Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Chris Stewart’s World

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call, a daily feature here at RumBunter.com. Every morning at 9 AM, one of us will give you our random thoughts on the goings-on around the Pirates’ organization, and we’ll throw out a few links to some good Pirates-related items your way from around the web as well.

A big win against a bad team

It’s September, so all games matter and it doesn’t matter who is in front of you on the schedule. The Pirates beat the Brewers last night 6-3 and ended the Brewers seven game winning streak against the Pirates. It’s hard to call a win over a struggling team cathartic, but that’s honestly how it felt to me. I 4was thrilled when the final out was recorded.

The Pirates were able to overcome a very poor start to the game, as they fell behind 2-0 in the first inning when Adam Lind hit a two-run home run. It would have been easy to say “here we go again,” which is exactly how I and many Pirates fans felt when Lind’s ball cleared the fence, but the Pirates battled and got back into the game before going ahead and putting the pesky Brewers away. It might not be a huge cause for excitement given the Brewers are a bad team, but damn it felt so good to get the win last night. There is no excuse for the Pirates’ struggles against the Brewers and Reds, but nothing can be done about the past, have to focus on today’s game and start beating the NL Central teams they’re supposed to beat.

It’s Chris Stewart’s World 

The hero of last night’s game was Chris Stewart. He went 3-4 with three RBI and picked off a runner at first base. He didn’t do anything fancy as he drove in all his runs via singles. He might not ever hit a home run as a Pirate, but he knows how to pick up hits when they matter. Chris Stewart might be the best back-up catcher in baseball. The dude isn’t spectacular, but he really gets the job done. It’s no wonder the Pirates are 24-9 in Chris Stewart starts. He might not have the flare of a Francisco Cervelli, but he just quietly contributes, which is all you can ask of your back-up catcher.

With Chris Stewart being solid and Francisco Cervelli being arguably the biggest surprise in baseball this season, it’s no wonder the Pirates have the best catching tandem in the league. They have hit a combined .300/.349/.374/.723OPS and are worth a combined 3.1WAR. When Russell Martin left, it was thought there was no way the Pirates could replace him, but with Cervelli and Stewart, they have more than filled the gap offensively.

Around the net

Sports Illustrated talks about the Pirates honoring the family members of Flight 93 victims before yesterday’s game against the Brewers. This kind of thing should really give perspective on getting super worked up over a baseball game. We all love our team and want them to win every day, but there are things way bigger than a baseball game.

Jordan Greer of the Sporting News gives a brief history of Pirates dancing in the dugout. This is something light hearted that I think is needed sometimes. Baseball is a game and even in bad streaks, players need to remain loose and have a little fun. Pirates have gained a lot of national attention with their pre-game dancing, so it’s cool to see it talked about some more. Plus some hilarious videos in this article.

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