A tale of 2 Pedros

[Dale Berras Stash]

Pedro now has the same number of AB's in July as he had in June.

June (46 AB's) .152/.216/.196 (411 OPS), 50% K rate and 0 HR's
July (47 AB's) .298/.340/.574 (914 OPS), 30% K rate and 3 HR's

I think he is gearing up to go on a HR tear soon.

[CAfan]

He seems to have found a nice groove. i look for him to add power and probably lower his average. 

All in all though, I am pleased with him and think he could stay at 3B for at least a few years.  he is a far cry from a gold glover but he still seems adequate there.

[WTM]

Pedro now has the same number of AB's in July as he had in June.

June (46 AB's) .152/.216/.196 (411 OPS), 50% K rate and 0 HR's
July (47 AB's) .298/.340/.574 (914 OPS), 30% K rate and 3 HR's

I think he is gearing up to go on a HR tear soon.

That's always been his pattern.

I was looking at the Pirates' bb-ref page today and one thing really struck me--going by OPS+, this really shouldn't be a bad lineup.  SS will probably remain a big problem, but much of the lineup looks average or better:

Doumit -- 104 (and Kratz 119!)
Jones -- 108
Walker -- 101
Milledge -- 103
McCutchen -- 116

Tabata (90) and Alvarez (80) are still poor overall, but they're improving rapidly as we'd expect.  (Tabata is a mystery right now, because he stings the ball in most of his ABs and his BB:K ratio is excellent at 14:18.  I think his poor numbers are a fluke.)  I see no reason why, by season's end, the Pirates shouldn't be fielding a lineup that's average or above everywhere but short.  The bench needs a lot of work.  Losing Pearce (121) was a blow, although I'm not sure the mgr. and GM realized it.  Nobody will mistake this lineup for Murderers' Row, but there's no earthly reason why it should be awful.

[Dale Berras Stash]

Nobody will mistake this lineup for Murderers' Row, but there's no earthly reason why it should be awful.

That's what I thought at the beginning of the season (76 wins) and I was woefully wrong.  I don't understand why this team is/was so bad.  I guess the sum is LESS than the individual parts in this case.

[WTM]

Nobody will mistake this lineup for Murderers' Row, but there's no earthly reason why it should be awful.

That's what I thought at the beginning of the season (76 wins) and I was woefully wrong.  I don't understand why this team is/was so bad.  I guess the sum is LESS than the individual parts in this case.

Well, the overall team awfulness is the product of:

Iwamura -- 53
LaPopup -- 62
Church -- 56
Clement -- 50
Cedeno -- 72
Crosby -- 70

Those 50-ish OPS+'s are deadly and there are a lot of ABs in that list.  But two guys are gone.  Two are benched (and Church actually looked like a major league hitter this weekend).  Two we're stuck with at short, but they're the two least awful of this bunch.  This ain't the team that started the year any more, or so I hope.

[A. Senter]

LaPopup -- 62

I'm not sure it's fair to call him LaPopup when you think about all of the "scorching" groundouts to the pitcher and shortstop.

[WTM]

LaPopup -- 62

I'm not sure it's fair to call him LaPopup when you think about all of the "scorching" groundouts to the pitcher and shortstop.

LaPoopout.

He's one guy I expected a lot more from this year.  Nothing great, but something at least around average.  Instead, he turned into Chris Stynes.

[frieshoo]

Pedro now has the same number of AB's in July as he had in June.

June (46 AB's) .152/.216/.196 (411 OPS), 50% K rate and 0 HR's
July (47 AB's) .298/.340/.574 (914 OPS), 30% K rate and 3 HR's

I think he is gearing up to go on a HR tear soon.

His numbers in the 5th hole (mostly July) have been impressive.

[dave3BA]

Is anyone else surprised how under-appreciated Alvarez is around baseball?  I've seen many "baseball" people mention prospects in the last couple months while leaving Alvarez out.  When you compare his minor league numbers to other top prospects, they are still quite impressive.  I know the rap Pittsburgh has, but even guys like McCutchen got more mention before they came up than Alvarez got.  I happen to think he's going to be a beast, and nothing I've seen changes my mind about that.

[markson33]

Is anyone else surprised how under-appreciated Alvarez is around baseball?  I've seen many "baseball" people mention prospects in the last couple months while leaving Alvarez out.  When you compare his minor league numbers to other top prospects, they are still quite impressive.  I know the rap Pittsburgh has, but even guys like McCutchen got more mention before they came up than Alvarez got.  I happen to think he's going to be a beast, and nothing I've seen changes my mind about that.

He is a Pirate - of course they under value him.

[dave3BA]

Is anyone else surprised how under-appreciated Alvarez is around baseball?  I've seen many "baseball" people mention prospects in the last couple months while leaving Alvarez out.  When you compare his minor league numbers to other top prospects, they are still quite impressive.  I know the rap Pittsburgh has, but even guys like McCutchen got more mention before they came up than Alvarez got.  I happen to think he's going to be a beast, and nothing I've seen changes my mind about that.

He is a Pirate - of course they under value him.

...

[scrapiron]

Like Blass and Walk keep saying, Cedeno has all the tools.  If the Ronny that played in the Houston series shows up on a regular basis, he should have a good second half and make himself the answer at SS.  However, given his habitual inconsistency, I won't hold my breath hoping that happens.  I have said for awhile now that this new group should hit well enough to compete.  It is all going to be a matter of starting pitching for this team.

[WillieBuc]

Pedro now has the same number of AB's in July as he had in June.

June (46 AB's) .152/.216/.196 (411 OPS), 50% K rate and 0 HR's
July (47 AB's) .298/.340/.574 (914 OPS), 30% K rate and 3 HR's

I think he is gearing up to go on a HR tear soon.

I am quoting this and savoring it.  As much grief as I give the FO, I still love to see our players be successful.  These are truly inspiring stats, small sample size or not.

[Rutang]

Like Blass and Walk keep saying, Cedeno has all the tools.  If the Ronny that played in the Houston series shows up on a regular basis, he should have a good second half and make himself the answer at SS.  However, given his habitual inconsistency, I won't hold my breath hoping that happens.  I have said for awhile now that this new group should hit well enough to compete.  It is all going to be a matter of starting pitching for this team.

Cedeno just angers me.  He was really bad in April, hit well in May (and actually took a few walks), then was putrid in June, and has been on fire in July (9 for 15 since the All Star break with 5 2B).  His defense is the same way. 

[WTM]

Like Blass and Walk keep saying, Cedeno has all the tools.  If the Ronny that played in the Houston series shows up on a regular basis, he should have a good second half and make himself the answer at SS.  However, given his habitual inconsistency, I won't hold my breath hoping that happens.  I have said for awhile now that this new group should hit well enough to compete.  It is all going to be a matter of starting pitching for this team.

Cedeno just angers me.  He was really bad in April, hit well in May (and actually took a few walks), then was putrid in June, and has been on fire in July (9 for 15 since the All Star break with 5 2B).  His defense is the same way. 

His OPS by month is entertaining if nothing else:

.553
.778
.256
1.181

In seven starts in July, he has eight doubles.  He had eight doubles in his previous 63 starts.