Pirates Sweep Of The Reds Great, But Pirates Still Very Average

The Pirates finished off a sweep of the Reds today, coming from behind to take the game 10-7 with a great comeback. All of that has been well documented, both here and elsewhere. The Pirates’ offense has put up a good number of runs over these last several games, and the bullpen has been very good as well. The thing is, the Pirates have yet to put together a 100% complete performance this season. In one game, the pitching picks things up while the bats are slow, then in another game (such as today) the pitching is lacking, while the bats are rolling.

April 14, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) hits an RBI double against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

While my expectations aren’t super high for the Pirates this year, I still really want to see them put together a whole team performance, and that’s going to be hard. Pedro’s average is still awful (he’s a notoriously slow starter), Russell Martin has yet to put together much of a campaign, and Neil Walker is still very much warming up (even though he’s hit the ball pretty well, he hasn’t been getting hits). With the way the Pirates are playing right now it’s very exciting, but because of the basic concerns we’re seeing, don’t expect the tear to continue, or for the Pirates to go on some ridiculous World Series run. The Pirates are playing well right now, so enjoy it – but don’t all of a sudden get visions of October dancing in your head, at least until Cole and Taillon show up. That’s going to be a lot of fun.