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Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – best team in baseball?
By Tyler Waite
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.
Are the Pirates the best team in baseball?
The off day yesterday gave me some time to look around the web and catch up with what the national media thinks about the Pirates. Monday’s are typically power ranking days around the web, and a few different rankings had the Pirates in a few different spots. ESPN had the Pirates ranked fourth, behind the Blue Jays, the Cardinals, and the Royals. Bleacher Report had the Pirates ranked as the top team in the league. And MLB.com had the Pirates as third in baseball. Which of these is most indicative of where the Pirates truly are as a team right now?
Honestly, a good argument can be made that the Pirates are currently the best team in all of baseball. They have the second best record in the league, and they’re hot. This, coupled with the Cardinals losing eight of their last 11 games and the Royals going through a rough stretch, may just push the Pirates to the top of that pack.
Now, the Blue Jays are a very good team. But they recently lost Troy Tulowitzki to injury for a couple weeks, and the Pirates still have a 4.5 game lead over them record-wise. I’d give the edge to the Pirates over the Blue Jays, although the Toronto offense is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
More from Pirates News
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Current Look of the Bullpen
- Pittsburgh Pirates Continue to Spend Embarrassingly
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential AL West Fit For Bryan Reynolds
- Pittsburgh Pirates Still Searching for Catcher Help
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Questioning the Vince Velasquez Signing
Can the Pirates catch the Cardinals?
The topic on every Pirate fan’s mind the past couple of days has to be whether the Pirates can catch the Cardinals. Technically, of course they can. But this goal is now no longer a seemingly impossible task, and has become a very attainable goal. In fact, with the Pirates and Cardinals trending in opposite directions, some may consider the Pirates the favorite to win the NL Central. The Pirates control their own destiny (in terms of winning the division) from here on out, and the series between them and the Cardinals at the end of September may very well be the most important series of the year for the Pirates.
What’s working against them? Well, they may have the most difficult schedule remaining between themselves, the Cardinals, and the Cubs. Four out of their remaining six series are against current playoff teams, and one of the other two series is against the Reds, who the Pirates have struggled with for much of this season. This upcoming series against the Cubs is vitally important in the division chase.
Around the net
In an interesting read from the Tribune-Review, Bill West notes that one factor to keep an eye on in this next series will be hit by pitches. The Pirates and Cubs are hit by pitches more than any other teams in baseball.
From the Post-Gazette, Stephen J. Nesbitt writes about J.A. Happ and how he has viewed his return to a postseason contender. Definitely check it out.
And in the latest Baseball Tonight Podcast, Rob Biertempfel joins Buster Olney and the crew as they discuss the NL Central. Give it a listen here.
If all goes well, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to make up 1.5 games on the Cardinals in one day tomorrow. Let’s hope all the pieces fall their way.
Next: Pittsburgh Pirates' optimal postseason rotation
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