GM Ben Cherington Takes Blame for Pirates' Collapse
When the calendar flipped to August, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in the thick of the playoff race in the National League. They had also brought in reinforcements at the trade deadline, including an infusion of offense with Bryan De La Cruz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Since then, things have not gone according to plan for the Pirates. They have won just three games in the past two and a half weeks and have fallen to last place in the NL Central. Pirates' general manager Ben Cherington blamed himself for the team's dramatic fall through August.
"We had a very difficult stretch," Cherington said on his weekly 93.7 The Fan radio show. "Ultimately, I am most responsible for that. We need to continue to make the team better." Cherington believes the Pirates still have plenty to strive for despite falling out of the playoff race.
"We set out to be better in 2024 than we were in 2023. That goal hasn't changed. That's still our focus."
The Pirates finished 2023 with a 76-86 record and eight games out of a playoff spot. Following their first series win in August this past weekend, the Pirates are on pace to finish with 76 wins and are 7.5 games back of a playoff spot.
If the main goal was to improve their record, they may yet find success. However, when you consider where they were at the start of this month, simply improving on a 76-win season feels much more like a failure than anything else.
NICK BELSKY