DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: No-trade zone

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: No-trade zone

[Music] [Applause] No, believe it or not, the person who has wrecked this franchise almost to the core does not reserve the right to wreck the actual core. Good morning to you. Good Wednesday morning. I’m Don Kawachu of DK Pittsburgh Sports. This is Daily Shot of Pirates. that 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 eight, Tigers five last night at PNC Park. One of, in my opinion, the more complete overall efforts the teams had all summer long. And I’m not just saying that because Detroit entered the series with the very best record in Major League Baseball. I’m saying it because of the caliber of play. I’ve said this a million times. I’m going to say it a million and one right here. If you insert even a little bit of offense into what’s already at hand, you’ve got a competent team. If you insert a lot of offense, you’ve got a contender. Well, the Pirates had one of their rare but real nights where they actually hit the ball. 14 hits. Half of those were doubles. Five different players had multiple hits. And what do you know? Everything comes together. The players go out into the field. They’re a little bit more emboldened. They make good plays out there, which they did, by the way. The pitchers recognize that they can make one mistake over the course of the evening and not be punished for it. Mitch Keller made one of those. Gave up a three-run homer. And almost any other start that Mitch has made over the past, I don’t know, two full years, that’s fatal. And we’re all talking about how Mitch stinks. I mean, Mitch is really, really, really good. And it turns out that all he gave up over his six innings were exactly those three runs on a total of six hits, three walks. He struck out five. And he ended up with as a result his 15th quality start of 2025. That’s tied for the most in Major League Baseball. That’s really, really good. You know why? Because Mitch is really, really good. And all of these things become apparent whenever you have some semblance of competence in the batters box. So, sounds simple, right? Just go trade some pitching for some bats. No, it’s not simple because the current general manager has shown over five and a half seasons now that he can’t do that. He can’t identify bats. He can’t acquire them. He can’t develop them. He can’t instruct them. And remember that when I say he in this sense, I’m talking about his entire operation because he oversees all of it. And he should have been fired already. So, he has no business being able to trade any of the important pieces that are here. I know for a fact that any and all trades that he makes in advance of the July 31 deadline or proposes to make will have to get cleared all the way to the top. That’s kind of common, but not universal. It’ll be a fact over these coming 8 days. But to me, that’s not enough. That’s not enough. I just don’t feel like he should be allowed to do anything. And for all these people, and I’m talking about entirely on the outside here, who keep proposing, what about this and what about that? And then the Cubs are interested in so and so and whatever. To me, it’s in one ear and out the other because this GM shouldn’t be doing this. This GM can’t be doing this. If you believe after what you’ve seen over these six years that Ben Cherington should be the adult in charge of trading Keller for a bat, I’m going to first require you to come back at me with one example, one positive example of a trade in that spirit that he’s made that would support such a concept. You can’t. You can’t because it doesn’t exist. It’s never happened and it’s not going to happen. And we shouldn’t be needing to find out whether or not there’s going to be yet another example on his way out the door. It’s insane. It’s insane that we’re even having this conversation. It’s insane that we’re having it about Mitch. It’s insane that we’re having it about David Bednar, whose name keeps coming up as well. Bednar has been unreal of late. Yeah, he had the really rough start. Even got sent to the miners to get straightened out, but we’re talking now 20 consecutive scoreless appearances, including the one last night in which he recorded his 99th save. Now, if it’s something of a smaller scope this trade or trades, if it’s Andrew Heeney who’s really struggled of late, if it’s Bailey Falter who has almost as much struggled of late, if there’s somebody somewhere who just says, “We need a lefty and we think we can get this guy or that guy back on track.” Yeah, go ahead and do that because you’re not getting anything back. These are really, really, really small deals. But these important players who are coming up, no matter how you feel about whether or not the Pirates should retain them, and I’m talking not just about Mitch and Bett, I’m talking Brian Reynolds to Brian Hayes. No, just no. Hands off. This situation is ridiculous enough. Allowing this guy to make moves would take this from ridiculous to outright scandalous. When we come back, J1Q, [Music] if you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for Steak on a Stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you, where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a Stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstoch checkck.org. That’s gunstoch check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the firearm industry trade association. [Music] Today’s J1Q comes from Tom who says DK I hope Mitch Keller goes to a team with playoff potential so that he can finally be recognized as a great pitcher just like all the other former Pirates that we see dominating in October. Free at last like Garrett Cole, Joe Musgrove, Tyler Glass, now Charlie Morton. Hopefully Paul Skins will be released from Pittsburgh, a word you made up there, Tom, in time to be able to win 300 games. You know, I actually wasn’t even weighing this in my opening segment, Tom. I I really wasn’t. But I want to remind here since you bring it up that when Bob Nutting fired the previous front office, his most strongly stated case for that was that he was tired of seeing the Pirates more talented players evolve or blossom only when they went to another team. If you’ve been paying attention, and Tom, you clearly have, is all of those names apply to varying degrees. Keller is just perfect for this, isn’t he? Keller is just the model for this. He’s got he’s got the arm, he’s got the stuff, he’s got the experience, he’s got the poise, he’s got everything. And even in this miserable season in which he has received so little support and even here from the public, there are still people who think that pitching wins matter and they were judging him when he was 1 and6 or whatever. Like that matters. He’s continued to be a class act throughout. This was Mitch last night at PNC Park talking about being tied for the major league lead in quality starts. I mean, that’s just the name of the job really. Um just kind of trying to go out there and cover innings, keep us in the game and quality starts or I mean just that yeah just keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win. So yeah, I mean that’s what we talked about before the season trying to um as a starters group personally more probably uh just yeah how many of those can I get um in a season? Yeah. So yeah, would this be a case of Mitch getting good somewhere else? No. Well, Mitch is good right now. And for anybody who’s still looking at pitching wins, I’m sorry. He’s actually good right now. But would it be a case of sending out a very real, very tangible, dependable, professional piece of your ball club? Yes. And what you’re going to get back with this guy making the trade is someone who can’t hit based on only 100% of the president. My goodness. People in this city will complain about anything. They’ll they’ll embrace excuses to complain about this team, but not necessarily about the stuff that matters the most. There’s 8 days left between now and a deadline that this GM shouldn’t be allowed to touch with a 30foot radioactive pole. And I swear I feel like I’m the only one even bringing it up. I appreciate the question, Tom. I appreciate everybody listening to Daily Shot of Pirates. We’ll be back with another one of these tomorrow. [Music]

Consider this the no-trade zone.

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