Pittsburgh Pirates question?

Question

What do you think has been the cause of the Pirates struggles in the month of August, and what can they do to improve as a team and become contenders again.

Answer 1

P.I. Stingray's answer is a pretty good description of what has happened to the 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates. We were hovering around .500 for roughly half of the season, but the Bucs just couldn't win that ONE game they need to get to .500 or over. Back in June when the Pirates played at Baltimore, they had a shot to take AT LEAST 2 out of the 3 games. But the bullpen couldn't hold the leads and they ended up only winning 1 of the 3 games.

Inconsistent starting pitching has played a big role as of late and really explains why the Pirates can win against teams that are better than them (Cubs, Brewers, etc.). Trading away your 2 best hitters always hurts and Nady was really having a stellar season.

I agree with some other people here, the Pirates front office isn't committed to paying their players bigger contracts over a span of more than 2 or 3 years. Talk about DUMB. So until the GM and Owner get their rears in gear, I don't think we will see a winning season from the Pirates anytime soon.

Answer 2

Well for starters, they traded away their two best offensive players in Jason Bay and Xavier Nady.  Therefore, the Bucs are leaning on young, unproven players to fill the void.  They do have some solid young pitchers in Jeff Karstens(SP) and Ian Snell(SP) to help at the top of the rotation.  Also, they have young studs in Nate McClouth(CF), Andy LaRoche(3B) and Ryan Doumit(C).  Obviously, the Pirates are leaning on these young players for the future, but they're going to have to take their lumps for the remainder of the season to help get some experience for the future.  You never know what can happen, just look at the Rays for example.  Last year they had one of the worst records in the Majors, and know they have arguably the best team in the loaded AL East.

Answer 3

The Pirates have not won anything since bond, bonilla, van slyke, lind , we're all on the field. the Pirates do not want to pay theirplayers and they just traded their 2 best offensive players.. they will get another losing season...

Answer 4

They are allowing their young players to gain experience.  Their prospects have a great future, but are still inconsistent.  Some days they are hot, some days they are pathetic.

However, i don't understand why they demoted Steve Pearce...?  He needs more experience in the majors.

Look forward to this 2011 lineup:

C - Paulino

1B - Doumit

2B - Cruz

SS- Bixler

3B - Alvarez

LF - Tabata or McLouth

CF - McCutchen

RF - Moss

SP - Maholm

SP - Oehlendorf

SP - Snell or Gorzelanny

SP - McCutchen

SP - Karstens

CL - Capps

Bullpen - who knows???

Answer 5

There are several reasons for the Pirates struggles this month, The first and main reason they are losing is they no longer have their two best hitters in the line-up since they traded Nady and Bay. The other big main reason is that other than Paul Maholm, no starter has been even close to consistent. Also, Andy LaRoche at 3B has not played up to what the Bucs scouts thought he would (both offensively and defensively). Lastly, the Pirates schedule this month has been a killer, with them playing teams that are still in the playoff hunt. Don't look for a turnaround any time soon. Wait til next year!