Pirates Need Pitching Help, But Aquiring Quality Reliever… ‘Downright Impossible’

Jul 2, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) looks on in the dugout against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates need pitching help desperately.  The Pirates have Gerrit Cole on the mound tomorrow night when they need him most.  But relying on Cole to be the pitcher he was when the Bucs needed wins in similar situations last season seems a bit much.  The Pirates studliest pitcher has been beset with injuries to his golden right arm, side, fingers all season.  No pressure kid.

On the whole, the Pirates pitching has been really bad in the month of August.  While relying on Cole seems a bit much, heh at least there’s a chance.  Perhaps only the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies could use a pitching savior more than the Bucs.  Both the Sox and Rox have allowed the most runs in Major League Baseball this August.  The White Sox have allowed 109 runs and the Rox 90 runs.

Guess who is third?  Yeah, after tonight’s demolition, the Pirates have allowed the third most runs in August with 86.

But another ball club, this one in much better post season position as the stretch run looms, needs it more.  The Los Angeles Dodgers have been crushed with injuries.

Sarah D. Morris of MLB.com wrote this:  

"Last week, in a search for more pitching depth, Colletti obtained both Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia. Both have done well as starters. When the Dodgers acquired Correia from the Minnesota Twins, they wanted him to be the pitcher who could either start or relieve.But the glute injury to Hyun-Jin Ryu that landed him on the disabled list for the second time this year will force the Dodgers to keep Correia in the starting rotation indefinitely. Manager Don Mattingly hopes Ryu can return from the muscle strain before the regular season ends, but no one knows how long a glute injury will take to heal.There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Dodgers’ bullpen needs help desperately. At no time this year has the bullpen performed the way the Dodgers expected. Losing both Paul Maholm and Chris Perez weakened it further. No team vying for the playoffs can have bullpen problems, but acquiring a quality reliever at this point of the season is downright impossible."

The italics are ours.

The problems that face the Pirates aren’t something that other teams, even teams in better position than the Bucs face.  Hell, even teams with a whole lot more money than the Pirates can’t solve their pitching problems.

But please don’t feel sorry for the Pirates.  There was a time when adding a quality reliever wasn’t impossible.  There was a time when adding quality pitching wasn’t downright impossible.

They simply chose not to.