DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: All that resilience

[Music] [Applause] probably should effort to make this distinction more often but there really is a line that can be drawn between people running this team and the ones taking the field good morning to you good Tuesday morning I’m Danon kovachevich of DK Pittsburgh sports and this is daily shot of pirates it comes your way bright and early every weekday if you’re into football Andor hockey I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins in the same place that you found this Pirates and Cardinals tonight at PNC park that’s a 6:40 p.m. first pitch with Mitch Keller taking the mound and Mitch is one of no what’s a good number for this or what’s a good word for it let’s say several Mitch is one of several players who’ve performed at either the level expected or above and as a result the team is at a level that’s I don’t know I mean it’s better than last year by like one win the offense is the same or even worse the rest of the stuff is whatever and the starting pitching is of course just gold so overall there’s there’s there’s something there I I think we all can agree on that the most cynical of cynics regarding this team or even just this season would have to concede that there’s Improvement in certain area almost all of it in starting pitching that there’s a couple of players like Nick Gonzales who I talked about yesterday who’ve been a pleasant pop up into the equation but there’s one other thing and that’s that this team’s been resilient see I can ride them for not having one more than three in a row since early may I can ride them for not having one more than three in a row on any other occasion since early April and I can point out the mathematical challenge that follows that when it comes to emerging from a really tight and really big pack of teams in the National Wild Card race however I’d also have to do the opposite I feel and that’s give credit to these people the ones who put on the actual uniform day after day for not having lost three in a row in forever I mean this is what they do they go into a series they either take two of three or they lose two of three as just happened in Atlant again and there is something to be spoken for that anyone anyone who spent any amount of time around this beautiful game can attest to that but I went to an expert a couple days ago in Atlanta and asked yasmani grandal about this yeah it’s a definitely a good group of guys um we understand we’re going to have ups and downs but you know we need to uh make sure that the UPS are more than the downs and when we have those you know those downs we need to get out of them as as fast as possible so uh you know we’ve been able to do that yeah he’s right he’s right the teams that are made of the toughest stuff in baseball are the ones that just kind of find a way to make sure they never stick in a slump and this team hasn’t done that and I again I in referencing the starting pitching I I get it that one great way to get out of a slump is to have Mitch pitch for you or Paul SK or Jared Jones or Bailey alter and they’ll carry you right out of that slump but as we’ve also seen there has to be at least a little bit more that happens for those pitching performances to turn into wins and this team’s shown some of that I thought they showed some of that Sunday in Atlanta I really do the way that got going it it wasn’t all that encouraging it hadn’t taken on some shape of oh yeah this is the one that’s going to avoid the sweep falter was struggling by his own admission in the fourth inning was crazy hot he wasn’t feeling very comfortable he battled through it the offense I mean the offense is in a constant struggle but getting two two-run homers in the same inning from O’Neal Cruz and Rowdy tles that that’s a that’s a pickme up and they all felt good about it afterwards you know what they didn’t feel too good and that that’s that’s what comes across is someone who covers this team who’s in the clubhouse there’s never an excess they don’t get super upset even after the toughest of losses they don’t get super high or happy after some of the better wins that they’ve had yeah you’ll see Martin Perez go out there with the the Gatorade shower or whatever but that doesn’t mean it’s going on in the clubhouse they’ll put some music up they’ll they’ll talk they’ll go hang around Cruz’s iPad that’s become like one of the new stations in there Cruz loves to look back at stuff that happened in the game and everybody kind of hangs around there to see what’s going on even saw cutch doing it the other day and for people who want to see them get crazy upset or crazy happy or accuse the team or the manager Derek Shelton of not being emotional off is baseball it’s not football you don’t need to rev yourself up to go out there and tear the Ravens heads off you need and actually want a more even keeled approach they’ve got that I give Shelton credit for that I’ve been very critical of him regarding lots of things about his job but I think he’s been very good in this area and I also think for only the billionth time that it sure would be nice if the people over these guys heads would get involved we come back J1 [Music] Q this portion of daily of pirates is brought to you by our friends at Northshore Tavern that’s directly across Federal Street from PNC Park it’s home of steak on a stone an eating experience underscoring the word experience the steak is brought to you partially cooked on an 800° stone and you do the rest it’s a ton of fun it’s a great meal and it’s a baseball atmosphere like no other in Pittsburgh Northshore Tavern right get across Federal Street from PNC [Music] Park today’s j1q comes from Clark who asks DK who would you say is the pirates’s best pitcher ever I’ve answered this question in different forms Clark and at different times almost always identically and that’s been that they don’t have one and I know that sounds irrational but hear me out this franchise has been around for 143 years going all the way back to 1882 and there isn’t anywhere in that group and I say this respectfully in regards to the likes of Babe Adams who I feel should be in the Hall of Fame 1906 to 1926 in addition to all of his longevity and everything else also had one of the best walk rates in the history of the sport not someone that you would put at a level of a you know Bob Feller Nolan Ryan and truly great pitchers Vernon law Bob friend as a reliever Elroy face John candeleria Doug drabeck a sa young winner there in drabeck the Pirates most recent but you’re not going to find a Walter big train Johnson or a Randy Johnson a Tom sver or a Justin Verlander it’s just it’s just really nuts that the Pirates have been around for so long and by the way you know one five world series and have legitimately legendary iconic players to have worn the uniform but pitching’s never really been it had this discussion with Garrett Cole back in his early days with the Pirates and told him his is the first he was hearing of it and I was presenting it to him as as kind of a a way to acknowledge that look kid this could be you and of course Garrett to his credit did go on to have tremendous success in Houston and then in New York so who’s the best who’s the best out of that group you know I don’t have an answer there but I will say this and I don’t care how unpopular this is because consider the source here I’m not flying blind on this and I’m not being caught up in the moment or whatever I don’t believe the franchise has ever had a pitcher who’s just talented as Paul SK and I’m not sure I’m even offering some blazing take on this he’s special he can do things that other people can’t he can do things that other people haven’t done wearing this uniform when he goes out to the mound there’s nothing that he doesn’t take with him think about that for a second think about just his outing over the weekend in Atlanta didn’t have his sharpest velocity didn’t have his Top Spin rate walked a couple of guys in a row and still it didn’t matter the Braves had no answer for him because he would just turn to some other pitch and get them out that way or to some other approach a non- strikeout approach and get himself a ground ball or double play he’s only made nine starts so I’m not being an idiot here I swear and I am not saying he’s the best pitcher the Pirates have ever had you know putting in a career counts for something overcoming adversity which one would presume he’ll have to face at some point counts for something more but he he’s aware of all that in an extremely mature way I I will not soon forget when he brought up on his own after a spring start in Sarasota Florida how he felt one of the reasons that he needs to keep mixing up his Arsenal and finding ways to get hitters out Beyond just blowing the ball by them is in his own words I’m not going to have this forever there might come a time when I’m not throwing a 100 I might be throwing whatever 96 97 which is still pretty good but it’s not that and to I remember in the moment just thinking to myself what is he talking is he talking about something like a decade from now is he thinking that far ahead because if you are thinking that far ahead and you’re a professional athlete and you’re saying it with conviction you know that you’re not just going to be good you’re going to be something way more than good I appreciate the question I appreciate everybody listening to daily shot of pirates we’re going to do another one of these tomorrow [Music]

All that resilience counts for something, right?

#LetsGoBucs #PittsburghPirates #MLB

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16 comments

  1. Bob Nutting: "We need offense."
    Ben Cherrington: "We'll look to add before the trade deadline."
    Pirates: Lose 2 of 3 instead of win 2 of 3 because they lack offense.

  2. The two qualities that I appreciate most in this Pirates team are the two qualities that DK mentions in this episode, but perhaps for different reasons.

    In regard to resiliency: I appreciate the Pirate players' ability to pull out a win when it's unexpected, such as following two losses in a row, or hitting well against a very good opposing pitcher following a game when they went completely cold against a mediocre starter. The level of surprise in those moments reels me back in, when I could've decided instead to give up on the team and the rest of the season. My biggest frustration by far has been the offense, and the way it's been shockingly inconsistent from series to series. The resiliency of the team during a specific game is a visible reminder that talent/potential does exist on offense, but the players are more or less accomplishing any level of production on their own (due to a lack of adequate or competent coaching). I also believe that a component of the Pirates' resiliency is demonstrated in the way they generally don't let good teams intimidate them as they enter each new series– that reflects not only resiliency, but maturity.

    I also appreciate the fact that the Pirates team as a whole is basically a very humble team. The players don't get too high or too low as mentioned in this episode, and the biggest pat on the back I'd like to give this team is its complete lack of arrogance on the field or during interviews. The players aren't showboats like the Reds, who act like they're World Series contenders after making a routine play or winning the first game of a series. (Fun fact: the Reds announced publicly during Spring Training that they're such an "electric" team that they have no doubt they're winning the NL Central this year. Okay…)

    I always enjoy watching the Pirates win baseball games, but I enjoy observing their situational humanness even more. The Pirate players' individual personalities are so unique, but their resiliency, maturity, and humility are the qualities that seem to uniquely bind them.

  4. We need to appreciate Skenes (and Jones) for having them now. The front office doesn't bring in the bats to help them out, they'll be asking for trades in no time. If they haven't already done that.

  8. Aloha and good morning!
    Incredible that this team is only 3 games under with the hitting being what it is. Isn't that crazy!?!? Wow.

    I almost just chuckle at that statement. Just how bad the offense is and where this team is. Incredible. A bat or two and what different story are we telling?

  11. I’d say bob friend. He honestly should be in the HOF as well. He only has a lifetime losing record because the teams he played for from the early-mid 50s were so unbelievable terrible. He was a really good and durable who pitched a lot of innings as well. Just feel short of 200 wins as well. If his lifetime record was 233-197 instead of 197-233 he’s probably in the HOF right now!

  13. Hi DK, we as a group always forget to mention Bob Veale as one of the all time great Pirate pitchers. Bob was 26 when he first pitched in the bigs. He wasn’t in the starting rotation until he was 28. As far as being dominant with outstanding stuff, Bob probably has the best numbers of any Pirate pitcher with nearly 2,000 inning pitched!

  14. I'd like to see Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a buccos uni. Not only is he a solid player he's also swashbuckly enough to be a Pirate,arrgh!!

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