5 Reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates Have Faded in 2011

After being in first place in the National League Central on multiple occasions, the Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be fading fast in the race for the playoffs after losing their seventh-straight game last night to the Chicago Cubs.

There is an old adage in baseball that suggests that August and September are the "dog days" of Summer, and those are the times when teams tend to tire out.

Is that happening to the Pirates in 2011? Or is just the fact that they were overachieving all season long?

Whatever the answer is may never be known, but the Pirates sit seven games behind Milwaukee in the division and are two games under .500.

If the Pirates finish under .500, it will be their 19th-straight losing season.

Here are five reasons why the Pirates are fading down the stretch.

No 5: Too Much Pressure

The city of Pittsburgh hasn't seen a winning baseball product in 18 seasons. As soon as a winning product was placed on the field at the beautiful PNC Park, fans came out in bunches to support the team.

Pittsburgh was behind the Pirates during their run in 2011.

People hopped on the bandwagon of the Pittsburgh Penguins after they started winning games with a quality product on the ice, and it seemed like the same thing was happening with the Pirates.

The fans rallied behind this team and was showing that the city of Pittsburgh is indeed a baseball town.

For once, the Steelers didn't dominate July like they have in the past 18 years.

The pressure mounted to the pinnacle and it ultimately got to the Pirates in 2011. All the national news coverage from leading off on ESPN's Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter to every casual baseball fan wondering if the Pirates were for real. It all got to them.

It was good while it lasted, but the talent level on the roster wasn't quite good enough to overcome the pressure received in 2011.

No 4: Lack of Chemistry

A lack of chemistry in early August? Is that attainable? Yes it is.

The fact is that the Pirates didn't get to their 53-47 record with shortstop Ronny Cedeno, third basemen Pedro Alvarez, first basemen Derrek Lee or outfielder Ryan Ludwick.

They won with guys like Chase d'Arnaud, Josh Harrison and Alex Presley. All are players that put it all on the line every game.

Presley is without a doubt a better player than d'Arnaud or Harrison, but those guys brought aspects to the field that Cedeno and Alvarez couldn't - energy and desire.

d'Arnaud and Harrison brought energy to the left-side of the infield. Their hustle, will to win and desire is what sparked the Pirates during their run.

Cedeno and Alvarez have since came back to the team and have shown little. Cedeno has hit .236 since his return and Alvarez still struggles with strikeouts.

With Alvarez and his blank stares, sometimes you wonder if he really cares. Who knows if Cedeno gives it his all 100 percent of the time.

We weren't the only ones that saw d'Arnaud and Harrison care about the game, their teammates did too.

No 3: Lack of Experience

Not too many players on the roster - before Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick were acquired - had too much experience playing deep in the season with a cause.

That is why General Manager Neal Huntington went out and got Lee and Ludwick at the trade deadline. Those two haven't helped out too much in the win column as the Pirates just got swept by the Chicago Cubs.

How were these kids supposed to know how to play winning baseball in August when they have never done that?

This is the time of year the Pirates play their division foes like Milwaukee, St. Louis and Cincinnati, and all three of those teams have recently made the postseason.

Experience has had a major factor in why the Pirates have been fading down the stretch.

Could a more experienced team bounce back after the 19-inning disaster game when Jerry Meals made the incorrect call at home plate? Yes.

Could a more experienced team come back from a seven-game losing streak? Yes.

Not the inexperienced Pirates.

No 2: Pitching Is Getting Tired

Seeing how the Pittsburgh Pirates' offense has been this season, the team relied heavily on their pitching. They were great in the first half, but have been slipping since the all-star break.

Are they tired?

James McDonald, Jeff Karstens and Charlie Morton have never pitched this many innings in a single season.

McDonald is doubling his career high in innings pitched in 2011 with 114.

Karstens has pitched 126 innings in 2011, a number that is already over his career high of 122 in 2010.

Morton sits with 118 innings pitched in 2011, 21 innings over his career high.

These numbers suggest that the brunt of the staff is tiring and their losing streak indicates that. In six of the seven losses, the Pirates have given up five or more runs, and 10 or more runs twice.

No 1: Lack of Run Production

It would be nice if the Pittsburgh Pirates could actually knock some runners in. They haven't been able to do that—not only during the losing streak but all season long.

The Pirates used "small ball" and timely hitting to win 2-1, 3-2 games in 2011. They can't use that timely hitting if they are forced to score runs at a high rate.

Offensively, the Pirates are 25th in runs (421), 24th in batting average (.243), 25th in on base percentage (.310) and 27th in slugging percentage (.359).

Lack of run production has been the theme all season long, even in wins.

Before the additions of Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick, Neil Walker (64) and Andrew McCutchen (63) have been the only two to provide high RBI numbers. Garrett Jones is third with 42, Lyle Overbay was fourth with 37 and Ronny Cedeno is fifth with 25. 

Compare those statistics with the Milwaukee Brewers and it is almost laughable to wonder how the Pirates stayed in contention so long.

There are seven players who have more than 40 RBI including Prince Fielder with 79 and Ryan Braun with 73.

With a pitching staff that is working more than ever before, it was essential for the Pirates to improve their offensive numbers.

They didn't do that, and now they find themselves with a record of 54-56, staring at another losing season.

It was good while it lasted, right?