August means fresh start for sagging Pirates

by Matt Gajtka

The steamy days of August are normally an unlikely place to find refreshment, but the year’s eighth month will have to function as an oasis for the suddenly flagging Pittsburgh Pirates.

As July came to a close with a come-from-ahead 6-5 10-inning loss in Philadelphia that dropped the Pirates’ record to 54-52 (and 4.5 games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central), it would be simple to say the 2011 Bucs are a nice story but ultimately not ready for the rigors of a pennant race.

The Pirates have just completed a stretch against four of the National League’s best teams (Reds, Cardinals, Braves, Phillies) with a 5-8 record. At multiple points during that gauntlet, Pittsburgh found itself in first place in the Central, the latest glorious day being last Monday as the Bucs opened a seven-game road trip with a 3-1 win in Atlanta on ESPN.

But after the four-letter network’s bright lights turned off, the Pirates endured perhaps their toughest six days of the season, dropping five of six to fall into third place behind the Brewers and St. Louis. Three of those five defeats came in extra innings, including the now-infamous 19-inning loss triggered by an umpire’s inexplicable call at the plate.

There have been debates about whether Pirates manager Clint Hurdle should have used star closer Joel Hanrahan in any or all of those close losses – his only appearance came in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 5-2 win in Atlanta.

While the more enlightened baseball fans among us would certainly argue with Hurdle’s late-game bullpen management, perhaps it’s more productive to attribute the 2-5 road trip to equal amounts of bad luck and poor execution, with just a dash of managerial incompetence.

Either way, the Bucs now face the near opposite of last week’s schedule this week; instead of squaring off with the NL’s two best teams on the road, they welcome two of the league’s three worst teams (Chicago and San Diego) to PNC Park for seven straight days.

In addition to that happy occurrence, Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington was able to add two right-handed bats in advance of Sunday’s trade deadline to help lengthen and strengthen a lineup that is among the worst in baseball. Monday night’s game with Chicago figures to serve as the black and gold debut for first baseman Derrek Lee (from Baltimore) and outfielder Ryan Ludwick (via San Diego).

Acquired for a small price (two minor leaguers with limited potential) Lee and Ludwick can reasonably project to outperform the incumbents at their positions (Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz/Garrett Jones, respectively), even though their performances through the first four months of this season have been decidedly average.

Average production, at least at any positions other than center field and second base, would indeed be classified as an upgrade for a Pirates club that has leaned heavily on its low-strikeout pitching staff for wins thus far.

With 17 of August’s 30 games at home, the Bucs appear to be in position to make a significant move back up the standings, even if they are just one game over .500 (26-25) thus far on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. On top of that, the Pirates have seven games apiece this month against both Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Most signs point toward the next four weeks deciding the ultimate fate of the 2011 Pirates. Time to put the last week of July in the rearview mirror.