Andrew McCutchen may the subject of the next movie about a comic book super hero.

Man, the Pirates are a team I can't help rooting for. I love their stadium and they are such a sad sack case. I feel like Pittsburgh could be a great baseball town again with a little success. I can't think of any (non-Yankee) place I'd rather go see a playoff game than PNC Park.

See, revenue sharing works!

The Pirates like the Orioles feature a bullpen that has been surprisingly good this year. The Pirates' pen has only allowed 18% of inherited runners to scored (best in the league) and their front four of Joel Hanrahan, Jared Hughes, Jason Grilli, and Juan Cruz all have ERAs of 2.54 or better (though Cruz is doing it with mirrors). Those guys have all had some success before -- Grilli and Hanrahan especially looks as though they figured something out in Pittsburgh. But they don't at first blush seem like one of the top few pens in the league. It looks like part of a formula for a surprise winning season: get a bunch of solid relievers and hope they all have good seasons at the same time.

I hereby publicly apologize for snarking about the AJ Burnett acquisition. He had something left, and he's deployed it to advantage this year. Good on him.

Those guys have all had some success before -- Grilli and Hanrahan especially looks as though they figured something out in Pittsburgh. But they don't at first blush seem like one of the top few pens in the league. It looks like part of a formula for a surprise winning season: get a bunch of solid relievers and hope they all have good seasons at the same time.

My impression is that it's more important to not have too many really bad bullpen guys than it is to have a few really good bullpen guys. Given the lack of IP thrown by starters in today's games, you really need to have 5 or 6 guys who, at least, are not horrible. The reason is that at least one or two of those guys will have an off season or get hurt (see Evan Meek), but you need four decent arms to keep games from blowing up into situations where your loss probability is approximately 1 in before you get to the 7th inning.

Pittsburgh is tied for first in the NL Central and eight games above .500 for the first time since 1992, which is about the last time anyone paid much attention to this team.

I thought the last time anyone paid much attention to the Pirates was in late July of 2011 when they were a handful of games above .500 and tied for first place.

In April and May the Pirates had five people on their active roster (and seven on the 40-man) whose names started with "Mc". Since the release of Nate McLouth they're down to four and six. 25.4% of their plate appearances have been by such people.

I have been unable to design a Play Index search that'll reveal the all-time records for those stats.

Aha! The 1894, 1895, and 1896 Cleveland Spiders all did better than 25%, with Ed McKean, Jimmy McAleer, and Chippy McGarr in the regular lineup.

The 1891 Senators came close with Deacon McGuire, Mox McQuery, Tom McLaughlin, and Al McCauley.

In recent years, on the 1992 Royals Brian McRae, Kevin McWilliams and Mike Macfarlane teamed up for 24.5% of the plate appearances. Plus, their manager ... you guessed it, Hal McRae.

Then there was one Devil Rays team where Fred McGriff and Quinton McCracken started almost every game, but they had nobody else.

Bob Dernier Cri Posted: July 04, 2012 at 11:17 AM (#4172986)

I hereby publicly apologize for snarking about the AJ Burnett acquisition. He had something left, and he's deployed it to advantage this year. Good on him.

The big unanswerable here is "would he have done this in the Bronx?"

My assertion is "no". Whether it is the pressure of NYC, the hitters in the AL East, the physical surroundings, the infield defense, him not liking Dominican food, or any combination of factors, I think he was in a spiral that he was not going to recover from. Might as well get something for him and send him to the land of failed Yankee prospects who contribute at an All-Star level. He wasn't done, but he was done in New York.

Ahem, neither Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, nor Jose Tabata have ever contributed at an All-Star level.

[10] That's how I felt when the trade happened, too. I'm not surprised that Burnett is performing well this year, but he needed the change of scenery. (Yes, I know he played well in New York in 2009)

See, revenue sharing works!

With any luck, A.J. Burnett will literally take a piss on one of the Steinbrenner's wallets after the Yankees get knocked out and the Pirates are still in. Hopefully while they are holding it.

I hope the Pirates do something crazy before the deadline, like trade for Cole Hamels or somebody.

With any luck, A.J. Burnett will literally take a piss on one of the Steinbrenner's wallets after the Yankees get knocked out and the Pirates are still in. Hopefully while they are holding it.

What a sad, hateful little man you must be.

I hope the Pirates do something crazy before the deadline, like trade for Cole Hamels or somebody.

Soriano is available.

Soriano would be a great fit for the Pirates. Of course, there is the whole money issue. But a similar style trade to the Burnett one could work.

Then a trade for Daisuke Matsuzaka! They can have a whole Island of Misft Toys!

pirates offense is waking up

this is getting more interesting by the game