OnlyBucs

427760606B5260606B6C60050 wrote: Here's team stats for RISP. Pirates are around the middle of the pack for BA with RISP.



https://www.baseball-reference.com/tool ... at%7CAB%7C


13th isn't terrible.  It's not bad. 



Is the bigger issue something tough like baserunning stats that prevent us from generating runs?  Or, is it just because we don't have enough guys on second and third in the first place?  Just asking.


It's perplexing. I think the stats are misleading. In one 3-game series at Coors Field they scored 33 runs. They have scored in double digits 7 times totaling 95 runs. But they have played 68 games and scored 298 runs. So 32% of their runs were scored in just 10% of their games. In 34 of their 68 games they scored 3 runs or less. It's tough to win scoring 0, 1, 2 or 3 runs in 50% of the games.



Discounting the backup catcher, there is no one even hitting .280. And, other than Reynolds, no one is expected to. Combine the general lack of talented hitters with the constant lineup shuffling so that even the weakest hitters get plenty of playing time, and it's surprising that they are at 1 game under .500. But the W-L record was buoyed by an incredible fast start. Not the product of consistent play. Since starting 20-8 they have gone 14-27.

Hard to dispute that.



It's been a see-saw season, and right now, we're more "saw" than "see." A month up, a month down, and this month looked up, but it's down again.



Agree about the three or fewer runs piece.



We have three men in the top 60 for OPS- Suwinski, Reynolds, and the 36-year-old Andrew McCutchen. Two were developed internally, which is good. That's not bad considering 30 teams. It's most of the other guys, to your point- how many ABs they get...and, where they get them.



We did very well in certain series; somewhat poorly in others.



At this stage of the season, when things tend to take their form much more than April, I see only one other positive surprise (my opinion.) That's the Diamondbacks. I don't include the Rangers only because more of it was anticipated with some of their acquisitions. I see more disappointments; teams that haven't been doing as well as I thought they would have. So, to that end, I agree with you that we're seeing the Pirates more as how they would look over the course of a 162-game season.



That's no insult. A little under .500 is far and away better than recent seasons. I think most of us saw this coming- at some point. We didn't know when, and I'm happy that we're writing about how we can take the next step soon.