The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has been rock solid under manager Clint Hurdle, but early on this season, it can be a big thing holding the team back from winning.
I will preface this by saying 10 games is way too early and way too small of a sample size, but still the current body of work needs to be judged and that is where relief pitching has fallen short.
This season, the normally good Pirates bullpen has a 5.11 Earned Run Average through 10 games.
I know what you’re thinking: What about what Neftali Feliz and Mark Melancon? Both of them sure haven’t been slouches.
Neither of those two pitchers are the reason for this problem with Feliz limiting his overall damage to one hit with a 0.19 WHIP in 5.1 innings pitched, and Melancon holding a 2.08 ERA in his 4.1 innings.
That 5.11 ERA figure includes the 2.1 shutout innings recent call-up A.J. Schugel had Wednesday.
Yikes.
So where has it gone wrong?
Let’s start with the obvious candidate, Arquimedes Caminero. This is not because of an 0-2 record, though his 7.50 ERA is showing that he is being hit hard.
Caminero is most known for a fastball that can touch 100 miles-per-hour or a higher and a slider that reaches the low-90s. In the second half last season, he also developed a sinker, which was used to get more balls on the ground. This was a big reason why he got out of a large rut.
It has been an inconsistent start for the right-handed reliever. A lot of that has to do with strike one. Against right-handed batters this season, Caminero goes with a cutter 21 percent of the time on a first pitch and 60 percent of the time, the batter got ahead. The most popular pitch is the sinker, which he throws 50 percent of the time and 50 percent of the time the advantage goes to Caminero. As the count goes toward two strikes, Caminero leans on the cutter and the sinker usage is down to eight percent. It is the fastball at 38 percent that he favors to get the batter out.
When it comes to left-handed batters, Caminero goes for the first pitch sinker 70 percent of the time. To date this season, Caminero has yet to throw a first pitch fastball to a left-handed batter. Caminero seems to use that fastball most when ahead in the count at 50 percent and as a result, eliminates using his cutter.
All told, teams have shown an ability to scout him and know what to look for. At-bats have become deeper early on and the contact has been rather hard.
Take J.D. Martinez’s at-bat Wednesday for example. He worked a 3-2 count and sat slider seeing that Caminero took a liking to the pitch in Cincinnati earlier this season. He got just that and missed it. The swing may have surprised Caminero because he lost Martinez. Two batters later, Caminero missed location again and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a grand slam. That was the game.
Caminero had ups and downs last season and may be the biggest casualty of Jared Hughes being injured. His responsibility has become bigger and Hughes in addition to Joakim Soria, provided room for growth where mistakes were more accepted and understood.
Hurdle has already placed Caminero in high-leverage situations, and Wednesday illustrated his trust in him by pulling Ryan Vogelsong, who located exceptionally well in his five-inning outing. The move blew up in his face, and Caminero was missing location on several pitches.
Tony Watson’s outing Wednesday is not too concerning, as he has been bouncing back and forth quite a bit, but seeing him make so many mistakes at PNC Park, where he had a 1.28 ERA from 2013-15, is extremely uncommon.
The Pirates had just come back to cut their deficit to 4-3, and when Hurdle sends Watson out there, it is with the understanding that the score will not change. Well the score certainly changed, as a Martinez sacrifice fly and Nick Castellanos two-run home run ensured that.
Kyle Lobstein and Cory Luebke kind of are in similar boats. Both have had struggles locating pitches and now Luebke’s journey took another pitfall, as he was placed on the disabled list with right-hamstring tightness.
Luebke did not appear hurt during a 30-pitch appearance Wednesday in which he walked three batters in two-thirds of an inning. When Hurdle removed Luebke, there was no discussion of an injury.
Lobstein has been all over the board with nine hits, five runs, four walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings.
Not good enough.
I guess what I am trying to say is that all of the so-called experts said the Pirates’ downfall would be starting pitching.
Sure, Gerrit Cole is still working his way back from injury and Jonathon Niese is working with pitching coach Ray Searage, but the starting pitchers have a 3.80 ERA.
The defense has been average to above average in the early going, and the offense has made up for a lack of power with extra patience and selectivity at the plate.
That leaves one trouble spot – the bullpen.
Baseball is a 162-game season and considering the bullpen’s track record in recent years it would come as no surprise to see things change. But for now, it is clear as day that this is the void.
Photo credit: John Minchillo/AP Photo
