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Pittsburgh Pirates' Aroldis Chapman, left, embraces Jason Delay following the team's 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in Cincinnati.
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Joe Starkey: As the Pirates reach the halfway point, what’s the bar for a successful season?

AP

Joe Starkey: As the Pirates reach the halfway point, what’s the bar for a successful season?

The Pirates are 39-41, one game ahead of last year’s pace, as they reach the halfway point of their season Friday night in Atlanta against old friend Charlie Morton.

What’s the bar at this point? What would constitute a successful season?

Any improvement on last year’s 76 wins?

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Eighty-one wins for a .500 record, or 82 for a winning record?

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitchers, from left, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes stand in the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 11, 2024. It was Paul Skenes' major league debut. The Pirates won 10-9.
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A wild-card spot?

I’m going with door No. 3 and nothing less, in part because the National League wild-card race is so pitiful and in part because the Pirates are blessed with the kind of top-end pitching that must not be wasted. You don’t know how many seasons you’ll have Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones all healthy and at the height of their powers. It’s happening now.

Now is all that matters.

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The Pirates, with a few additions, should be a playoff team. Last year’s team fell apart right about now with a 3-12 streak. This is a better club. Anything less than a wild-card spot ought to be considered a failure of a season. That is how they should be operating.

Team owner Bob Nutting shockingly spoke like a fan last week, saying all the things everyone else is saying. He criticized the offense. He said the team must make additions, even well before the July 30 trade deadline, and advanced the idea that the pitching is something the Pirates must “take advantage of.”

Look around. After the division leaders and the Braves, the National League stinks. The Pirates have experienced some positive developments in winning six of their past 10 games. Rowdy Tellez is smashing the ball. Luis Ortiz spun it Tuesday. Bryan Reynolds is playing like a $100 million man, leading NL outfielders in total bases, leading all outfielders in assists and riding a 23-game hitting streak. Several injured pitchers are slated to return.

I love the rotation going into the second half. The bullpen should be much better, especially if David Bednar makes a quick return from his oblique injury. Cherington needs to bolster his lineup, although internal improvement from the likes of Ke’Bryan Hayes and any outfielder besides Reynolds would sure help.

The Atlanta Braves Sid Bream slides across the plate to win the National League Championship Series as the Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Mike LaValliere applies the late tag in the ninth inning 14 October, 1992 in Atlanta, GA. The Atlanta Braves won the game 3-2, and will meet the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.
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In the meantime, you can’t say the first half has been boring. Frustrating at times, exhilarating at others. But never dull — and absolutely worthy of an awards ceremony.

Envelopes, please ...

First-half MVP: Paul Skenes. True, Skenes didn’t arrive until May 11, but Mitch Keller didn’t really arrive until May, either. Both have been brilliant since. Keller’s on pace for 20 wins. Reynolds has been incredible after a slow two months. Skenes quite simply changed everything the instant he arrived. He has been good-to-great in every start. His 2.14 ERA would rank third in the NL if he had enough starts. His presence, crazy as it sounds, makes the Pirates a legitimate World Series threat if they reach the playoffs. That’s how good he is.

LVP: Hayes. There is no shortage of candidates for this award — Jack Suwinski and Henry Davis spring to mind — but based on expectations and contract, Hayes takes the prize. Some had him as a low-key NL MVP candidate. It looked like he’d finally turned the corner offensively last season, crushing the ball over his final three months. Then this: .222 average, .584 OPS, three home runs, 18 RBIs. His back is an ongoing issue and could explain his troubles. The Pirates desperately need him.

Surprise: That Nutting actually talked baseball during a season, before the trade deadline. I do not recall that ever happening before. He easily could have avoided addressing the media at the Sheetz event (and why didn’t the Pirates invite Jeff Reed as a speaker?). He clearly wanted to put a message out there.

Disappointment: Henry Davis hammered the ball in spring training and appeared ready to make a leap. He has regressed, instead, to the point where people are beginning to wonder — perhaps unfairly — if he’s a bust.

Best moment: Skenes fanning Shohei Ohtani on three straight 100-mph fastballs in their first career matchup (right after he struck out Mookie Betts).

Worst moment: Giving the Cubs six bases-loaded walks in one inning — the most in an inning by any team in 65 years — as Kyle Nicolas kicked off the debacle with 12 straight balls.

Things I did not have on my Pirates Bingo card: The rotation being this good. ... Jared Jones busting out as a spring training star and the Pirates putting him on their opening day roster. ... Skenes up by May 11. ... Joey Bart looking like Johnny Bench. ... David Bednar blowing as many saves (three) in the first two weeks as he did all of last season. ... Andrew McCutchen leading the team in home runs for much of the first half. ... Andy Haines keeping his job this long when so few of the team’s young hitters are progressing. ... Nick Gonzales, a notable exception, carrying the club for a month. ... Bailey Falter toting a 3.22 ERA into June. ... Tellez, likely a six-month resident in Pittsburgh, telling Pirates fans “we don’t do that here” after they booed Bednar (although it turned out a number of them were booing manager Derek Shelton). ... Tellez’s monster June. ... The Pirates winning a game in which they issued six bases-loaded walks in an inning — which they did, beating the Cubs, 10-9.

Joe Star­key: jstar­key@post-ga­zette.com and @jo­e­star­key1 on X. Joe Star­key can be heard on week­days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

First Published: June 27, 2024, 10:32 a.m.
Updated: June 27, 2024, 7:06 p.m.

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