Pittsburgh Pirates: Grading the Season Opening Series in St. Louis

Grading the Pirate Coaching Staff

Finally, Derek Shelton got to make his debut as a MLB manager over the weekend. This is something that Shelton had waited a long time for, and expected to do in late March. While he had to wait due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’m sure it was worth the wait.

It is difficult to draw much from a manager’s first series in charge of a team. Unless there is a drastic mistake made, which there were none of by Shleton, grading them can be difficult to do until they have at least a few series in and you can start to see tendencies and trends in their managerial style.

The Verdict

To be honest, it is difficult to really grade Shelton and his staff for much from this past series. Going to Rodriguez trailing by just a run in the bottom of the 8th inning on Friday night was a questionable move, but Shelton is still trying to learn his roster. You could also question not pinch hitting for Guillermo Heredia with no one out in the 9th and the tying run at first base, but Heredia has always hit left-handed pitching well in his career and the Cardinals had a lefty on the mound. Saturday’s game was a wash due to it begin a blow out, and on Sunday he pushed all the right buttons with his bullpen moves. So, for his first series, Shelton gets a good grade.

Grade: A