Buccos Socked in Chi-town, 16-5.

As you might suspect, there's nothing good to say about a 16-5 loss, regardless of the competition. Each team has to survive a few big losses every year, so I don't want to overstate anything, but 16 runs, 19 hits, and 9 runs given up by an increasingly inept bullpen is definitely cause for concern.

If the Pirates are going to be competitive down the stretch (which they aren't), there is at least one question that needs to be answered: When, if at all, is the starting pitching going to come around? Snell is now 3-7 with a 1.873 WHIP and a 71 ERA+. (Those of you unfamiliar with ERA+ should know that 100 is the league average.) He has an 8.14 ERA and a .948 OPS on the road, which has to be enough to drive Jeff Andrews insane. Gorzelanny (on the hill as I write this) is equally as terrible, with a 1.769 WHIP and a 62 ERA+. Those aren't even splits; those are his season stats. Duke and Maholm have been consistently average, which is a huge step forward for both of them, but not the stuff that competitive teams are made of. Dumatrait has potential, and has generally done well, but it'll be interesting how the league responds to him the second and third times around.

Obviously, one of the biggest problems with the starting pitching debacle has been the overuse of the bullpen. Capps, Marte, and Grabow are right around 34 IP, Yates is at 31 IP, and Osoria is at a whopping 48 2/3 IP. That projects close to 80 IP for the first four, and 111 IP (!) for Osoria. John Russell doesn't seem to trust Burnett or the former Indianapolis reliever of the week, so it looks like the aforementioned five will be accounting for the majority of the bullpen innings for the foreseeable future. And to be honest, if I'm a potential trade partner seeking Grabow or Marte, I'm not going to be enthused if either already has 50+ innings on the odometer before July 31, especially if I'm looking to acquire lefty bullpen help for the playoffs.

Also, the offense is bound to stop angering PECOTA, and at least two of the trio of McClouth, Nady, and Doumit are bound to see their numbers regress closer to their career averages. Of course, we're due for LaRoche's second half heroics, but overall, it seems likely that the Bucs will put up at least slightly less runs once the outfield production starts to slip. By that same token, Snell and Gorzelanny are due to improve any day now, so I guess the question is which one will happen first and to what degree, and what kind of effect it will have on the second half.

It seems obvious to say the pitchers need to pitch better for the team to win, but that doesn't make it any less true. The strong production of the outfield has in large part kept the team afloat (despite a Pythagorean record of 32-39), but without improved performance from the rotation, the real record will start to more closely resemble its Pythagorean counterpart. Now that Bay is sick and Doumit is concussed, with Nady maybe or maybe not going to the DL, Sanchez still bothered by his shoulder (I don't care what anyone says, the guy is obviously hurt), and LaRoche waiting to exhale, getting good starting pitching is the only chance the Buccos have to enjoy a winning second half.

And to his credit, Neal Huntington says the quest for a .500 will not take his eyes off the bigger prize. Let's just hope it doesn't take another fifteen seasons to get there.