It’s sad when expectations are so low that an 11-14 start makes a team somewhat interesting. Still, the Pirates sit in fourth place in the NL Central and they’re only three games back in a division where .500 puts you close to the top. What’s been worse is the Pirates, at least this week, haven’t been able to put together any kind of streak and it’s been pretty much a win one, lose one sit in the middle of the pack kind of start.
You have to like the start Neil Walker is off too. This is a guy who was a blue chip, stuck in the system longer then he should have because they bounced him around from position to position and now hopefully he can put together an All Star season. He still hasn’t quite found his power stroke yet but it’s early in the year. Hopefully when the weather warms up, so will Walker. Power has been a problem for the entire team though and Garrett Jones leads the team with just four long balls.
The Pirates pitching has actually been pretty good. Charlie Morton is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA but that 18/18 strikeout to walk ratio worries me. Kevin Correia leads the team with three wins and he’s second in ERA with a 3.48 mark. The Pirates 3.76 overall as a team isn’t too bad and puts them about middle of the pack. Of course it doesn’t help that they don’t score and only the Padres have put more fewer runners across the plate.
The Pirates kick off a three game series against the Rockies tonight. Correia gets the start and he’ll have to be sharp because Jhoulys Chacin is throwing for the Rockies.
