Are Pirates saving Ben Cherington’s job with hot streak? Is Jared Triolo legit?

Are Pirates saving Ben Cherington’s job with hot streak? Is Jared Triolo legit?

Hello everybody. It is Friday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My name is Adam Bitner, assistant sports editor for Multimedia at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, joined by Jason Mackey for our weekly appearance here on the Pirates YouTube channel talking everything going on with the local baseball team, which is some positive things, Jason. Uh relative to much of this season, they’re on a little bit of a roll taking this series from the Dodgers. So, I’m excited to talk to you about what that means. Um so, we’ll get into that in a minute. Just before we do, we just want to thank a sponsor for this episode of the podcast. It’s Zip Recruiter. Are you having trouble finding the right people to hire? Tired of sorting through endless resumes? Well, the future of hiring looks much brighter because Zip Recruiter’s latest tools and features help speed up finding the right people for your roles. So, save valuable time and now you can try Zip Recruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com/audio. With Zip Recruiter’s new advances, you can easily find and connect with qual qualified candidates in minutes. See a candidate you’re really interested in. You can unlock their contact info instantly. Use Zip Recruiter and save time hiring. Four out of five employers who post on Ziprecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And if you go to ziprecruiter.com/audio right now, you can try it for free. Again, that’s ziprecruiter.comaudio. Ziprecruiter, the smartest way to hire. Jason, I set you up there at the at the start of the show. Um, lots of positive things going on with the Pirates in terms of of the results. They’re now up to, I believe, 500 as we’re recording this. I don’t think we’re counting um the the Thursday game with the Dodgers because we don’t know the outcome as we’re recording this, but as as of recording, they’re they’re at 500. What part of of this is is real for you and and what part do you fear is a bit of a mirage? Yeah, I mean I think the young pitching, the starting pitching specifically, Adam, is real. I mean, I don’t I don’t think Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burroughs, obviously Paul Skins, u you know, Bubba Chandler, I know he’s worked out of the bullpen as Burroughs has as well. I mean, I’m talking about that group writ large. Like, I think it’s real. I think it’s going to play next year. I think the Pirates have done a commendable job stockpiling starting pitching, and it should inform how they function next season. Um, do I think that, you know, taking a series from the Dodgers is real? No, I don’t. Um, do I think that, you know, how they’ve performed the past couple of weeks is real? I That’s where it gets a little murky for me. And I know we’re going to get into, you know, Ben Cherington’s future, Don Kelly’s future. I think what it tells me is that Don Kelly will be back as manager. I’ve always felt that way. It just kind of reaffirms it. What that means for Ben Cherington, I don’t know. I mean, if you would have asked me this question, and I think you did a month ago, you know, what happens with Cherton, like I thought they were going to move on. And I still believe they’re going to move on. I think at at the end of this, you’re going to be looking at a win total that is um unsatisfactory for where they at, where this regime is at, and they’re going to make a change. And you know, their biggest problem is finding offense, and Cherington hasn’t done a good enough job of that. But I don’t know, man. I mean, it’s making me waver a little bit. I’ll tell you that much. like if they would continue this over the final 20 plus games. It’s not no 21 22 something like that. Um you’d have to re-evaluate it, right? Like they are showing some signs. Joey Bart’s starting to hit. Uh Brian Reynolds has been very good since the All-Star break. O’Neal Cruz not so much. But you know, you look at it and say if you could just sign some bats, you know, if the owner would spend a little bit more money, if they would spend money differently. Um, so I don’t know. It’s It’s making me rethink my belief a little bit, but not totally. Yeah. I I think, you know, I was curious to see what this the overall season stats looked like because I had not delved into that too much. Um, you know, heading into this show, like how things have moved in the last couple of weeks and and for me, they just they just haven’t like we’re at large. I think we can talk about a couple of individuals. Jared Triel is one I want to talk about in a minute, but most of it stayed relatively static for when they were bad. It just seems like they’re getting a little bit better luck um and ending ending up on the other side of of these these close games. Um which you can do for a couple of weeks in in a long baseball season. I think that’s my line with Ben Cherington is even though they’ve played better as a team the last couple of weeks, you’re not seeing enough on the individual level for me to believe that that you can take the leap you’re going to need to take offensively next season um to to be in a pennant race or in a conversation on the periphery of even just the wild card. These guys are mostly still se sub 700 ops’s and that’s just never going to be good enough. I know. But what if you’re okay, let let’s play a little game here, and I don’t like I don’t agree with this, but I’m going to take the opposite opinion. If you’re Ben Cherington, isn’t your case getting pretty good for why you should stay on the job? If I look at this and say, “You’re telling me I don’t spend money.” Well, look at look at Tommy Fam. Look at what Tommy Fam’s done. I got that production for4 million and some change. That’s pretty good spending. Maybe if you’d give me a little bit more to buy a team, maybe I could do a little bit more. Um, look at what I’ve compiled for you starting pitching wise. Look at how we’ve developed Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler. And you could go through the list. Look, we found Dennis Santana off the scrap heap. We gave Isaac Matson a chance. Look at what our pitching group did for Isaac Matson. Um, I don’t you want to criticize my minor league situation? Like look at Tamar Johnson lately at double A. He’s coming along very nicely. He’s had a nice second half. Connor Griffin is the best prospect in baseball. I’ve gotten you the best pitching prospect in baseball and Paul Sch the best position player prospect in baseball and Connor Griffin and you’re going to tell me I can’t draft. Like it’s an interesting discussion, man. It really is. I’m not I’m I’m not saying I agree with it. I’m not saying I’d bring the guy back. I wouldn’t. But it can make a pretty interesting case at this point if the results hold. And then you can say like what if Donnie Kelly finishes with a winning record? You could easily throw Derrick Shelton under the bus and say, you know what? Yep. Yep. We should have made that move earlier. Right. You’re you’re right, Bob. We should have made that move earlier. That’s on me. But once we did, that’s the right move. Donnie Kelly was the manager. And look at what he got out of the team. We’re going to have all that coming back next year. Yeah. I don’t I don’t care what guy’s numbers are in in the minor leagues, which is what, you know, you and I have had that debate at different points. You don’t care about having Conor Griffin. I don’t think Conor Griffin is relevant. What’ you say? You don’t think having Connor Griffin is relevant for the discussion? I don’t think it’s a success until it happens in the big leagues. And that’s, you know, if you’re going to talk about saving your job, we’ve had these guys come through the system in the last six years that have been able to hit and then they get to Pittsburgh and they don’t. Um maybe Connor Griffin is going to be on the upper end of that spray chart for sure. But do I think that they’re going to get the most out of him once he gets to those sticky levels of like between AAA and the big leagues? That’s that’s where they’ve failed over and over and over again. And especially when you’re talking about a guy who’s 19 years old. Do I have the faith that they’re not going to mess it up between here and there? He’s only been in the in the pirate system for a year. I know, but you need to make the decision right now, Adam. Like, they need to make the So, you’re saying you’re just saying you would not if you’re Bob Nutty, you would not take that into account. Correct. Okay. Not nothing in the minor leagues matters to me in terms of whether he should keep his job. Um because ultimately it’s about big league wins and losses. Ultimately it’s about big league production and maybe he’ll do that someday and maybe it’ll be like you know the way Andrew McCutchen was was Dave Littlefield’s gift. U but that’s that’s exactly how I see it. Dave Littlefield had to go and just because Andrew McCutchen turned out didn’t change that that was true. I I don’t agree with you. If Ben Sherrington would have the best farm system in baseball, that would matter. He doesn’t like, but it it’s still pretty good. And it’s pretty good because of Griffin. Like, you know, but it’s a complicated equation, right? Like, have they gotten enough talent from min minor leaguers? Absolutely not. Like, that’s been a major shortcoming of this regime. So, like, I mean, I ultimately agree with you. Like, I I don’t think they should bring Cherington back. I don’t want them to bring Cherington back. I don’t think he deserves to come back. Believe me, I’m not trying to take up this argument. I’m just saying that, you know, it it is fascinating because like their farm system has actually gone up the rankings because of Griffin and others. It just like where have those guys been with the major league team? They haven’t done anything. Well, and and I would say part of where where is the the Ben Cherington skill part of this argument when where is you’ve been terrible for six years and and you get better draft picks from that, you know, where where is the gap between those two things? Could could an average GM have come in here and done a better job with those same picks? I would argue they could do a similar or better job. Um, you know, and I’d point to Milwaukee as you and I often have on this show. Um, if you if you go in a different direction, that’s an example of what it should look like. Um Jason, I did want to give some level of of credit to the pitching side because it does feel like that’s the one place where his regime has turned the corner with some level of consistency where we’re not just talking about one guy like Paul Skins. These guys they’re promoting Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burroughs, Bubba Chandler’s up here now. Now they consistently seem ready o on the pitching side where that hasn’t always been true, you know, even on the pitching side for most most of this period of time. What are they doing that’s working in your mind that these guys are ready even if the hitters aren’t? I’m glad you’re framing it that way because I think the hitting side can actually learn a lot from how they’ve done on the pitching side. Um, one, they’ve hired good smart people. Um, they have a mix between old school and new school that I really like. Like Oscar Marine is very new school and looks at analytics and all this stuff. And then you balance it out with Brent Stum who’s done some good things. Um, Dewey Robinson, somebody they brought over from Tampa, is a very bright guy. Josh Hopper is a younger guy they brought from college, was at Dallas Baptist. They they mix some of his thoughts in. And there’s a bunch of guys along the way that have touch points with these pitchers. Um, and so I I like balancing old school feel with numbers and having a clear identity of what they want to do. I don’t think they have that on the hitting side, but what I’ve learned about the pitching side, they want to throw the best stuff in zone. They they want to challenge hitters. Um, but they also want to allow pitchers to preserve a level of individuality. And so, I mean, the way I would translate that on the hitting side is I want guys to be aggressive, but I want to preserve individuality. So, like, I want you to be aggressive, but if you’re Andrew McCutchen and you can navigate and at bat, great. You know, pump the OBP, get on base by any means possible, but not everybody should be doing that. on the hitting side, they’re basically having everybody throw sinkers if if you can follow the metaphor. And I don’t like it. It hasn’t been working for them. U but you’re right, they’ve they’ve been coming up here. They’ve been better prepared. It’s been coaching. It’s been the players themselves. The Pirates deserve a lot of credit on the pitching front. It’s just they have a lot of work to do on the hitting front. They haven’t found that same identity. Want to talk about Jared Triolo here in a minute. First, we want to thank our friends at FanDuel. Make sure you’re te checking out their daily um baseball props between here and the end of the season. We also want to pass along a message from our friends at Greenwalt Roofing. Hey Pittsburgh, when you think of great roofs, you think Greenwalt Roofing Company. With over 20 years experience, Greenwald knows your roof is your home’s first line of defense from rain, wind, snow, and ice. That’s why Greenall Roofing standard for perfection is so important. You can trust that their team of experienced installers will treat your property like it’s their own. When it comes to roof replacements, Greenwald Roofing is Pittsburgh’s only choice. Visit greenwalroofing.com today or call 412-314882 to schedule your free estimate. PA contractor number 36262. Back on the PG Pirate Show, wrapping up here with Jason Mackey. Just want to get his quick thoughts on Jared Triello’s hot streak here. Um Jason, his numbers overall, we talked a little bit about it earlier in the show. Still not great, still not phenomenal. certainly at third base 671 ops but like key Brian Hayes he is a great defender um I believe ESPN’s war and I don’t know how they calculate it relative to the gold standards of fan graph and fan graphs and baseball reference but they have him at 1.8 8 wins above replacement, which is the best among Pirates position players now probably because of that defense. Um, is he becoming the player that that we hoped Brian or Brian Hayes would be in terms of doesn’t have to be a phenomenal hitter. He just has to hit your weight a little bit with that defense for him to to become worthwhile. Um, listen, if those numbers are there for 2026, I think I can talk myself into him being the everyday third baseman. I guess I just still have questions whether he can do this with the consistency those numbers are going to require. Yeah, I calm down. I love you, but calm down. Um, that’s where I’m at with it. I Ke Brian Hayes did this for stretches, too. KBrian Hayes did this to end the 2023 season for two months and we thought he was solved and then he regressed in 2024. KBrian Hayes was incredible in September 2020 and then battled injuries for the next couple of years. Um I’m not convinced on Triolo. Now that being said, I’ve been encouraged by what Triolo’s done. He’s had really good at bats. He’s doing a lot of things. He’s seeing pitches. It’s a nice balance between aggressiveness and you know navigating an at bat like I was talking about earlier. Um, he’s an athletic kid and he’s showing that he’s moving around on the bases. So, I mean, I want to see more. I I’m not gonna tell him he can’t, you know, I’m gonna keep running him out there and see what the Pirates have. And I’m going to play somebody. If you’re hitting, I’m going to play you until you give me a reason not to play. And his defense is is not a concern. I can play him anywhere I want to. I know he’s going to handle himself just fine. And I mean, the way I take this, Adam, going into the off season, if one of my guys is Jared Triolo and like I have three holes to fill and he’s going to fill one of them, cool. That means I can spend heavier on the two two other positions, you know? And I look at that like they need to figure out what they’re doing at shortstop until Connor Griffin. They need to figure out what they’re doing at third and they need a third outfielder to complement Brian Reynolds and O’Neal Cruz and or a designated hitter depending on what happens with Andrew McCutchen. But you need a bat in the outfield. So that allows me to spend heavier on a bat. That allows me to spend heavier at third base. I’m okay with that. If he becomes what Keebr Brian Hayes never could, that’s awesome. Uh but as of now, like would I take a two three war player even if a lot of that is defensive driven on a league minimum or 800k contract? Absolutely I would. Yeah. Value’s value, Jason. So, you know, I I tend to agree. It’s just at one point the season was hitting like 125 and it was like what the calendar from June like you know I got to see you do it for longer than you have and and not just look at your numbers at the peak and say well if you could be that guy right this is the peak show me that you can raise the peak and stay there consistently. Um Jason great conversation today. Glad we could talk a little buckos. Um if you’re just joining us for the first time please subscribe to the channel. Please like this video if you enjoyed it. help us out in the YouTube algorithm and we will talk to you again next week. [Music] Thank you for checking out this content from PostGazette Sports. If you watch this video on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe to our channel. For all the sports coverage the PostGazette has to offer, visit post-gazette.com. [Music]

Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey joins host Adam Bittner to react to the Pirates’ run of success over the past couple of weeks, culminating in a series win against the defending World Serie champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Could this hot streak save GM Ben Cherington’s job despite the ugly start to the year? Will Bob Nutting believe in the direction he’s set, especially on the pitching side? And how does Don Kelly figure into the future?

Our duo tackles those questions; analyzes reasons young pitchers like Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows are arriving MLB-ready after years of prospect underachievement; and ponder whether Jared Triolo can keep up his offensive numbers and be closer to the player the Pirates hoped Ke’Bryan Hayes would become.

For more Pirates coverage, visit: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates

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