Sloppy Game, But a Win

Boy that was an ugly game, rife with errors, poor baserunning, moderate rain, player ejections -- and a bunch of homeruns by the Pirates, which is to be expected these days.  Neil Walker is legit. He leads all NL secondbasemen in offensive WAR (wins above replacement), which means he is the best hitter in the league at his position.  Robinson Cano is the only AL second basemen with a better oWAR.

If I felt like doing the research right now, I would investigate the following question: What infielder/outfielder duo from the same team has the highest WAR and oWAR?  Austin Jackson & Miguel Cabrera?  Melky Cabrera & Buster Posey?  Walker & McCutcheon have got to be right there near the top.  And that's a second baseman and a centerfielder, two guys who can also flash a little leather -- not a pair of sluggers at first base and right field striking out 150 times and costing 15 million dollars a year.

Think about this. McCutcheon is only 25; Walker 26. Pedro Alvarez is 24 and Starling Marte just 23.  Imagine those four guys playing out the primes of their careers over the next five to seven years at PNC Park, hitting 2 through 5 in the lineup.  That's legit.

Less than 20 games remaining to break the losing streak... 

Also, why doesn't Clint Hurdle pinch hit sooner for his starting pitchers?  Didn't Correia hit for himself tonight and then get replaced the next inning?  He hit in the bottom of the 6th and then didn't come out to pitch in the 7th, right?  Why wouldn't they send up Barmes to hit and double switch him with Mercer?  Because Clint Hurdle knew ol' number 69 was going to hit his first ever major league homer?  I doubt it.  Just because the bench was a player down with the demotion of Presley?  I guess...