Walking the Plank: Weekly Review: July 28-Aug 4: Reds and Mets

Cincinatti Reds Series Record: 1-2 (they may have won the war.. but at least we won the fight!!

New York Mets Series Record: 1-2

Pirates Record and Standings: 48-63, 5th Place NL Central

Trivia Question of the Week: When was the last time the Pirates won a series this season? (Answer at the bottom!)

Another week... and still no series wins. Will the Pirates ever win a series again this season? At their current pace, probably not, especially after that beat down this afternoon against the Mets. Remember Pirate fans, we get a preseason football game on Thursday! Here are my 3 big takeaways from this week's games: 

1. Trade Deadline Reaction

The Pirates made a lot less moves at the deadline than I expected and I am very surprised to see Cabrera and Liriano still on the team; is there a chance the Pirates are considering resigning them next season? Also, I am really going to miss C-Dick... Check out my full trade deadline reaction here: https://tgykblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/walking-plank-trading-deadline-instant.html.

2. The BRAWL!

Wow! What an absolutely crazy fight that this turned in to. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati just cannot get along can they? How awesome was it to see a swarm of Buccos surround Amir Garrett as he charged at the dugout? I mean, look at that picture!! My biggest take-a-ways from this brawl is that David Bell is an asshole and the MLB is ridiculous for not suspending him more games. Never the less, this was the most exciting moment in weeks. 

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3. What do the Pirates have with Osuna?

I do not know about all of you, but every time I see Osuna play, it seems like all he does is get hits and play some "okay" defense; so where does he fit in on this team? Osuna really does not have a dominant defensive position, making it hard to play him everyday, but his bat is usually very good. Also, he is a beast at pinch hitting, so is he a bench guy for life? I like to think I have all answers, but I definitely do not have this one.

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Position Player of the Week (Last week: Starling Marte): Starling Marte. Back to back weeks! Again, this was easy. Marte hit 3 HRs this week including a 3-R HR on Friday night to give the Pirates some much needed cushion. Marte is now tied for his career high in HRs at 20. Well done, Marte!

Pitcher of the Week (Last Week: Trevor Williams): Chris Archer. I may have given up on Archer, but I must give credit where it is due.... Archer had a very good outing on Saturday night having 6 IP, 1 ER, and 6 Ks. Sadly, this did not lead into a win as Crick and Stratton both got crushed...

Best Royal Rumble Impersonation: Brawl vs. Reds. There has not been much excitement around the Pirates, but this brawl had me on my feet and my heart bumping for the first time in a while! This was one of the craziest baseball brawls I have ever seen and I felt like I was watching a WWE Royal Rumble..

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Moment of the Week (Last Week: None!): Moran Grand Slam. Sadly, without much winning, there are not many big moments in a week, but Moran's grand slam on Monday night was a diamond in the rough!

Who Walks the Plank (Last Week: Every Starter Besides Trevor: Josh Bell. Bell has not been terrible, but I have him walking the plank this week because he absolutely needs to be better. The Pirates are at their best when Bell is playing well and that has not been the case for almost a month now. His power has disappeared and his averaged has dropped to the low .280s... Not good enough from our All-Star. Enjoy your swim, Mr. Bell!

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Trivia Answer: July 5th-7th! Pirates won a 3 games series by taking 2 out of 3 against the Brewers right before the All-Star break. Almost a whole month!

Upcoming Games: Home: 3 Game Series vs. Brewers, Away: 3 Game Series vs. Cardinals.

Record Prediction (Last Week: 2-4): Tough stretch of games upcoming for our Buccos and i definitely expect their downward spiral to continue... expect the Pirates to lose two out of three in both series to go 2-4 on the week. 

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