either. The Pirates now have 156 strikeouts looking, seventh-most in the majors.
I pressed Shelton on what he meant, specifically, in criticizing this offense:
"I don't know," he'd begin, which just might be an equally striking assessment considering his own background as a big-league hitting coach. "We've gotta get something clicking. Because right now, with the exceptions of maybe Santana and Reynolds, we do not have really good, consistent at-bats."
I'd agree on Carlos Santana. Heck, looked like the only pro on the trip. My guess is that Shelton would include Andrew McCutchen, as well, except that Cutch had the day off and might've been out of sight, out of mind.
"You know, we've got a bunch of young guys," he continued. "And we've got to figure it out."
It can't be about a lack of patience, I came back.
"No, it's not a lack of patience. We're walking. We're just not slugging. We're not driving the ball in the gap. We're not getting the big hits when we have to."
Anyone else headed where I'm heading here?
Or already there?
It can be convenient, even lazy, to blame a hitting coach when the bats go dry. Especially in an individualized sport like baseball, where it's a one-on-one duel at the core, where every player comes with his own strengths and weaknesses, where every pitcher -- no, every pitch -- presents a new challenge.
But blaming a hitting coach also can be accurate.
Andy Haines oversaw the ugliest offense any of us in Pittsburgh had seen in a lifetime, and I don't know that there's a close second. It wasn't just the production. It was the sloppy, un-systematic, identity-free approach we witnessed that coursed through the lineup like a virus. And now, after that one month where everything went right for everyone, it's back again. As if it never left.
Exempting, once again, Cutch and Santana, older veterans who are long since removed from being influenced by any hitting coach, and Reynolds, only the team's very best player. And even Reynolds had fallen off from the power standpoint before the blast in this one. Beyond that, and beyond the occasional Jack Suwinski bop, there's just ... no semblance of anything that'd suggest, yeah, this is how the Pirates do it.
Unless, hey, watching a bunch of strikes sail by is it.
When Haines was retained following the 2022 season, Ben Cherington backed his guy by saying he hadn't had enough time with the group. And even though there hadn't been an iota of palpable progress over an entire summer, save the likely inevitable growth of Oneil Cruz, that seemed a fair stance for the GM to take.
But now?
With markedly more talent at hand?
With Davis and soon Endy Rodriguez and maybe Nick Gonzalez and other prospects on the way?
With the organizational structure being such that the hitting and pitching coaches are responsible not only for the active roster but also for philosophies all the way down through the system?
With the knowledge that these same Brewers chose only Haines to fire from Craig Counsell's staff two years ago?
With only one person being the commonality through all this "we" that Shelton was citing?
Man, can't afford to be caught looking on this.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 15-day injured list: LHP Jose Hernandez (calf), RHP Colin Holderman (wrist), LHP Rob Zastryzny (forearm), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)
• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Jack Suwinski, CF
4. Carlos Santana, 1B
5. Connor Joe, LF
6. Tucupita Marcano, SS
7. Josh Palacios, RF
8. Rodolfo Castro, 3B
9. Jason Delay, C
And for Counsell's Crew:
1. Christian Yelich, LF
2. Jesse Winker, DH
3. Willy Adames, SS
4. Rowdy Tellez, 1B
5. William Contreras, C
6. Owen Miller, 2B
7. Raimel Tapia, RF
8. Luis Urias, 3B
9. Joey Wiemer, CF
THE SCHEDULE
The Cubs again? Yeah, the Cubs again. Only this time it'll be in friendlier confines back home. Osvaldo Bido (0-0, 2.25) will make his PNC Park against Chicago lefty Drew Smyly, 7:05 p.m. first pitch.
THE CONTENT
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