Pittsburgh Pirates Rotation Should Change as Postseason Looms

Sep 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) reacts in the dugout after being removed from the game against the Boston Red Sox during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates rotation might change with the Major League Baseball postseason on the horizon.  Baring a miracle, the Pirates are headed to the MLB promised land.  Neal Huntington said today because of that, the Pirates might indeed make those changes saying the team has worked through different options.

"We have any number of scenarios ready to go, depending on how the rest of the season plays out."

The Pirates are going to reset their rotation after those comments by Neal Huntington.   The Bucs GM typically sets up his moves and then will make subtle discussions about such moves to the media.

The Bucs crushed the Cincinnati Reds last season in the do-or-make-your-tee times game behind southpaw Francisco Liriano.  Then Gerrit Cole pitched very well against the St. Louis Cardinals in the five game series with the NL Central champs.

With games against the Atlanta Braves who are dead and those same Reds who have been dead for weeks, all the Bucs need to do is take care of business and they will punch their ticket.

The Pirates have a chance to host the Wild Card game as the San Francisco Giants have struggled this weekend against the San Diego Padres.  The Bucs also hold the tiebreaker after beating up on the Giants during the regular season series.

What makes the decision a bit more challenging is that Liriano hasn’t pitched well against San Francisco, but rotation mate Gerrit Cole has been much better.  The samples aren’t even enough to be called small, but enough to at least consider it a bit in the biggest game of the season.

The Pirates postseason could come down to Francisco Liriano versus the San Francisco Giants.

The Pirates postseason could come down to Gerrit Cole versus the San Francisco Giants.

It’s hard to imagine the team not giving the ball to Frankie–the left hander has just been dominant since the All-Star break despite a pathetic win loss record.   We would be fine with Cole being in the bullpen on the ready at the first sign of struggles by Papa Francisco.

It’s likely the Giants would counter with left-hander Madison Bumgarner.  That would make it highly likely to see Gaby Sanchez at first base, and just look at what Josh Harrison has done against the 25-year old southpaw.

The National League Wild Card Game is scheudled to be played on Wednesday, October 1.  A fitting way to start the most important month of the season, but the question remains, will it be Gerrit Cole or Francisco Liriano with the season on the line?   As it stands now, Liriano would go on three days rest.

Sorry that won’t happen.

Stay tuned.