Pirates regain top spot in NL Central

Chase D'Arnaud makes a big play behind second.

Thanks to Charlie Morton, some very good defensive plays, and timely hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates are now in first place. They outlasted 2 rain delays to make this one happen and it was worth the wait. Morton struggled through the first two innings but regrouped to combine with Tony Watson, Daniel McCutcheon, and Joel Hanrahan for the shutout.

It's happening to the Pittsburgh Pirates Part 2

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had 2 pitchers that have translated their quality outings into wins this season and those 2 pitchers are Charlie Morton and Kevin Correia. But there are other members of the staff that have suddenly turned in some outstanding efforts this season. The result is that the Pirates have 5 men in their rotation that are able to keep the opponent within striking distance of the offense.

James McDonald came to the Pirates near the end of last year in a trade with the Dodgers. Unexplicably the Dodgers couldn't seem to get enough out of McDonald. This just goes to show the sad shape the Dodgers are in right now. With not much of a chance given to him in the Major Leagues the Dodgers gave the Pirates McDonald and another prospect in Andrew Lambo. Lambo's story was a little different. He has a history of drug problems and was suspended for 50 games last year for what is believed to be marijuana usage. Nobody disputes his talent though and he was an integral part of the trade that sent Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers last year. McDonald has consistently kept the Pirates in games after some tinkering with the mechanics early in the season. His record is 4-4, but he has kept the Pirates in most of the games he's pitched.

Paul Maholm is the remaining cog from the last group of hopeful pitchers on the Pirates. He and Zach Duke and Tom Gorzelanny all were supposed to turn the Pirates fortunes around. Those other 2 were traded and Maholm remained. Why didn't the Pirates get rid of him? He's one of those guys that just has so much promise. He has always shown a lot of promise. This year he has pitched as well as he ever did. His record so far this season is 2-7. But that is definitely not indicative of how he has pitched this year. Most of his outings have been outstanding, but he has had little to no support and thus the record. He has kept the Pirates in most games that he has pitched, but sometimes there is a pitcher that the team just doesn't score runs for. This time it's Maholm, and it is unfortunate because he has pitched so well this season.

The 5th guy or wherever you wanted to slot him in the rotation was going to be Ross Ohlendorf. Ohlendorf has shown flashes of above average stuff in the past and has given the Pirates hope that they have found another quality arm to fill out the rotation. So much for that. Ohlendorf has continued to have arm problems and is currently on the 60 day disabled list. But, one's misfortune is another's fortune, or however that saying goes. Ohlendorf goes down and Jeff Karstens steps in as the short term solution. Karstens has done an amazing job. Every time he takes the mound the Pirates have had a chance to take the W.

Karstens came to the Pirates in 2008 as part of the Damaso Marte/Xavier Nady trade with the Yankees. He has had mixed success in previous attempts at starting but he may be solidifying his spot in the rotation for the rest of the year. His record is only 3-4 but his era is sub 3. The only drawback is that he usually doesn't get past the 7th inning, but I think Clint Hurdle would be happy if his pitchers could keep their eras in the 2s.

Let's look at that trade. Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte for Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Jose Tabata, and Daniel McCutchen. That one seems to be working out well for the Pirates this year. 3 out of the 4 are on the Pirates and playing very well. The fourth was expected to be part of the rotation. That trade has worked out pretty well for the Pirates this year. Xavier Nady has been injured and bounced around a few teams, Damaso Marte remains with the Yankees, but is no stranger to the disabled list.

It is amazing that amongst this streak of losing that the Pirates have not managed to find some quality pitchers that could not even break the double digit win plateau. This year with the addition of Kevin Correia and the seasoning and tinkering of the pitchers they have acquired the Pirates seem to have a rotation that can keep them in games for 7 to 8 innings regularly. When the rotation can do that and keep the bullpen staff from extended duty it makes the bullpen that much fresher which helps them to be ready when needed. If these guys continue to improve that streak may be in danger.

These 5 guys are just a part of the pitching staff that has shown a lot of improvement from last year. In part 3 of this series I'll give analysis of the bullpen staff. The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking like they have the makings of a good team. It's great to be close to .500 and not out of the race at this point in the season, thanks in large part to the starting staff.

It's happening to the Pittsburgh Pirates Part 1

Since Barry Bonds left years and years ago the Pirates have gone through waves and waves of what Pirates fans have hoped would be the next group to take the Pittsburgh Pirates back to the playoffs, or at least a winning season. Well, the core of the current group is the heart of this team right now.

At pitcher the Pirates have a group that seems to have been tinkered with and matured to the point where their ERA makes you forget about the recent flops that have been part of those other failed groups. A series of trades and free agent signings by the front office has brought what looks like a talented group to the team until the group of young arms recently drafted arrives.

Recall the high hopes the Pirates had for Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell. The expectations for that group were never realized. The ERAs never went down and the wins never came. Now there is a new group ready to stake their claim and lead the Pirates into the promised land.

Charlie Morton, obtained from the Braves, could be considered the Pirates stopper. At the time of the trade Pirate Nation was up in arms because of the player he was traded for. Nate McLouth had become a fan favorite with his hitting and fielding. Why would the Pirates trade a part of their then core for a pitcher that had shown promise but had failed in his tryouts for the Braves.

Morton is starting to show Pirates Nation what the front office saw and McLouth has been average in his time with the Braves, never hitting as well as he did at the time of the trade. Morton has been nothing short of amazing this year. He has risen from the realm of AAAA players and finally started showing the stuff in the majors that he did in AAA. The Braves gave up on him and traded him to the Pirates. Thank you Atlanta. The Pirates did some tinkering and changed his delivery in the offseason and he discovered a sinker that some could argue that is now one of the best in the majors.

If the Pirates manage to break that string of losing seasons this year, another signing in the offseason might have much to do with it. Another pitcher, who could be considered the co stopper or the road stopper and who recently led the majors in wins has been a huge success and might be a major reason for the change in attitude of the team.

Kevin Correia, who now has 8 wins, brings a confidence to the Pirates that has been lacking. He has shown that he can win in the past and thanks to a change of scenery to Pittsburgh, he has shown so far this season that those past performances were not a fluke. He has been outstanding on the road especially, helping the Pirates confidence in that area and translating to as many wins this year, a third of the way through the season as all of last year.

These 2 guys are the heart of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation this year, but there are others that have contributed significantly. Check out Part 2 of this series in the next few days.