4-22-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on X Heading into 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates – and their expectations – were at heights we haven’t seen in some time. On paper, this is a team that has talent – from the extended Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller, to the more youthful Jared Jones, Paul Skenes and Jared Triolo, among others. For a team like the Pirates though, they cannot take the next step in being a competitive baseball team until some of those young guys also take the next step, and Oneil Cruz, a player many have penned with superstar potential, is the most notable. Cruz ..read more

4-22-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X The season started off with a sweep and it only feels right that they plummet back to .500 taking back to back sweeps on the chin on the cusp of their first NL Central matchup of the season. Ahh baseball, you can go from walking around in flip flops drinking an Iron City with a little strut about your baseball team and the next week it’s hailing and you’re having a hard time peeking at the score. If you love the game, you love the ride. The ups are everything and the downs are crushing. Can’t do or fix anything, can’t make a mistake. Win a bunch, the ..read more

4-22-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on X After a 9-2 start, the Pittsburgh Pirates have gone 2-9 since, a complete flip from what we were watching to begin the season. Eyes will be directed at the offense, which has had a multitude of issues over the past 11 games, and they should be, seeing as the starting pitching staff is actually performing above expectations through the first 22 games. The issues are apparent as well for the offense: They take way too many pitches, they are constantly searching for walks and the two-out magic has fizzled out – against some starters, it works; against ot ..read more

4-22-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN Well folks, it’s time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to take on their first NL Central foe of the 2024 season, as the Milwaukee Brewers make their way to PNC Park for a four game set. For the Pirates, they enter this series on a six-game losing streak, losing to the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox last week, both sweeps. The Brewers meanwhile enter on a completely different tangent, winning four consecutive games and six of their last nine. These two teams are practically night and day right now, especially offensively, as the Brewers enter the series with th ..read more

4-21-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter There’s something troubling that has bothered me from the very start of the Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton era of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club. It’s endured every season and overcome all my understanding about the realities of rebuilding a franchise. I think the Pirates are simply planning too far in advance. More specifically, I think the Pirates are too prone to stick to that plan regardless of factors that should lead to adjustment. Example? Let’s go hypothetical, but lets go all Law and Order on it and base it on real life. The ..read more

4-20-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter I know, you could say this about any area of the team that isn’t performing but at the plate, this year, this group has to hit, there simply isn’t a plan B. There is no Paul Skenes equivalent with a bat in his hand waiting to come up here and be the savior. They don’t have 3-4 guys that are good bets to produce, instead they have a couple interesting guys but that’s about all you can say. No, this team has to hit, primarily the guys who are here. We can get into the hitting coach and we can probably argue about whether it’s his fault ..read more

4-19-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter The path for every prospect is different. Quinn Priester was drafted 18th overall in the first round of the 2019 MLB entry draft out of high school and he was supposed to come up here and lead this staff that a completely new management group was taking over. It so rarely works how it’s “supposed” to. We as a society are very quick to go from seeing something promising to pushing them off to the burn pile as soon as we see something shinier, but MLB franchises that don’t buy everything they need on the market, can’t afford to play tha ..read more

4-17-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on X Early season storylines can always cloud the judgment of fans as something concrete, so you have to be careful not to fool yourself into taking the bait on certain things. But something feels different about what Jared Jones, the Pirates No. 3 prospect via MLB Pipeline, is doing through his first four starts of his career. To address the elephant in the room first, Jones was pulled after just 59 pitches, 50 of which were strikes, in the Pirates loss to the Mets on Tuesday evening. His only hit allowed was a blooper from Pete Alonso that ..read more

4-15-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X The bill always comes due. It’s tax day in America and it always hurts paying the piper, but baseball is no different, no matter what lucky bounces you receive, chances are bounces in the other direction are hiding in the bushes waiting to pounce. The Bucs have started out really well and it has them sitting tied for the top of the league with 11 wins, yet somehow still trailing the friggin’ Brewers in the standings because they have a better winning percentage in less games. The Pirates have done this with more road games than anyone else so far. Th ..read more

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