Latest Pirates Buzz

In dealing with the Starling Marte suspension and not having Jung Ho Kang for the entire season, Pirates GM Neal Huntington has talked in recent weeks that this group of players doesn’t deserve a tear down of the current roster and waive the white flag on the season.

NL CENTRAL
1. MIL 50-41
2. CHI 43-45 (5.5 GB)
3. STL 43-45 (5.5 GB)
4. PIT 42-47 (7 GB)
5. CIN 39-49 (9.5 GB)

The proof will be in the next 10 games, starting with a pivotal seven game home-stand Friday night.

Fri vs St. Louis | 7:05 p.m.
Sat vs St. Louis | 7:05 p.m.
Sun vs St. Louis | 1:35 p.m.
Mon vs Milwaukee | 7:05 p.m.
Tues vs Milwaukee | 7:05 p.m.
Wed vs Milwaukee | 7:05 p.m.
Thu vs Milwaukee | 12:35 p.m.

Will the Pirates starting with manager Clint Hurdle treat this home-stand as  the Pirates season being on the line?

I guess Sunday we’ll find out if Hurdle throws out a typical Sunday lineup.

Following the seven game homestand, the Pirates then head out West for a nine game road trip against the Rockies, Giants and Padres.

The Pirates are 5-1 in their last six games. This is upcoming stretch is their season where they have to make a move up the standings. Win 2, Lose 2, win 1, Lose 2, Win 2, Lose 1, isn’t going to cut it anymore as the Pirates are 9-9 over their last 18 games.

Leading up to the deadline, the focus from Pirate management will continue to be looking for help for 2018 and beyond, but if this team starts to turn the corner a bit over these next pivotal 7-10 games, then you likely won’t see Josh Harrison hitting the market, where multiple clubs are lining up to see if Pittsburgh makes him available, and the team likely won’t push for a Jordy Mercer trade until the winter.

A Pirates source says the team is looking at trades for players with control but the team hasn’t ruled out going into [hide] the rental market for a starting pitcher if the team continues to show signs of trending up this month.

“If we can get to around 4 games back, we’ll buy,” the source said.

Of course, much will depend on where this homestand goes, but the reality is, the Pirates are not only 7 games out of first place, but are also 9 games out of the wildcard.

The time to make a move and get help was last month.[/hide]

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