Buckle Up & Notes

Well, buckle up, Pittsburgh fans. The Pirates, even with their stack of injuries, are 8-6 and just one game off the division lead. But it's not been easy - 10 of their 14 games have been decided by two runs or less and have been grinders. The team has shown the ability to hang around and win games on grit; they've also shown that no lead is safe.The starters have been sterling, but a short and worked-to-a-lather bullpen has had issues, mainly stemming from Keone Kela and Ric Rod having problems keeping the ball in the yard. The defense hasn't helped the cause, although the leather seems to picking up in the last week, so maybe guys are getting more comfortable now that the roles are a little more rote.

And your starting RF, Melky Cabrera (photo Icon Sportswire/Getty)

Not too surprisingly with the number of big guns on the IL, the offense has sputtered. They've scored six runs in a game just twice, and their .241 BA, 51 runs scored, 11 HR and .140 ISO are all in the bottom third of MLB. With that sort of attack and Starling & Cervy off to slow starts, Clint has reverted to small ball. While he's pushed a run or three across being aggressive, it's not a ploy that lights up scoreboards. We can't fault the manager for his work so far; even with the occasional "whut?" moments, he's adapting to the team, even if it means leaving his comfort zone.

The Detroit set and the homestand offer a great opp to keep on; Motown, the Giants and D-Backs aren't a murderers row, and they take the squad almost into May, when Pittsburgh should have the gang on the IL start to return. So until then, enjoy the roller-coaster ride; the team's not what it will be in a month talent-wise, but they'll give ya nine innings worth of ball with what they got.

Notes:

• With a couple of off days to play with, Chris Archer dropped his appeal and will serve his five-game suspension, retro to the 14th.
• The wounded are about to trickle back - Kyle Crick could return for the Tiger series and Eli Diaz for the Easter week homestand. The rest are still TBD.
• Kevin Breagh of The Point of Pittsburgh goes over the Pirates SS roster since 1976; as he discovers, it's quite the rogues gallery.
• Will Craig, Indy's 1B, made the first MLB Pipeline Prospects of the Week team.
• Adam McInturff of 2080 Baseball has an in depth look at the Pirates feeder system, including a couple of guys already in Pittsburgh.