COMMENTARY There are countdowns for the Pittsburgh Pirates season everywhere you look on Twitter.
20GamesToGo
MagicNumber50
OnPaceFor97wins
As they sit 22 games above .500 with a 1.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central the importance of the five game series they're currently in with St. Louis has been exacerbated through the local and national media. However let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Beginning August 27 Pittsburgh will face a divisional opponent in 25 of its final 32 games including six against the Cardinals and six against the Reds.
So what does that mean
While yes this mid week series against the division leader is important and the Pirates have won the first three games the Pittsburgh Pirates' season will not be won or lost before the weekend rolls around.
What the team needs to focus more of their efforts on is something that quite frankly isn't getting enough attention from anyone.
In their recently concluded 10 game road trip following the All Star break they went a respectable 5 5 against Cincinnati Washington and Miami. However what was alarming was the number of strikeouts Pirates hitters racked up over that span.
In just 10 games they struck out 112 times including a 15 strikeout performance in a 9 7 loss to the Nationals. That's right the Pirates managed to score seven runs in the same game they whiffed 15 times. Incredible.
As Colin Dunlap pointed out in column on CBSPittsburgh.com this Pirates team would be better served if they put the ball in play more
As of late especially and in general all season the Pirates have simply swung and missed too much they have struck out 887 times on the season second only in the National League to the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates better cut down on their strikeout rate if they truly want to contend for the division crown.
He's absolutely right and it starts at the top.
Leadoff hitter Starling Marte who has done a fantastic job of getting in position to score once he's reached base has fanned 107 times. In contrast he has drawn only 17 walks all season which is by far the lowest of any starter.
Isn't your leadoff hitter's primary job to get on base by any means necessary
Those numbers have to change.
Then there's Pedro Alvarez. In the early part of his career he was striking out a lot while also failing to hit for any steady power. Now his strikeout numbers are still too high 124 Ks in 348 at bats. But with an NL leading 27 home runs the Pirates can live with those results.
Andrew McCutchen and Russell Martin are the only two Pirates that have an on base percentage above .350. Neil Walker and Gabby Sanchez are close but they need their top of the order guys to improve especially against teams familiar with their tendency to chase bad pitches.
So while yes fans in Pittsburgh would be on cloud nine if the Pirates could sweep this five game series from the Cardinals there are bigger fish to fry.
Or should I say birds.
Kevin Connelly is a Pittsburgh native who's been alive for five of the city's 14 sports championships. He has a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee and is currently a sportswriter at The Vindicator in Youngstown Ohio. You can follow him on Twitter Kevin_Connelly.
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