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Time flies, doesn’t it?
Here we are, nearing mid-September, and it wouldn’t be out of the question to start bringing those winter coats out of the attic. It dipped to the low-50s on Thursday night, after all.
Heck, there’s already a foot of snow up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
But just a few days ago, it finally felt like summer was giving a last-ditch effort to bless us with warmth before the changing of the season.
It certainly has been an inconsistent few months in the weather-realm. The same could be said for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was chilly back on March 31 – opening day at PNC Park. The Pirates won that game, thanks to a walk-off home run by Neil Walker. The optimism of last season’s playoff run was heightened even more with the Pittsburgh Kid’s blast over the Clemente Wall.
It was short-lived, though, as the Pirates notched just 10 wins in their first 28 games.
But it’s not how you start – it’s how you finish.
The Pirates have won six of their last seven games, stand at 77-69, and hold a game and a half advantage in the National League Wild Card race.
There’s just 16 games left in the regular season – nine are at home – and three series are against teams with a sub-.500 record.
As frustrating as this season has been at times with the bullpen imploding, dumb mistakes on the basepaths and Pedro Alvarez forgetting how to throw over to first base, there’s been some rewarding moments.
The starting pitching has been much improved. Vance Worley and Jeff Locke, late additions to the rotation, have both performed above expectations. Gerrit Cole seems to be 100-percent after enduring a series of injuries throughout the season. Edinson Volquez has learned to settle down and stay efficient, while Francisco Liriano has kept hitters off balanced and stayed consistent.
Then there’s Russell Martin, Starling Marte and Ike Davis. Martin is batting a career-best .291 with a league-leading .416 on-base percentage. At the plate and behind it, Martin is a force.
He’s going at a 40-percent rate of throwing out would-be base-stealers. That mark is best in the league, too.
Marte has battled injuries for the past two seasons, but is now performing at his best clip since his rookie season. In August, Marte batted .333 and hit four home runs.
With the Pirates carrying three first baseman (Gaby Sanchez, Davis and the convert of Alvarez), production out of the position remained low. Davis broke out of a slump in August by hitting a pair of two-run home runs in separate days to earn two wins over the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals.
Of course, there’s Andrew McCutchen. He recently hit his first inside-the-park home run and has showcased his speed in other areas with 17 stolen bases.
He’s well on his way to another MVP season, though he may be overshadowed by someone else.
Nobody has been more valuable to the Pirates than Josh Harrison.
While the Pirates struggled to find their way in April, Harrison struggled to find the field at all. He didn’t see any playing time in the first week and a half of the season and didn’t make a start until early May.
Now, he’s the everyday third baseman. He’s also played all outfield positions, shortstop and second base. He actually pitched in relief in 2013 – if it wasn’t for his short stature, he could probably be an ample first baseman.
Harrison went from a guy that could barely crack the club to an All-Star in less than four months. If it wasn’t for him, the Pirates wouldn’t be in this position. Harrison, with a .318 batting average, leads the league in hitting and could be the first Pirate to win the batting title since Freddy Sanchez in 2006.
The 2014 season does seem to have a different aura about it than the magical year of 2013.
The Pirates won their 82nd game on Sept. 9 of last year. They’ve yet to do that, this year. Also, a playoff spot was pretty much ensured by this time, last year. The Pirates are certainly in a good position to hold on to that last Wild Card spot, plus they have a legitimate shot at the division crown. But any postseason spot is anything but guaranteed.
Plus, the waiver acquisitions of Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau boosted morale and talent-level in 2013. Pittsburgh didn’t make any moves during this season, aside from signing struggling reliever John Axford, when pitchers like David Price and Jon Lester were said to be in their grasp at the trade deadline.
No move proved to be the best move, as the Pirates have been surging and the Tigers (who acquired Price from the Rays) and Lester (who went to the A’s from the Red Sox) have surrendered the lead in their respective divisions.
Baseball’s funny. Hopefully Roger has reason to remain Jolly in a few weeks when baseball’s postseason picture comes into full focus.
(Peaslee, a Youngstown native, is a sports writer for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. He can be contacted at mpeaslee@heraldstaronline.com and followed on Twitter at @thempeas)