Walking the Plank: Weekly Review: July 22-28: Cardinals and Mets

St. Louis Cardinals Series Record: 0-4

giphy.com

New York Mets Series Record: 0-3

giphy.com

Pirates Record and Standings: 46-59, 5th Place NL Central

Trivia Question of the Week: How many games has Taillon played in the majors since he has been with the Pirates organization?

Nothing is good and all is bad in Pittsburgh right now. Not only did the Pirates lose EVERY game this week, but the news that Taillon is probably out for the season and may need surgery gives us little hope for the future. I have nothing good to say except for that Steelers training camp opened this week and football season is right around the corner... Here are my 3 big takeaways from this week's games: 

1. Taillon News Changes the Franchise

This week it was announced by Pirates Director of Sports Medicine, Todd Tomczyk, that Taillon began having pain in his elbow once he started to throw again and is going to be re-evaluated on Monday in New York by Dr. David Altchek. As soon as this report came out, Pirates fans began to expect the worst, another Tommy John Surgery. Taillon has already acknowledged that this season is likely over for him, but if he needs surgery, that would also end his 2020 season and this would be crushing to the franchise... More on this in my weekly walking the plank article on Wednesday!

2. Can Anyone Hit Except Marte?

Poor Marte, his back must be hurting from absolutely carrying this team offensively. It seems like he has been the only consistent bat in the lineup recently, but do not tell that to the guys on 93.7 the Fan...

3. The Bells Have Stopped Ringing

Who is this guy and what has he done with pre All-Star Beak Josh Bell? Bell is currently in a slump where it seems like all of his power is gone as he is stagnant at 27 HRs. Bell carried the team for most of the first half of the season, and now this team is showing their true colors when Bell is not producing. 

Position Player of the Week (Last week: Corey Dickerson): Starling Marte. This was easy because it seems like no one else is playing well right now. Marte had a great week at the plate and has been playing like an All-Star for about a month now. Keep it up Starling!

Pitcher of the Week (Last Week: Dario Agrazal): Trevor Williams. On Monday, Trevor had 5 IP, 1 ER, and 7 Ks against the Cardinals, but it was all for nothing after the Clay Holmes debacle where he gave up a grand slam to Goldschmidt. Trevor also pitched 7 innings on Saturday night against the Mets while giving up 3 ER and having 7 KS, but the offense repaid him with 0 ER.... 

Moment of the Week (Last Week: 1979 World Series Celebration): None. When you lose every game in a week, there are no good moments. The only positive of this week is that it may cause the front office to rethink their approach to the future and sell more than I would have liked them to a week ago..

Who Walks the Plank (Last Week: Kyle Crick): Every starter besides Trevor. We have seen enough of Archer now to know this just is not going to work out and Lyles has gotten absolutely crushed lately. Musgrove and Agrazal have been steady in the rotation, but they had some bad outings this week. Also, I am pissed off and ready to let the whole team walk the plank, but these four will do for now. Enjoy your swim, fellas! 

tenor.com

Trivia Answer: 82! For being a 2nd overall pick, Taillon has bot helped this team in the capacity that he should. Do not forget that Bryce Harper was taken one pick before him and Manny Machado one picl after! More on this later..

Upcoming Games: Home: 3 Game Series vs. Reds, 3 Game Series vs. Mets.

Record Prediction (Last Week: 3-4.. yikes!): The Pirates have a favorable schedule this week, but this team has caused me to lose all hope in them. With that being said, I think they will lose 2 out of 3 against the Reds and win 2 out of 3 against the Mets to finish the week at 3-3. 

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments below. Try to stay positive Pirate fans and Lets Go Bucs!!

-Aaron, TGYK