Photo: Gene J. Puskar - Associated Press
- Adam ParkerIn just over two decades on this Earth, I've come to two realizations as a baseball fan -- one, the Chicago Cubs may never make it back to the World Series; and two, the Pirates can usually be counted on as the perennial cellar dwellers of the National League Central.
Talk about deja vu.
Just last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves in a very similar situation to the one they're in now -- sitting above .500 at (48-38; T-1st in the NL Central with Reds) and in contention to end their infamous streak of 19 consecutive losing seasons. This not-so-desirable record stands as the longest streak in North American professional sports history.
We here at Beard and Stache were surprised by it then, but eventually the dream cycle ended and everything returned to normal as baseball's swashbucklers crumbled under the pressure once again.
Honestly, I don't know how Pirates fans can stay with it, especially for some of the older fans that have been around for the entirety of this dubious losing streak. Kudos to you if you're still grinding.
Congratulations, Pirates fans. I believe 2012 will finally be the year that you get out from under that losing streak and finish the season above .500. Who knows? Maybe you'll make the playoffs and do I dare say possibly take home the NL Central division crown -- the first in the team's long storied history?
Let's take a look at the two main catalysts behind the Pirates' turnaround -- not only for this year, but going forward into the near future as well.
Pitching, Pitching, Pitching.
The old adage is that defense wins championships (though Tom Brady and the Patriots might dispute that claim).
In baseball, pitching stands as the first line of defense, and the Pirates are loaded up and down their organization with good arm talent.
At the forefront of the team's pitching success this year is rejuvenated veteran right-hander A.J. Burnett.
I'll admit, as a lifelong Yankees fan (please hold your boos until the end of the article, thank you) when Burnett was shipped off to Pittsburgh, my first thought was good riddance. He struggled mightily under the bright lights in the Bronx and his average-at-best statistics over his three seasons in Yankee pinstripes reflected it.
What a difference a change of scenery makes. The old saying of another man's trash is another man's treasure has never been truer than this Burnett situation. While A.J. regularly stunk it up in New York, once he showed up to Pittsburgh, everything changed.
I'll admit, when news first broke of Burnett fracturing an orbital bone in his face during Pirates' batting practice not soon after he was traded, I had to chuckle a little bit. Not at Burnett's injury, as those are never a joking matter, but just at the Pirates' luck, or seemingly lack there of.
Here they were, thinking they landed a stud veteran pitcher to lead their staff going forward and finally filling that colossal void left by Oliver Perez after he ended up with the Mets. And then Burnett goes out and essentially has his face broken by a baseball. Wow.
Needless to say, it's the Pirates who are laughing at me and the rest of baseball now, as Burnett's stellar play (10-2, 3.68 ERA in 15 starts) has breathed life back into the organization. As it currently stands, the Pirates have the fifth best team ERA with a mark of 3.54 as well as the seventh-ranked batting average against, with opposing hitters hitting only .244.
That's called getting it done.
With Burnett as the staff ace in the bigs (as well as Joel Hanrahan slamming the door shut as the closer) and young arms like Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon down in the minors, the Pirates pitching staff looks to be in good shape going forward.
And then there's Andrew McCutchen.
It's a good thing the Pirates locked this beast up long term. At the halfway point of the season, McCutchen is shredding the opposition and consistently putting up MVP-caliber numbers with a league-leading .367 batting average. But wait, it doesn't stop there, as McCutchen has also started coming into his own as a power hitter with already 19 home runs this season.
But McCutchen is more than just a blossoming power hitter. Not only does he knock runners in (61 RBIs to date), but he's also a threat on the base paths, stealing 26 bases already, which is almost double than the 14 he stole all of last season.
McCutchen is what scouts like to refer to as a "five-tool player." The guy can simply do it all at a high level. It's a treat to watch McCutchen do anything and everything for the Bucs' day in and day out. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that he's the most entertaining player to watch in the league right now.
He's killing it for the Pirates in every facet of the game, and if it weren't for Carlos Beltran's phenomenal resurgence in St. Louis, Joey Votto doing his thing in Cincy or Matt Kemp simply being Matt Kemp in Los Angeles, I'd say hand McCutchen the NL MVP trophy and batting title right now.
But even if he doesn't win it, it's nice to see the Pirates have a bonafide superstar to build around as they make their way back into baseball relevance, and if McCutchen's second half is similar to his first, the odds of the Pirates sailing into the postseason is also a very likely scenario.
It's great to see guys like McCutchen and Burnett righting the ship, because in case you've forgotten or simply aren't a Pirates fan, this is a team that once had Blue Jays' star Jose Bautista on its roster before he was Jose Bautista aka Joey Bats.
The baseball gods are smiling down on Pittsburgh right now and the future looks bright; and I have say, it's about damn time.
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