Kovacevic: Odd offensive outbursts can't mask Pirates' broader issues

Clint Hurdle had a wealth of wonderful baseball musings, with this one always being my favorite: "If it's in there, it's in there."

Meaning, if a player does something once, it can be done again. And the challenge therein, for both the player and those in teaching/supporting roles, is to bring out that something as often as possible.

Josh Palacios did this Monday night at PNC Park:

And this:

And for the 27th out of the Pirates' 11-1 annihilation of the artists formerly known as the Cardinals, this:

Add it up, and it's a three-run home run, a two-run double, a career-high five RBIs, a fun chance at family bragging rights by beating his younger brother's team in the siblings' first shared big-league game ... and all this from the guy who, less than a month ago in this same place, put forth a birthday bash for the ages.

Awesome. All of it. 

Including his playful 'I'M THE BIG BROTHER' exclamation into the TV camera near the dugout to tease Richie, who'd single as a pinch-hitter in the ninth for St. Louis, while roughly 50 family and friends watched from the third base boxes:

"It's very competitive in our household," Palacios would explain of that moment, with a wide grin. Josh is 28, Richie 26, by the way. "Even if it's not him, it's my big cousins and my uncles, everybody flaming me, like, 'I don't know who's the big brother.' Or 'Your little brother's looking big.' Or 'He's getting more home runs.' So I had to set the tone today. Let him know what's good."

Love it.

And yet ... to rewind to my favorite Hurdle-ism, if it's in there, why isn't it there consistently?

In 42 August plate appearances, even with this outburst, Palacios has five whole hits for a .128 average. And over 100 games and 243 plate appearances for the season, he's now slashing .220/.263/.393 with five home runs, 15 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs, which is -- not to keep being the buzzkill, but hey -- pretty pedestrian.

I asked Derek Shelton: Why no consistency?

"It's the word you just used: It's just about being consistent," he replied. "To be a consistent everyday big-league player, you have to have a run of consistent at-bats. And he's had that in the past for us. Done a nice job off the bench."

OK, but ... there's little that's nice about the broader scope, certainly not in the context of a player who's one day banging a ball all the way out of the ballpark -- and that three-run blast up there cleared the seating section above the Clemente Wall -- and then, for the next month ... you know, fitting in with the scenes that are far more common with this team than what occurred on this night.

Believe me, Palacios would agree. We've talked a lot this summer. He sees himself as having the ability to be that "consistent everyday big-league player" that Shelton described. He's as confident as anyone in the clubhouse. And on top of that, even though he's experiencing his first semi-full season in the majors at an advanced age, he sees a ceiling that's still untouched over his head.

I asked him about that, maybe for the millionth time, after this game:

"I definitely believe so," he replied. "And that's the standard I set myself to. Unfortunately, it hasn't been as consistent as I wanted it to be recently. But we're working on it, getting in the cage. But yeah, that's the type of player I believe I can be on a consistent basis."

He clarified that he's been working with Andy Haines, the hitting coach, adding, "It's simple things. Fundamentals. Staying inside the baseball. Picking out good pitches to hit. Not rolling over. I think, when I can do that, I can drive the ball, elevate it, hit it pretty far. And when I don't, it turns into ground balls, or swings and misses. It's an everyday process, and we're working on that."

Cool. To borrow yet another Hurdle-ism, "Take the time to enjoy your victories." This is surely one for both player and coach, however small the sample.

But tell me, what of Jack Suwinski?

He struck out looking his first time up on this night, and when I say looking, I mean at all three strikes. With bases loaded. Then struck out twice more. Then flied out twice to cap an 0-for-5 in which he'd astoundingly step into the box with a total of nine runners on base without advancing a single one.

I mean, he's dying out there. It couldn't be more painfully obvious. Before the All-Star break, he had 19 home runs and an .874 OPS that rated among the majors' best among center fielders. And now, in his past 30 games, he's got 11 hits in his past 107 plate appearances while -- sit down for this, please -- striking out 42 times.

Suwinski and Haines spent extensive extra time together on the field before this game. We saw the result.

Is it "in there" with this kid?

No question. Nobody, nobody, nobody pumps 40 home runs within 662 big-league at-bats without it.

But what's next?

There are examples galore, almost all negative, but, in the spirit of this welcome offensive output, I'll choose Connor Joe. He'd go 4 for 5 with three doubles, a walk and an RBI.

As he'd tell me afterward:

"Yeah, I'd say tonight was a good night. I swung at the right pitches and was able to see some results. That's always right."

Catch that smile with the final sentence?

Good for him. Impossible not to pull for Joe.

He's 31, so he's in a different bracket. But in the same breath, I'm comfortable saying that he appears to be a wholly different hitter when he's ... well, trying to hit. We've witnessed it all year, the endless waiting and waiting and waiting on his preferred "right pitches," even if that means allowing a center-square fastball to sail by with bases loaded. That's the Haines thing. Prioritize watching pitches. Prioritize running up the opposing starter's pitch count. Prioritize ... everything but the hitter hitting, barring pristine circumstances. But hey, the number of times the Pirates will pile up 16 hits, half of them against a young man named Drew Rom making his big-league debut ... yeah, it doesn't always line up like this.

Want to know why Endy Rodriguez, who'd go 3 for 4 with a walk here and now has a .767 OPS, is that rare young hitter who hasn't fallen prey the passivity upon arriving in Pittsburgh?

Hint: It's the same reason Liover Peguero, who'd deliver a two-run double and two walks here, is at .737 in his own early tenure.

They walk up to the plate both ready to hit and eager to hit, and they don't have personalities that'll allow anyone to pound that of them. They'll still get their walks, same way Andrew McCutchen does, but they sure won't see them as the optimal outcome.

Look, I'll stop here. Nice W for all concerned. Nice bounceback from back-to-back perfect-game bids against them in Minneapolis over the weekend. But it's been my contention for a couple years now that this franchise's rosters and lineups have had more "in there" than what's made it out, and it's inconceivable to me that this could continue to be ignored at 115 Federal.

JUSTIN BERL / GETTY

Josh Palacios celebrates his game-ending catch Monday night at PNC Park.

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: RF Henry Davis (thumb)

• 15-day injured list: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (elbow), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Andrew McCutchen, DH
4. Connor Joe, 1B
5. Endy Rodríguez, C
6. Josh Palacios, RF
7. Liover Peguero, 2B
8. Jack Suwinski, CF
9. Alika Williams, SS

And for Oli Marmol's Cardinals:

1. Tommy Edman, CF
2. Tyler O'Neill, LF
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Willson Contreras, DH
6. Jordan Walker, RF
7. Andrew Knizner, C
8. Jose Férmín, 2B
9. Masyn Winn, SS

THE SCHEDULE

Second game of the series comes Tuesday, 7:05 p.m., pitting Johan Oviedo (6-13, 4.55) against Adam Wainright (3-8, 8.42), who'll be seeking his 1,000,000,000th career victory against the Pirates. I'll cover that one, too.

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