Where Are The Pirates' Pitchers Quality Starts?

The hurdle for a quality start isn't terribly high: six innings giving up three (or fewer runs). At the worst limits, this would give a team a 50-50 chance of winning against a random opponent.

A good pitcher will average about two quality starts out of three, giving him a shot at a winning record, assuming adequate run support. But only Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf come even close among Pirates starters.

Maholm has 11 quality starts in 20 outings (13-14 would meet the two-thirds rule). Not surprisingly, he has a 6-8 record, just off .500. That's not so good for Pittsburgh's de facto ace, but it's a lot better than the rest of the team. Ohlendorf has 8 quality starts in 15 outings, which belies his terrible 1-8 record, due to lack of run support.

A good pitching team will have at least two, and more like three starters who meet the two-thirds rule. For the Pirates, that would hypothetically require a third hurler that actually meets this standard, plus the two who come close. But the other starters are even worse.

Jeff Karstens is third in the quality start sweepstakes with seven (out of 19 starts). Zach Duke is trailing with only six (out of 16). Rookie Brad Lincoln has only four quality starts, but these are a larger percentage of his nine starts than is the case for the other two.

As erratic as he is, Charlie Morton has four quality starts out of ten, meaning that he pitched reasonably well almost half the time, before being sent down to the minors. (But the bad half was truly terrible.)

On the other hand, Dan McCuthen has zero quality starts in six tries (though he's won one decision out of five), and Brian Burres only two quality starts in seven outings (two wins out of five decisions).

There ARE, in fact, Pirate pitchers with winning records. But they are all RELIEVERS. Evan Meek is 4-3, Javier Lopez 2-1 and Joel Hanrahan 2-1. Not surprisingly, they have among the lowest ERAs on the staff, which is to say that they have given up the fewest runs on their watch.

The fact that these relievers are gathering the laurels basically underlines how bad the starters are (as a group). The Pirates are, in fact, pulling off a number of late inning upsets because their relievers are giving up fewer runs than those of other teams. But they are losing too many games up front because the starters aren't doing their jobs.

As a team, the Pirates should have had at least 20 more quality starts than they have. That would translate into about ten more wins for a decidedly more respectable 44-54 record. But the Bucs league-worst record reflects their sorry quality start numbers.