OnlyBucs

I am not one who think the Pirates are operating in a "window." They don't have to win while any one player is on the lineup. I think they are poised to have a long lasting potential to be solid/good. It all depends on how things are breaking. This year, everything is breaking bad.



That said, for the last number of years, most of us have said that the Pirates will go as McCutchen goes. It's a funny thing to say in baseball when one player can't dictate the game/season. However, it seems to be true over the years. The Pirates have always gone as McCutchen has gone. When the Pirates have put up their best seasons, McCutchen was putting up MVP seasons. Even on the more micro level, McCutchen has always struggled early in the season. The Pirates have followed suit (even in the winning years). Each year, McCutchen has turned it on and the team followed suit. Last year, McCutchen tanked and the team followed suit. This year, a bunch of stuff has gone bad. In the midst of that, an MVP start out of McCutchen would have gone a long way. Instead, he is playing really bad baseball. The Pirates are following suit.



Whether he is the "leader" or not, it seems like in the "McCutchen Era" the team has always followed McCutchen. Is it time for him to go? Is it true that as long as he is around, the team will "go as he goes?" If he was traded, it would be an obvious sign that they needed to move on from him. Is the McCutchen era over? Should it be?



This is a sad conversation to start.

McCutchen's rapid decline has left the Pirates at a bit of a crossroad. I'd be really interested to hear what McCutchen did this past offseason to regain 2015 form. Looking at the situation from afar, it seems like the Marte/Polanco/McCutchen core isn't going to carry this team. They will have the rotation core of Cole/Taillon/Nova for two more full years, so the question is how to rebuild the lineup.



Polanco, Marte and Bell will all be around. McCutchen, Freese, Cervelli and Harrison could all be dangled for prospects. I'd like to see them do something drastic, it would also be good to get these guys off the team while they still have trade value so that they give playing time to Frazier, Osuna, Moroff and Bostick to see if these guys have a future role, or the opportunity to build up some trade value. 2017 is lost, they need to utilize those MLB at bats and innings for developing internal talent and boosting asset value.

While I don't think McCutchen's impact on the Pirates in previous years (especially his best years) should be underestimated I don't think the Pirates have been exclusively tied to his performance. When he was having MVP types of seasons guys like A.J., Liriano and Cole were pitching really well, J.A. Happ happened, Melancon was superb, Harrison had a career year, Kang arrived, Pedro hit 36 home runs, etc.



This year isn't on McCutchen. Sure he's been pretty bad and so have the Pirates but that has a whole lot more to do with guys like Kang, Marte, Freese, Frazier, and Taillon being out of the lineup, and many of the guys who are playing having as bad or worse years than McCutchen.



I believe Cutch has begun an irreversible decline in his performance. His "Era" such as it was is over. Is it time for the Pirates to move on from him? Maybe. When Meadows is ready it'll be time. Until then I'd prefer to see him play for the Pirates. I'm not sure TBMTIB will be willing to allow that to happen since he's adversely affecting their precious financial flexibility. ::)