Kovacevic: Pirates fairly envision their future in state's other franchise

PHILADELPHIA -- Mitch Keller's mind wasn't on the mound anymore. 

It wasn't even in his own dugout.

The sixth inning had just ended. In the fifth, he'd registered the 210th strikeout of his superlative 2023, passing A.J. Burnett for the Pirates' single-season record for a right-hander, this while no-hitting the reigning National League pennant holders. In the sixth, he finally conceded a couple runs and hits, Derek Shelton told him that was that, and he'd plopped down at the far end of the bench after all the customary hugs and handshakes.

He wasn't alone for long. Radley Hadded, the team's game-planning/strategy coach, plopped down right next to Keller for a more personal set of congratulations.

As Keller recalled of Haddad, “He was telling me how proud he was of me.”

And it was then, as he told it, that his attention turned. Toward the opposite side of the field. Toward the Phillies' dugout. Toward the opponent that, by this Tuesday evening's end at Citizens Bank Park, would prevail, 3-2, on Johan Rojas' RBI roller up the middle off David Bednar that set off this celebratory scene for clinching another playoff spot:

Keller further recalled his conversation with Haddad, "I was, like, ‘Dude, we’re gonna do something special next year. We’re gonna be this team next year.’ This team, as in the Phillies. We’re going to be the team that’s clinching. That'll be us. And he was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to do something really special.’ We can all feel it. We want to be those teams. Playing good baseball against teams that are making the playoffs and pushing against them ... we’re right there. We’re beating them. We're playing good baseball against them. There’s no reason why we can’t do it.”

Uh ... wow.

So, anyone else believe?

Yeah? No? And for all the rest ... hello?

Believe me, based on my ability to gauge such stuff, they sure do inside these four figurative walls. Partly because of the potential of the system's prospects, with six of their preseason top 10 having spent time in Pittsburgh this summer. Partly because of the elite pedigree of a couple of those in Paul Skenes and Henry Davis, both first overall draft picks. Partly because Oneil Cruz still exists. Partly because Ben Cherington a few days ago publicly put forth the front office's commitment to 2024 in unprecedented terms. 

But largely because there's been a steady, if unspectacular, run of team success now for a while: 33-29 since July 19, 16-10 over the past three weeks, and now 4-3 within this ongoing trip against opponents -- Cubs, Reds, these Phillies -- pushing into the playoffs. And that's to say nothing of other September victories over the Braves, Brewers and Yankees.

Hear out Davis on watching the Phillies clinch here: “When you see someone have success or an organization have the success that you’re looking forward to and chasing, it’s a feeling … I really don’t know how to describe it, honestly. It kinda sucks. But it gives you something to focus on.”

And how often's this ultra-wired kid focus on that?

"I think about it all the time."

Hear out Endy Rodriguez, who, reacted as follows when I asked how much this team might be looking forward to this same time next year: "You mean playoffs."

Well, I didn't, really. But he wasn't posing a question.

"You mean playoffs," he'd add.

Hear out Bryan Reynolds, who seldom gets excited about anything: "It's exciting."

Hear out Bednar: “I think that’s the direction everybody in this room wants to be in. We want to be on the other end of it. The past couple weeks, we’ve been playing really good baseball. I think it's very important to finish this season strong, go through the ups and downs, learn how to compete, learn how to win as a team and get those team wins, be on the right side of those one-run ballgames.”

I loved it. All of it.

And bear in mind, this was the vibe after a loss, albeit yet another one in which the Pirates fought to the finish, overcoming a 2-0 deficit on scorched solo home runs by Reynolds and Davis in the seventh and eighth, respectively.

How scorched?

Good Lord. Both of those. Davis' lasered out at 108.7 mph with a hilarious 19-degree launch angle. Reynolds' landed either 436 feet away, or behind one of the Flyers' goaltenders across the lot, whichever came first.

I'm not going to lie: I don't believe. Not all the way. 

Certainly not yet.

Show me a payroll that's back over $100 million for the first time in nearly a decade. Show me another starting pitcher or two to complement Keller, Johan Oviedo and all these guys named TBD. Show me a first baseman. Show me a commitment to Davis in right field. And above all, show me more than anecdotal evidence that the coaches/instructors employed across all levels of the organization know what the hell they're doing, because there's already too much to the contrary. 

Make me wrong about that last one. Do it. Let's see Nick Gonzales, who reported here earlier on this day after his latest recall, another in a long list of prospects who've sputtered in Pittsburgh and been sent back, demonstrate to everyone that his recent surge in Indianapolis was as real as he insists it was. Stick him in the lineup over this final handful of games, and let's see that aggressive swing again.

I'd love to be wrong. About doubting the fire at times of Cherington and Shelton. About doubting Oscar Marin and Andy Haines to the point of calling for their jobs. About doubting more than a few of the same players being praised in this very column.

Here, I'll get it going: Shelton's idea -- and this was very much his, as I confirmed here -- to implore his players to treat this final stretch of the season as these were actual playoffs ... hey, that came with risk. It really did. He could urge them to approach these games seriously. He could pledge right back, as he did, to manage them accordingly. But if these had gone south, even way south, that'd be a backfire and a half.

I asked Shelton about that on this day, the risk, the possibility of a backfire.

"In terms of a backfire, I mean, yeah, that would've been us losing games," he began his reply. "I think my point was that I wanted them to know that we were going to go out and play every game like we were fighting for it. We were going to deploy the way we’re doing it. We’re going to put the lineups out there. We’re going to respect pennant races. And if it’s a situation where we get beat, we get beat, but we’re going to get be basically battling our asses off. And I think we’ve done that."

They have.

"Now, we’ve got the team that's playing the best in the National League right now in Philly. And then we've got the Marlins, who are fighting for their lives, at home this weekend. So what I expect is for us to go out and continue to play a good brand of baseball."

He stopped. I thought he was done. He wasn't.

"But the most important thing is this: It's not about the last six games. This is about the last 60 games. We’ve played very well over the last 60 games, and I think that’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

He should be. They all should be.

I could soon be eating so much crow they'll call me Wil.

GETTY

Mitch Keller pitches in the first inning Tuesday night in Philadelphia.

THE ESSENTIALS

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• Standings
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• Schedule
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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow), DH/OF Andrew McCutchen (Achilles)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Jared Triolo, 1B
6. Josh Palacios, RF
7. Endy Rodriguez, C
8. Henry Davis, DH
9. Liover Peguero, SS

And for Rob Thomson's Phillies:

1. Kyle Schwarber, DH
2. Trea Turner, SS
3. Bryce Harper, 1B
4. Alec Bohm, 3B
5. Bryson Stott, 2B
6. J.T. Realmuto, C
7. Nick Castellanos, RF
8. Brandon Marsh, LF
9. Johan Rojas, CF

THE SCHEDULE

Middle match Wednesday pits Johan Oviedo (9-14, 4.12) against lefty Ranger Suarez (4-6, 3.89). First pitch 6:40 p.m. I'm on the trip.

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE CONTENT

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