ATLANTA — By midday Wednesday, the champagne had yet to dissipate from the visiting clubhouse’s carpet at Turner Field, the result of the Pirates’ pouring out 20 cases of the stuff in that outpouring of emotion for clinching a National League playoff spot.
“Dude,” one of the stadium’s young clubhouse attendants began his somewhat indignant explanation when I asked why the floor still felt sticky. “We had to bring in, like a Zamboni, to clean all that up.”
Right. Takes time. Dude.
Well, turned out that might not have been the only effect of the celebration, anyway, judging by the flat, unfocused, letdown-like performance — their first all month, in fairness — in falling to the Braves, 6-2. Jeff Locke pitched without command in conceding six runs, eight hits and five walks over four innings, and this wasn’t about to become comeback victory No. 42 once all that piled up.
OK, so big deal. The Pirates had been 15-3 in September, and now they’re 15-4. They had a playoff spot, and they still have it. They’re still within 1 1/2 of the Cardinals in the Central Division, one up on the Giants for home field in the wild card. I’ve felt all along the very best they could hope from this month would be the latter and that’s a card they’re still holding. In fact, because the Pirates own the tiebreaker by having taken four of six from San Francisco during the regular season, the Giants really are two back, in essence.
Even the tight hamstring that forced Russell Martin out of this game didn’t amount to much. Clint Hurdle called the move “precautionary.” Martin had even less to say for it.
But some other stickiness persists in the form of some tough calls that must be made in the coming days by Hurdle, Neal Huntington and friends.
That starts, of course, with starting pitching. Always does.
And the starting pitching should start, if you ask me, with Francisco Liriano.
There are several scenarios still in play for the imminent postseason, which complicates projections. That’s the reason — and the only reason — Hurdle announced his starters for the weekend against the Reds as Vance Worley, Liriano and Gerrit Cole, in that order. Hurdle took care to amend Wednesday that this was “tentative” pending the importance of the games, and that’s because the Pirates still could still open their postseason by facing the Cardinals in a one-game tiebreaker Monday (though a tiebreaker technically counts as regular-season game No. 163). Or they could face the Giants in the wild card Wednesday at PNC Park or in San Francisco. Or they could win the Central outright and earn four free days before playing again.
To be clear here, yes, that means the most important game could come this weekend in Cincinnati if there remains a real shot at catching the Cardinals, who will spend their weekend in Phoenix against the 100-loss-bound Diamondbacks. A real shot is loosely defined, but I’d say if they’re tied Sunday, the pitcher facing the Reds’ Johnny Cueto should be Liriano.
It’s just too good a scenario to pass up, beating Cincinnati to get into the National League Division Series rather than flying to St. Louis for a game the very next day.
“We’ll deal with all that as it comes,” was all Hurdle would say on that count.
Made infinitely simpler, Liriano needs to be set up to pitch the very first game of whichever of those scenarios presents itself first. I rode along on the Cole train for a while on this topic, but no more. Liriano’s past half-dozen starts have seen him look like the Cy Young candidate of last summer, with three earned runs allowed over 39 innings for a 0.69 ERA. He’s struck out 43, more than a batter per inning, maybe the most powerful sign that he’s the full-on Filthy Frankie.
What’s more …
“I still don’t feel like I’m at my best,” Liriano was telling me Wednesday. “I’ve got a couple things with my release point I’m working on and, when I get that fixed, I’ll be where I need to be.”
Imagine that. Imagine how dangerous the Pirates, already owners of the league’s most efficient offense and a revitalized bullpen, can be with a true October ace.
This isn’t to dump on Cole. It’s anything but. He’s gotten gradually stronger over his seven starts since returning from the shoulder trouble, going 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA, 48 strikeouts and 11 walks. And don’t take the ERA too seriously. His WHIP figure — walks and hits per inning pitched — in that span is 1.11, which actually is lower than Liriano’s 1.23.
What’s more …
“I feel like I’m just getting to where I want to be,” a champagne-stained Cole was saying after winning that playoff clincher by overcoming some early elevation of his fastball. “Every start that goes by, there’s more confidence building up.”
Which is wonderful. Show me the playoff team with two potential aces, and I’ll show you a playoff team that can beat anyone. In a five-game series, even if Liriano is used in the wild card, Cole can pitch Games 1 and 5. If Liriano has to go earlier, the schedule affords Liriano the time to pitch Games 1 and 5 while Cole handles the wild card.
So long as Liriano is the pivoting point.
The rest of the rotation is rounding out to be Edinson Volquez and Vance Worley, in that order. And yes, that would leave Locke out of the rotation, though he’d still figure to play a role in long relief over, say, the regrettable Jeanmar Gomez.
Hurdle, predictably, wasn’t about to bury Locke.
“I’m not getting into all that sort of thing now,” the manager said. “Jeff’s done a very good job at times this year. We’re going to be discussing all of that soon.”
I asked if momentum, in general, can sway personnel moves.
“Yes, it can.”
Others will bury Locke because, hey, it’s been forever since the Pirates lost, so he must be truly terrible. He’s hardly that. In his previous start, he held the Brewers to two runs over seven innings. Against the Cardinals near the end of August, his line was one run over 7 1/3 innings. It’s inconsistent, absolutely, but it’s there.
Let’s put this another way, then: Worley has earned it: He’s been charged with six earned runs over his past four starts, the most recent of which saw eight scoreless innings on 82 pitches and just 19 balls. That guy just can’t sit.
The position players don’t present nearly the challenge of the pitching decisions. It’s eminently apparent Travis Snider has become the right fielder ahead of Gregory Polanco, with Polanco summoned for his defense in later innings. Don’t expect that to change. It’s the right call, at least to start, given his post-break line of .278/.347/.503 line with eight home runs. Both are lefties. If Snider falters, that’s an easy flip for Hurdle.
The bullpen won’t come with tough calls, either, provided John Holdzkom is kept unconditionally.
September 24, 2014
Column: Time to feed Filthy Frankie
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Pirates
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
ATLANTA — By midday Wednesday, the champagne had yet to dissipate from the visiting clubhouse’s carpet at Turner Field, the result of the Pirates’ pouring out 20 cases of the stuff in that outpouring of emotion for clinching a National League playoff spot.
“Dude,” one of the stadium’s young clubhouse attendants began his somewhat indignant explanation when I asked why the floor still felt sticky. “We had to bring in, like a Zamboni, to clean all that up.”
Right. Takes time. Dude.
Well, turned out that might not have been the only effect of the celebration, anyway, judging by the flat, unfocused, letdown-like performance — their first all month, in fairness — in falling to the Braves, 6-2. Jeff Locke pitched without command in conceding six runs, eight hits and five walks over four innings, and this wasn’t about to become comeback victory No. 42 once all that piled up.
OK, so big deal. The Pirates had been 15-3 in September, and now they’re 15-4. They had a playoff spot, and they still have it. They’re still within 1 1/2 of the Cardinals in the Central Division, one up on the Giants for home field in the wild card. I’ve felt all along the very best they could hope from this month would be the latter and that’s a card they’re still holding. In fact, because the Pirates own the tiebreaker by having taken four of six from San Francisco during the regular season, the Giants really are two back, in essence.
Even the tight hamstring that forced Russell Martin out of this game didn’t amount to much. Clint Hurdle called the move “precautionary.” Martin had even less to say for it.
But some other stickiness persists in the form of some tough calls that must be made in the coming days by Hurdle, Neal Huntington and friends.
That starts, of course, with starting pitching. Always does.
And the starting pitching should start, if you ask me, with Francisco Liriano.
There are several scenarios still in play for the imminent postseason, which complicates projections. That’s the reason — and the only reason — Hurdle announced his starters for the weekend against the Reds as Vance Worley, Liriano and Gerrit Cole, in that order. Hurdle took care to amend Wednesday that this was “tentative” pending the importance of the games, and that’s because the Pirates still could still open their postseason by facing the Cardinals in a one-game tiebreaker Monday (though a tiebreaker technically counts as regular-season game No. 163). Or they could face the Giants in the wild card Wednesday at PNC Park or in San Francisco. Or they could win the Central outright and earn four free days before playing again.
To be clear here, yes, that means the most important game could come this weekend in Cincinnati if there remains a real shot at catching the Cardinals, who will spend their weekend in Phoenix against the 100-loss-bound Diamondbacks. A real shot is loosely defined, but I’d say if they’re tied Sunday, the pitcher facing the Reds’ Johnny Cueto should be Liriano.
It’s just too good a scenario to pass up, beating Cincinnati to get into the National League Division Series rather than flying to St. Louis for a game the very next day.
“We’ll deal with all that as it comes,” was all Hurdle would say on that count.
Made infinitely simpler, Liriano needs to be set up to pitch the very first game of whichever of those scenarios presents itself first. I rode along on the Cole train for a while on this topic, but no more. Liriano’s past half-dozen starts have seen him look like the Cy Young candidate of last summer, with three earned runs allowed over 39 innings for a 0.69 ERA. He’s struck out 43, more than a batter per inning, maybe the most powerful sign that he’s the full-on Filthy Frankie.
What’s more …
“I still don’t feel like I’m at my best,” Liriano was telling me Wednesday. “I’ve got a couple things with my release point I’m working on and, when I get that fixed, I’ll be where I need to be.”
Imagine that. Imagine how dangerous the Pirates, already owners of the league’s most efficient offense and a revitalized bullpen, can be with a true October ace.
This isn’t to dump on Cole. It’s anything but. He’s gotten gradually stronger over his seven starts since returning from the shoulder trouble, going 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA, 48 strikeouts and 11 walks. And don’t take the ERA too seriously. His WHIP figure — walks and hits per inning pitched — in that span is 1.11, which actually is lower than Liriano’s 1.23.
What’s more …
“I feel like I’m just getting to where I want to be,” a champagne-stained Cole was saying after winning that playoff clincher by overcoming some early elevation of his fastball. “Every start that goes by, there’s more confidence building up.”
Which is wonderful. Show me the playoff team with two potential aces, and I’ll show you a playoff team that can beat anyone. In a five-game series, even if Liriano is used in the wild card, Cole can pitch Games 1 and 5. If Liriano has to go earlier, the schedule affords Liriano the time to pitch Games 1 and 5 while Cole handles the wild card.
So long as Liriano is the pivoting point.
The rest of the rotation is rounding out to be Edinson Volquez and Vance Worley, in that order. And yes, that would leave Locke out of the rotation, though he’d still figure to play a role in long relief over, say, the regrettable Jeanmar Gomez.
Hurdle, predictably, wasn’t about to bury Locke.
“I’m not getting into all that sort of thing now,” the manager said. “Jeff’s done a very good job at times this year. We’re going to be discussing all of that soon.”
I asked if momentum, in general, can sway personnel moves.
“Yes, it can.”
Others will bury Locke because, hey, it’s been forever since the Pirates lost, so he must be truly terrible. He’s hardly that. In his previous start, he held the Brewers to two runs over seven innings. Against the Cardinals near the end of August, his line was one run over 7 1/3 innings. It’s inconsistent, absolutely, but it’s there.
Let’s put this another way, then: Worley has earned it: He’s been charged with six earned runs over his past four starts, the most recent of which saw eight scoreless innings on 82 pitches and just 19 balls. That guy just can’t sit.
The position players don’t present nearly the challenge of the pitching decisions. It’s eminently apparent Travis Snider has become the right fielder ahead of Gregory Polanco, with Polanco summoned for his defense in later innings. Don’t expect that to change. It’s the right call, at least to start, given his post-break line of .278/.347/.503 line with eight home runs. Both are lefties. If Snider falters, that’s an easy flip for Hurdle.
The bullpen won’t come with tough calls, either, provided John Holdzkom is kept unconditionally.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.
Dude …