Barnes: Pirates’ season far from over

Everyone seems to believe the Pittsburgh Pirates are bent on falling apart after the All-Star…Everyone seems to believe the Pittsburgh Pirates are bent on falling apart after the All-Star Break for the second season in a row, but I am not convinced.

Yes, the Buccos no longer sit atop the wild card race standings and are now only ten games over .500, but here’s the thing: They’re still in it just as much as they were when they led one of the wild card spots a short time ago.

So, let’s touch on a couple points as to why Pirates fans shouldn’t worry too much.

First, there’s a flaw within the mindset of Pirates fans.

Pittsburgh sports fans shouldn’t fret over the Pirates losing in the same way they might if the Steelers or Pens were to lose a few games.

For example, look at a series in June against the Baltimore Orioles, in which the O’s swept the Pirates in Baltimore. At the time, many began to jump off the Pirates bandwagon and proclaim the sweep as the beginning of the end of the Pirates’ season. It wasn’t.

Now, if the Steelers had a three-game losing streak, there would be reasonable cause for concern. Three games compose nearly a quarter of the NFL season, and playoff spots often come down to a difference of just one game between many, many teams.

With the Penguins, this tendency to worry also makes sense. If Sidney Crosby and Co. lose three in a row, that can sometimes constitute an entire week of losing.

But in baseball, the teams play 162 games: not 16, not 82 — 162. Three games in a baseball calendar make up fewer than 2 percent of a team’s entire schedule.

Fast forward to last week when the San Diego Padres swept the Pirates. Yes, it’s August, but the fact that the regular season is in its penultimate month doesn’t mean as much as many think.

There are still 32 games left to play. Last time I checked, that many games is still a lot of baseball, regardless of what month it is.

This leads into my second point: how comparing the Pirates’ current play to their fallout last season is misguided.

On this day last season, the Pirates held a record of 62-73, 11 games under .500.

Right now, the Pirates sit at 70-60, ten games over .500. Comparing the Bucs’ current state to last year’s on this very day holds no merit.

Last season, the Pirates lost 10 games in a row from the end of July through the beginning of August. Since the All-Star Break, the Pirates’ longest losing streak is three games. Three games. Not 10. Three.

Overall, the Pirates’ worst losing streak this season remains five games, the result of a couple of series played in April. Which, again, is nowhere close to 10 games.

As for discussion on the decrease in statistical production, it was to be expected. The numbers put up by the Pirates’ offense in June and July and the pitching staff in April and May were incredible. But, at the same time, those numbers were unsustainable.

During April and May, the Pirates’ hurlers had combined earned run averages of 2.78 and 3.58 and finished third and sixth in the league those months, respectively. They also kept men off the basepaths then, with 1.19 walks-hits per innings pitched in April and 1.29 in May.

In June and July, the Pirates led or were close to the top in the league in nearly every major offensive statistical category, and they then matched that astounding June production in July — a turnaround from atrocious production in April and May.

In June, Pittsburgh scored 146 runs, hit 39 home runs and posted an on-base plus slugging percentage of .785. In July, the Pirates put up 130 runs, clubbed another 39 long-balls and ended the month with an OPS of .786.

Now we see a majority of players regressing to their averages, which — despite how it sounds — doesn’t necessarily entail anything negative.

Starting pitcher James McDonald threw well in his last three starts. Andrew McCutchen still holds a batting average of .345, second in the National League. A.J. Burnett is still an ace and owns 15 wins so far.

The Pirates are not out of it. They trail a wild card spot by a game. One game looks really small compared to 33, doesn’t it?

But hey, don’t take it from me. If fans want to give up on this team and watch the Steelers or sit around waiting for the Penguins’ season to begin, so be it.

But if there were ever a time in the past 20 years to support your Pirates, it is now. If there were ever a time to pack a bar in the South Side or fill up PNC Park, it is now.

Fans have waited 19 years to see the Pirates make the playoffs.

As Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has said, he is all-in. The Pirates are all-in. If there were ever a time to go “all in” in your fandom, it is now.

This season is far from over. And fans better believe the Pirates are not throwing in the towel. These Pirates are far too talented and far too hard-working to quit on the fans and — more importantly — quit on themselves.

Let’s not quit on them.