Any Chance Pirates Right the Ship?



Hurdle's Questionable Lineups Have
Pirates Fans Scratching Their Heads


- Chris Haney (@CHaney43)

Last night's Pirates game could have been one of the worst performances on a baseball field I've ever seen in my life. Seven errors?  Come on...it seems the Buccos need to remove their heads from their you-know-where.  I can't even describe how mad I was while watching this game. The one thing I keep asking myself (and by checking Twitter I'm not the only one) is why is Barajas even in the line up, he can't figure out how to put the bat on the ball. He normally is a solid defensive catcher, but last night he made horrible decisions behind the plate. Something tells me that all he's worried about is "what's for dinner after the game?".

I have been a big supporter of manager Clint Hurdle, but I don't understand some of his lineup decisions. Why did it take so long for them to pull Barajas and Burnett last night? Granted this all can't be put on AJ, as most Cub's base runners came from infield errors. Marte had two early errors in the game...maybe his rehab assignment wasn't long enough??  Trust me, I realize that AJ hasn't been right the past few starts, but you can't hang all 12 runs on his back...he didn't get much help from the offense or the defense behind him.

The positives for the Pirates (there weren't many) would be that Andrew McCutchen is finally making good contact with the ball.  H was truly robbed two times last night by two tremendous defensive plays. If you haven't seen Cub's center fielder Brett Jackson's catch from last night, please google it.  It is a remarkable play that kept a no-hitter in tact and ended an inning.  Maybe the Pirates can watch the same play and get an idea on the type of effort it takes to win games and hopefully for Pittsburgh's sake, clinch that second wild card spot.

Jeff talked about in his podcast, but the question is can the Pirates get that second Wild Card spot? My answer is no, not at this time with the way they are playing. If they can get hot and get on a hot streak, then they might have a chance. Who knows...they may not make it above .500 if they continue to play like they did last night. I know it's hard to have any faith in a team that commits 7 errors in the big leagues. Hopefully Hurdle was throwing chairs and calling players out after the game and maybe, just maybe, they can right the ship to have a strong finish of what should be a successful season.