Shouldn't there be accountability?

I'm hoping this post is a day too late. The Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs today to snap a seven-game losing streak and help preserve their playoff hopes and their chances of breaking a streak of 19-straight losing seasons. But the game was a microcosm of the last two seasons: build up a lead and let it steadily slip away. Luckily, Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan was able to stop the bleeding by striking out Dave Sappelt with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. That does not obscure the fact, however, that the Pirates have been on an historically bad downward slide that is made worse by a similar precipitous free-fall a year ago.

If things continue to go poorly, someone needs to be held accountable. I like Clint Hurdles enthusiasm and his endless reserves of positive energy, but his in-game decision-making has been questionable at best. His Spring Training mantra that hung on the lips of every player who survived last season's implosion seems to have fallen on deaf ears. These Pirates have not yet learned how to "Finish". At some point, management has to notice.

Speaking of management, Neal Huntington's record continues to be spotty. I loved his plan of re-stocking the farm system through trades and being aggressive in the draft, but his ability to judge talent has come into question. Just look at his free agent signings: Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Erik Bedard, Lyle Overbay, Matt Diaz, Bobby Crosby, Ramon Vazquez and so on. At some point you have to say he has vision, but not execution.

This year's trade deadline, too, was baffling to many observers. The Pirates had a real chance in a weakened NL Central to make the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Their deadline acquisitions, though, were underwhelming and looked toward the future, not the present. Sure, guys like Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez are likely upgrades over Alex Presley and Casey McGehee, but not considerably. Huntington liked their talent and thought they could be had at a modest acquisition cost and (most importantly to him) they were under team control for many years. Look, I get it. The economics of baseball are tough. But at some point you have to put your foot down, forget about next year, and start investing in right now. When the Pirates were playing well earlier this summer, average attendance was up over 2,500 a night. The Pirates have also announced a ticket increase next year after many years stagnancy. That's fine, but then you've got to remember that the priority is the team on the field in the major leagues each day. Otherwise, you can keep saying "next year" until that's the year after McCutchen's contract expires, or more likely, the year after Huntington is dismissed.

Maybe this team was playing over their heads for four months. That was certainly the case last year. But last year's team didn't have A.J. Burnett or Wandy Rodriguez or a mashing Pedro Alvarez. It can't always be the same excuse. I know they're trying. I know they haven't given up, but many fans are. There needs to be some accountability here, even if it's painful. Too much is at stake for the city, the fans, the team. I hope I'm wrong about all of this. I hope there's enough time to go on a run and be competitive in the playoff race down to the last series. I hope they do break their streak of 19 losing seasons. I just hope that if those things don't happen, someone stands up and tells us why.

Should Brock Holt be in the lineup every day?

When Starling Marte made his debut earlier this year, we discovered two things about relying on rookies at the top of the lineup:

1) They can provide a boost of energy and excitement

and

2) There will be growing pains.

So, given that, does Brock Holt provide this Pirates team with the best chance to win at the top of the lineup? I'll argue the answer is yes.

In a must-win statement game against the Houston Astros (the same Houston Astros who beat the listless Pirates the previous day to extend their losing streak to 4), Brock Holt was the star of the show. Sure, Andrew McCutchen re-took the batting title lead with a four-hit night of his own, but it was the young Holt's four hits that captured the collective imagination of Pirates nation. After weeks of suffering through lineups headed by the likes of Jose Tabata and Alex Presley, this Holt-led offense was humming.

It's no surprise really. Despite a rough outing on Monday, Holt has been rolling all year long. Holt cruised through AA this season posting a .322/.389/.432 line for Altoona; but, that wasn't good enough for the breakout star. Upon his promotion to AAA, he became even hotter...way hotter. In 24 games with Indianapolis, Holt elevated his game to a new level posting an incredible line of .432/.476/.537. Not bad for a guy without much power. He had hitting streaks of 5 games and 10 games in only 24 AAA starts. No one in the organization has been hotter of late.

And that's why he's gotta be playing every day. The team has been struggling to find consistency on offense and Holt may just be the spark plug that this group needs. With Holt setting the table for McCutchen (who's been coming around) and Alvarez (recently named NL Player of the Week), this offense has a real chance to win games for them. Also, when they can get an early lead, it seems to settle the starting pitchers down a bit. Look at Wandy Rodriguez's last two starts as exhibits A and B.

Now, Holt is not well-equipped to play shortstop. He's passable there at best. Until Neil Walker is healthy and in the lineup every day, Holt should be at second base. Every. Day. When Walker is healthy, Holt needs to get some starts at short. Barmes is a nice defensive shortstop, but even with these little spurts of life in his bat, he's a liability at the plate. Use Barmes on days when you've got a pitch-to-contact guy on the mound or as a defensive replacement. We're starting to see that at first base, where Garrett Jones gets the bulk of the at-bats, but Gaby Sanchez often spells him in the latter innings to provide better defense. One thing is for certain, as long as Holt is hitting, he's a must-start. He hustles, he gets on base, he makes good things happen. That kind of all-in attitude, that kind of passionate play is infectious. And the best part about it is he plays under control. You'll see him have much better at-bats than Barmes or even the aforementioned Starling Marte. We all know that Marte has more upside and is the more likely player to become a fixture in future Pirates lineups, but right now, Holt is the guy I want at the top of the lineup as the Pirates fight for their playoff lives.

Is Pedro Alvarez having a successful season?

Last night, Pedro Alvarez let loose his prodigious power with two monster home runs. The first was an opposite-field shot that cleared the Northside Notch in the deepest part of the park. Deciding that was not impressive enough, he followed it up with a herculean shot to right-center that went a stunning 469 feet. That mammoth blast was the longest home run by a Pirate in PNC Park history and, with it, Alvarez joined the 25-homer club for the first time in his young career.

Despite the fireworks, Pedro's season has been something of an enigma. It's not an understatement to say he's been one of the streakiest hitters in all of baseball. Alvarez was flat out of the gate only to get hot in mid-June. From there he went on an incredible tear until mid-July, when his production once again fell off a cliff. Recently, though he's been swinging the bat well and his 2-punch statement in an incredibly important game for the Pirates last night has been the pinnacle of his late-season resurgence. What are we to make of his overall season, then?

Well, a dream season for Pedro would be something like a .270 average and 35 homers. A  realistic breakout, then, might look something like a .250 season average and 25 homers. That, of course, is nearly identical to his current season totals. It's hard not to consider that a success. His overall line is .247/.327/.484 with 25 HR, 67 RBI and an impressive isolated power number of .237. The latter number is good for fifth in the National League. He's been a 3.0 WAR player this season according to Fangraphs. That's all fairly impressive and I'm sure the Pirates are happy with the overall production. Sure, the 31.8% K rate is a concern, but he's always going to strike out a lot. Pedro's value will always be judged by his power numbers and his run production and, for the most part, he's been strong in those areas this season. It's also true that the Pirates have played their best baseball when Pedro's been on, so hopefully this recent hot streak will translate into wins for the Bucs as they fight for their first playoff spot in 20 years.