Pirates Power Rankings: Time to Mail it in

The Pittsburgh Pirates managed just one win last week, falling to the Cubs via sweep—a series that included one of the worst losses of the Derek Shelton era—before dropping two of three against Cleveland. 

They sit firmly in the gutter of the National League Central division, 16.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and 10.5 games out of the third and final wild card spot with 26 games left to play. Despite all the hype of a scorching start and the emergence of rookie flamethrowers Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, it’s looking like another lost season for a franchise that has known nothing but for decades.

Even worse, Pittsburgh (63-73) needs to play .500 baseball over the final month just to break even with last season’s 76-86 record. After an 8-19 swoon in August, it’s difficult to see that happening. 

Here’s a snapshot of what pundits had to say about the Buccos’ recent free fall.

• MLB.com dropped the Pirates to No. 25, tied for their worst ranking of the season. 
• USA Today pushed the Pirates down to No. 24, summing up the flippant attitude setting in with another lost season by asking “Oneil Cruz in center? Hey, why not.”
• Bleacher Report moved the Pirates to No. 23, firmly in the “thanks for playing” tier of teams washed out of the playoff race.