Post-Win Thoughts

Random Thoughts after Today's Win:

--Last week, the propaganda machine had an article up where Freddy Sanchez said the team knew what they would be getting when "Matty Mo" (Matt Morris) pitched--something along the lines of "being in every game." (I'm not a huge fan of linking to the propaganda machine unless I'm mocking some absurdity, and I usually prefer to direct snarky comments at management and ownership rather than the actual players, which is my way of saying: If you really need to, you can find that exact quote for yourself.) What I am really starting to enjoy, however, is the expectation I have when Tom Gorzelanny starts a game. Generally speaking, you know you're getting several innings of quality starting pitching in games Gorzy starts, and you're confident your team has a chance to win every game he pitches. To have that expectation, consistently, is incredibly nice.

When the rest of the Bucco starting pitchers consistently follow suit, that's probably when the Pirates have, minimally, a .500 record, rather than a sub .500 record. So, please, for pitchers who've shown flashes of this ability to pitch solidly on a somewhat consistent basis, how about "somewhat consistent" turning into just "consistent?" Pretty, pretty, please, pitchers?


--There's a saying (I'm not sure to whom to attribute it) that you're never as good as you look when you win or as bad as you look when you lose. I think this case applies quite clearly and consistently in terms of evaluating the 2007 Pirates. The team's sudden mashing offense is probably just an overcorrection of things that went horribly wrong earlier in the season. In terms of other areas of overall play, I think things tend to "even out" over the course of a season. Still, with that "evening out" now apparently occurring, I still think this team should have a .500 record. They're a slightly-less-than-mediocre club that has enough legitimate MLB players that they should have a .500 record playing in the NL Central. The fact that the team is many, many games from a .500 record should stand as an indictment of those in charge.

One reason for the team's poor record, the one the propaganda machine and Jim Tracy will probably feed you, is that young players who are still learning how to play in the big leagues and still developing are, somewhat naturally, inconsistent. And for all but day-one-arrival megastars, the propaganda machine and Tracy would have a point. There are inevitable ups-and-downs that are par for the course in any sport for players that are still developing and learning in the Show.

But the reason for my "indictment" of the organization and Tracy, too, is that I don't believe that inconsistency should be so difficult to overcome that a team can't manage a mediocre, break-even record. Developing young players have to be held accountable, too, and perhaps especially when it comes to basics of fundamental play rather than a current physical inability to hit or locate a particularly difficult pitch, and I haven't seen enough accountability from the higher-ups in this organization. Along with accountability, I haven't seen the expectation, consistently upheld by those at the top, of, "We must win." With the Pirates, it's always great if they win. But winning never appears to be the actual, consistent expectation, and without that expectation, exactly what would be the point of accountability? If there is no expected standard to be attained, how in the world is anyone held accountable for performance?

Others have said that a "losing mindset" has infected the team. And sure, this club is, at best, a mediocre club. But even taking the month of August as a correction for previously out-of-whack individual statistics, the club probably shouldn't be, yet again, among the worst in the majors. They should be within a few games of .500, not miles below .500. They should be "not very good to mediocre" rather than "piss-poor" and "just bad."

Yes, the Pirates are bad, as indicated by their record. But they'd be a lot closer to mediocre (and check out the Comedy Central standings and see with your own eyes that mediocrity means pennant contention in this division) with leadership emanating at the top of the organization that expected to win consistently and demanded accountability, from the guys in suits to the coaches to the players, to meet that expectation to win games consistently.