Pirates' success is baseball's biggest story of season's first half

The three Pirates named to the All-Star team, along with their teammates, have plenty to be happy about in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In the fourth inning of Saturday night’s game between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park had an announcement to make. They did so on the jumbotron beyond the center-field fence, breaking the news that center-fielder Andrew McCutchen had been named to the All-Star game. He is taking the place of injured Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun.

The 39,265 saw this and, while catcher Michael McKenry wast at-bat against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, stood up as one and gave their 24-year-old blossoming star a resounding ovation.

“They showed their support, not only of me but of the team,” he said. “They showed that they were behind me. Before they even found out, they still felt like I was an All-Star.”

It was a moving scene, one that eventually brought McCutchen out of the dugout to tip his cap. As the crowd continued to cheer him, McKentry laced a double into left-field. And now the crowd had something else to applaud. It has been that kind of season in Pittsburgh.

The franchise has not had a winning season in 18 years. Eighteen. That drought may well end this year. After falling in that game, 6-3, the Pirates won on Sunday behind McCutchen’s five rbi’s to sit just one game behind the co-leaders of the National League Central, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Pittsburgh now has 47 wins, 17 better than they had at this exact date last year.

This remarkable turnaround without much turnover is such a long time coming, and it doesn’t appear they will be a one-hit wonder. They have the young talent in every department, with McCutchen as the cornerstone, to be a force in the very competitive division for years to come.

They have three All-Stars now with McCutchen’s inclusion. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia replaced one of Philadelphia’s many starting pitching participants, Cole Hamels, because Hamels pitched today, and did so masterfully. Like McCutchen, a case can be made that the 30-year-old Correia deserved to be named in the first place. He leads the staff with 11 wins, complimenting his respectable if a little high 4.01 ERA. Closer Joel Hanrahan was the Pirates original recipient of the All-Star honor, and he has been dominant to the tune of 26 saves–putting him in a second-place tie among baseball’s closers–and a sparkling 1.34 ERA.

Pittsburgh may not have many stars, but they are in the right places–one each in the lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen–and are complimented well by a talented mix of youth and veterans. Their lineup overall is underwhelming statistically. Some may call it awful. They are hitting only .247 as a team and rank 13th out of 16 National League teams in runs scored. But, this month they have tossed these adjectives, statistics, and rankings out of the window. They have tallied 41 runs, good for fifth in the NL, with the best average by 26 points, at an even .300, to make life easy for Correia and Hanrahan.

This is only over a nine-game stretch, but the Pirates offense shows no signs of slowing down. They scored nine runs today, getting production from top to bottom as usual. Five players are hitting above .300 this month, with 25-year-old Alex Presley leading the way at .389 as their leadoff hitter. McCutchen, at .375, McKenry, at .360, second baseman Neil Walker, at .355, and veteran Lyle Overbay aren’t far behind, all hitting the cover off the ball to support an even stronger pitching staff.

A different starter leads the rotation in ERA, strikeouts, and wins, speaking to its wide-ranging ability. Jeff Karstens, a former castoff from the New York Yankees, leads in ERA, at 2.55, while young James McDonald, a former highly-touted prospect for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has 78 strikeouts and hasn’t allowed more than three runs in his last 10 starts. Six-year veteran Paul Maholm’s 7 2/3-inning performance against the Cubs on Sunday is indicative of his play this season. Each of these three pitchers, along with Correia, have improved greatly over past seasons, consistently giving the ball to the bullpen with either a lead or a chance to prevail.

And what a bullpen they give way to. It is the seventh best in baseball, with a 3.17 ERA. And like those in rotation along with many of the position players, Hanrahan and setup men Jose Veras, Daniel McCutchen, and Chris Resop are pitching at a career-best level with greatly increased roles.

Despite the team’s overall success they aren’t expected to keep this success up. They have what it takes to, however. As illustrated by Andrew McCutchen’s ovation and his hitting display thereafter, the Pirates have their passionate fan-base back in throngs, playing in a vibrant atmosphere, and with an incredible amount of confidence and talent.

“Win a series here, win a series there. Sweep a team here, sweep a team there,” Andrew McCutchen said to the Post-Gazette. “The next thing you know, they’re going ‘Hey, these Pirates are the real deal.’ ” They certainly are.