Pride of Pittsburgh. What are the Pirates playoff chances? A fan s guide to major league baseba. August 2012

Transcription

1 A fan s guide to major league baseba August 2012 Pride of Pittsburgh Andrew McCutchen s rise to superstardom has the Steel City abuzz What are the Pirates playoff chances?

2 cutch Don t bet against Andrew McCutchen as he tries to bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh by Eddie Matz Last summer, Andrew McCutchen was a 24-year-old kid trying to do everything but accomplishing nothing. The small-market Pirates, owners of the National League s lowest payroll, had shocked everyone by entering the All-Star break four games over.500. Two weeks later, they were six games over, tied with the Cardinals for first place in the Central. Maybe, just maybe, the laughingstock franchise with a streak of 18 straight losing seasons -- a North American pro sports record -- would break the schneid. Heck, fans in Pittsburgh were even thinking playoffs. Then, on July 26 in Atlanta, the Pirates lost a 19-inning heartbreaker. The next day, they fell again in extras. By the end of August, the beleaguered Bucs were 18 1/2 games back, and McCutchen -- a 5 10, 185-pound linedrive hitter who d never had more than 17 jacks in a season -- was trying to hit five-run homers every time up. When the team started to falter, says man-

3 Reinventing an All-Star In the offseason, Andrew McCutchen took it upon himself to retool his swing. It worked. McCutchen s bat is now tight against his chest instead of up above his head. McCutchen s hands are now even with the letters on his jersey instead of above his shoulders. McCutchen s new stance is characterized by stillness, unlike his former stance that had discernible movement. McCutchen s front leg is now opened up toward the shortstop instead of tucked in closer to the pitcher. McCutchen now strides back toward the middle instead of out to the left, to guard against the pullitis that plagued him last season. I always felt like there was more I could do, he says. As an eighth-grader at Fort Meade High in central Florida, he led all of Polk County in hitting. As a senior, he batted.709. On June 4, 2009, four years after being selected 11th overall in the same 2005 draft that produced Justin Upton, Ryan Braun and Ryan Zimmerman -- generally regarded as MLB s greatest draft -- McCutchen made his big league debut against the Mets, going 2-for-4 with a steal and three runs, leading the Pirates to an 11-6 win. He then proceeded to lead all NL rookies in extra-base hits (47) and outfield assists (10). Despite spending the first third of the season in the minors, he was named the Pirates MVP. McCutchen is a quiet leader, and for two and a half seasons, his unspoken I can do more mentality played well in Pittsburgh. Then came the collapse. When McCutchen ended last season hitting just and his team finished 24 games behind the Brewers -- he knew it was time to find a new approach. And not just because the skipper slapped him with a honey-do list. You could argue that the six weeks McCutchen spent at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. -- a first for him -- made the difference, that it was the two-a-day conditioning sessions and the yoga and the pool sprints and the pushups with the 50 pounds of chains wrapped around his torso. But McCutchen s transformation

4 Whether the 2012 Pirates can keep it up is a question as open as McCutchen s stance. For starters, they re still the Pirates: The last time they had a winning season, Bill Cowher was a rookie NFL head coach. And it s not as if the Bucs roster is all that different from the 2011 vintage that teased fans before ultimately wetting the bed. The pitching staff is largely the same one that imploded after last year s break (3.44 ERA before, 4.78 after). Then again, there have been signs. Emerging starter James McDonald (9-3, 2.37 ERA in the first half), unheralded setup man Jason Grilli (14.3 K/9) and 14-year vet A.J. Burnett -- a two-time World Series winner and offseason acquisition who became the first Pirates pitcher since Dock Ellis in 1974 to win eight consecutive decisions -- have stabilized a staff whose 3.47 ERA at the break was fifth best in the league. The bullpen, led by All- Star closer Joel Hanrahan, has been lights out (2.68 ERA, second best in baseball through July 17). The offense still isn t great, but in a mediocre division weakened by the defections of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, it s been good enough. After averaging just 2.94 runs per game in the season s first two months, the Pirates scored the most runs in baseball from June 1 to July 17. Not coincidentally, no hitter in baseball has been hotter than McCutchen. Photos by Keith Allison

5 A fan s guide to major league baseb August 2012 Pride of Pittsburgh Andrew McCutchen s rise to superstardom has the Steel City abuzz What are the Pirates playoff chances?

6 cutch Don t bet against Andrew McCutchen as he tries to bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh by Eddie Matz Last summer, Andrew McCutchen was a 24-year-old kid trying to do everything but accomplishing nothing. The small-market Pirates, owners of the National League s lowest payroll, had shocked everyone by entering the All-Star break four games over.500. Two weeks later, they were six games over, tied with the Cardinals for first place in the Central. Maybe, just maybe, the laughingstock franchise with a streak of 18 straight losing seasons -- a North American pro sports record -- would break the schneid. Heck, fans in Pittsburgh were even thinking playoffs. Then, on July 26 in Atlanta, the Pirates lost a 19-inning heartbreaker. The next day, they fell again in extras. By the end of August, the beleaguered Bucs were 18 1/2 games back, and McCutchen -- a 5 10, 185-pound line-drive hitter who d never had more than 17 jacks in a season -- was trying to hit five-run homers every time up. When the team started to falter, says manager Clint Hurdle, Cutch took it upon himself to create offense. Instead, he created problems. There were plenty of times when we were down a run or two and I overdid it, admits McCutchen. His strikeout rate increased from one every 5.3 at-bats to one every 3.8. In the season s final month, as the Pirates

7 Reinventing an All-Star In the offseason, Andrew McCutchen took it upon himself to retool his swing. It worked. McCutchen s bat is now tight against his chest instead of up above his head. McCutchen s hands are now even with the letters on his jersey instead of above his shoulders. McCutchen s new stance is characterized by stillness, unlike his former stance, which although it was not busy did have discernible movement. McCutchen s front leg is now opened up toward the shortstop instead of tucked in closer to the pitcher. McCutchen now strides back toward the middle instead of out to the left to guard against the pullitis that plagued him last season. I always felt like there was more I could do, he says. As an eighth-grader at Fort Meade High in central Florida, he led all of Polk County in hitting. As a senior, he batted.709. On June 4, 2009, four years after being selected 11th overall in the same 2005 draft that produced Justin Upton, Ryan Braun and Ryan Zimmerman -- generally regarded as MLB s greatest draft -- McCutchen made his big league debut against the Mets, going 2-for-4 with a steal and three runs, leading the Pirates to an 11-6 win. He then proceeded to lead all NL rookies in extra-base hits (47) and outfield assists (10). Despite spending the first third of the season in the minors, he was named the Pirates MVP. McCutchen is a quiet leader, and for two and a half seasons, his unspoken I can do more mentality played well in Pittsburgh. Then came the collapse. When McCutchen ended last season hitting just and his team finished 24 games behind the Brewers -- he knew it was time to find a new ap-

8 Whether the 2012 Pirates can keep it up is a question as open as McCutchen s stance. For starters, they re still the Pirates: The last time they had a winning season, Bill Cowher was a rookie NFL head coach. And it s not as if the Bucs roster is all that different from the 2011 vintage that teased fans before ultimately wetting the bed. The pitching staff is largely the same one that imploded after last year s break (3.44 ERA before, 4.78 after). Then again, there have been signs. Emerging starter James McDonald (9-3, 2.37 ERA in the first half), unheralded setup man Jason Grilli (14.3 K/9) and 14-year vet A.J. Burnett -- a two-time World Series winner and offseason acquisition who became the first Pirates pitcher since Dock Ellis in 1974 to win eight consecutive decisions -- have stabilized a staff whose 3.47 ERA at the break was fifth best in the league. The bullpen, led by All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan, has been lights out (2.68 ERA, second best in baseball through July 17). The offense still isn t great, but in a mediocre division weakened by the defections of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, it s been good enough. After averaging just 2.94 runs per game in the season s first two months, the Pirates scored the most runs in baseball from June 1 to July 17. Not coincidentaluc-mag.com August 2012