Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington, who grew up in Milford, has transformed the Pirates from a doormat to the most compelling/exciting/intriguing team in the National League.
Huntington acquired A.J. Burnett (10-2, 3.68 ERA) by trading a pair of minor leaguers to the Yankees. In March, he signed 25-year-old Andrew McCutchen to a contract extension worth $51.5 million, giving the Pirates control of the outfielder through 2018. McCutchen has responded by leading the majors with a .368 average while embracing the role of much-needed megastar in Pittsburgh.
?The first two months was all about our pitching: Burnett, James McDonald (9-3, 2.59 ERA) and really the entire starting staff and bullpen. They kept us in every game when we weren?t really swinging the bats,? said Huntington, whose team scored baseball?s fewest runs (146) in April and May. ?In the last six weeks, our bats have come to life. If I?m not mistaken, we led all of baseball with runs scored (147) in June.?
This year, Pittsburgh fans can flock to PNC Park without fear of another collapse. The Bucs have given up the second-fewest runs in baseball, and the team?s bullpen (2.63 ERA) ranks No. 1. The schedule is loaded with 32 more games against the weakling Astros, Cubs, Rockies and Padres.
The pitching staff has been so solid that Kennett High of Conway product Jeff Locke, currently at Triple-A Indianapolis, has yet to pitch for the Pirates. Locke (7-5, 2.95 ERA) and teammate Justin Wilson rank among league leaders in several International League pitching categories.
?It feels good to wake up every day and see you parent club in first-place. It gives you more incentive to want to be there and contribute,? Locke said. ?The fans here in Indy are fantastic and everyone is excited. We?re seeing more and more Pirates fans out there each day.?
Indianapolis has given up the fewest runs in the IL and has a double-digit division lead on second-place Columbus. The farm system is stocked with arms, but who would have thought the Pirates would be so good that it?s nearly impossible to crack the big-league pitching staff?
Looking for a serious underdog? Pittsburgh?s payroll is listed at $63.4 million, the fifth-least expensive in the majors. And here comes the best part:
?We don?t feel we?ve played our best baseball. Last year, we were in first-place on July 26 and faded and had a miserable August and September,? Huntington said. ?We believe we have a better rotation, better bullpen, better position players and better prospects coming along. We believe we?ll be able to sustain it much better and continue to challenge for a playoff spot.?
The season got off to an ominous start. Burnett suffered an eye injury during a bunting drill at spring training and missed three April starts. Pitchers were shuffled up and down from Triple-A. Pittsburgh lost six of seven and was swept by the Dodgers.
Then McCutchen put the Pirates on this back. The massive contract seemed to make him play better.
?In some cases, guys try too hard when they?re trying to live up the contract. In some cases, guys take a deep breath and lose that little extra motivation that makes them a great player. In Andrew?s case, it took the pressure off and has allowed him to focus on helping his team win games,? said Huntington, who convinced team ownership that McCutchen would be a bargain at $51.5 million. ?It?s never an easy sell to try and convince someone to invest $50 million, but Andrew was, in our mind, one of the best young players in the game and also has some special characteristics. He?s a quality guy. He comes from a great family. He?s intelligent. He?s grounded.?
Go ahead, believe it. The postseason will be that much more fun if the Red Sox are eliminated, and you need a team for October.
?The city?s fan base is so hungry. There?s a quality group of core fans who?ve been through a lot the past 19 years,? said Huntington, who took over as GM before the 2008 season. ?As the fans showed last year, when we played good baseball, they came out in droves. They?re doing it again. Now the challenge is to sustain it.?
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FISHER TRACKS: Fisher Cats lefty Aaron Loup (0-3, 2.78 ERA) was promoted directly to Toronto on Friday, becoming the 57th Fisher Cats player to reach the majors. Fellow reliever Sam Dyson also bypassed Triple-A and jumped to the majors this month ? Anthony Gose singled and made a diving catch in the Major League Baseball Futures Game at Kansas City. In the Eastern League All-Star Game, Fisher Cats first baseman Mike McDade went 4-for-4 in a winning effort at Reading, Pa.
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FARM REPORT: Right-hander Jordan Cote (2-0) tossed four more scoreless innings for the Gulf Coast League Yankees, lowering his ERA to 1.19. The Winnisquam of Tilton graduate leads the team with 21 strikeouts. Bedford High?s Joseph Maher (0-2, 3.57 ERA) gave up two runs against the GCL Blue Jays on Friday, including a solo homer by D.J. Davis, the Blue Jays No. 1 pick. Davis led off the game with a triple against Maher.
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WOOD BATS: If the Laconia Muskrats created their own Hall of Fame, Danny Collins of Troy University would be among the first inductees down the road. Collins went 4-for-5 and led the Muskrats to a wild 13-12 win at Vermont on Friday. Collins leads the New England Collegiate Baseball League with 13 homers and an impressive .425 average.
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Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com. Twitter: @graymatter11.
Source: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120715/SPORTS0101/707159906&source=RSS
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