BRADENTON, Fla. – Defense was the Pirates’ weakest point last season and has continued to be during spring training.
The Pirates have made 36 errors through 33 exhibition games. That is the second-highest total in the major leagues behind the Astros’ 37.
Defensive efficiency rating, which is the percentage of outs made on balls in play that are not home runs, puts the Pirates’ fielding in a slightly better light. Their .660 mark is 17th among the 30 MLB teams.
Last season, the Pirates had the sixth-most errors in the majors with 105 and their DER of .686 was 20th.
The Pirates’ poor defensive showing in Grapefruit League play is not because of a lack of effort. They go through fielding drills on an almost daily basis before exhibition games and improving the defense has been one of the primary themes since camp began more than a month ago.
Yet with the start of the regular season less than a week away, the defense is reason for concern for a team that went a surprising 82-79 in 2018 and fancies itself as a contender in the rugged National League Central.
“We’ve put in the work and we believe it is going to pay off,” Clint Hurdle said.
Hurdle didn’t say that with his fingers crossed or while holding his breath, but he could have.
What the Pirates could use when their season opens next Thursday in Cincinnati against the Reds is for some of their players to following Corey Dickerson’s lead.
Dickerson arrived from the Rays in a trade during spring training last year with a reputation of his best defensive position being designated hitter.
“He was a hack in left field in Tampa, an absolute hack,” a veteran National League scout who watched Dickerson play frequently with the Rays told me. “He had no range. He couldn’t get to anything. When he wasn’t DHing, they’d put him out there and hold their breath that no balls were hit his way.”
That all changed last season. Dickerson wound up being the NL Gold Glove left fielder.
“I’m as proud of that as any achievement I’ve ever had in my life,” the 29-year-old Dickerson told me. “I worked really hard to improve my defense. I put the time in with KB (first base and outfield coach Kimera Bartee). I wanted to prove to everybody that I could be a good defensive player.
"People don't know the hundreds of hours I put in working on my defense. I work on weaknesses and my strengths. It's important mentally to know I can go out there and perform. I knew I could do it and take it to the next level. As the year went on, my confidence just grew and grew. It's about growing and continuing to get better. If you're not, you may as well hang them up. I'm always trying to get better."
The statistics backed up Dickerson’s award-winning performance.
He made only one error in 266 total chances, an errant throw against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Aug. 26. His 16 defensive runs saved were second-best among NL left fielders, only one less than the Braves’ Adam Duvall.
“What Corey did last season is something any player can take inspiration from,” Hurdle said. “He showed what a motivated man is capable of doing.”
The Pirates believe their infield defense will be bolstered by having three new starters in Adam Frazier, Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez. Time will tell whether that turns out to be the case, but Josh Bell looks shakier than ever this spring after he had minus-9 DRS a year ago.
Starling Marte’s DRS was also down last season when he moved to center field from left field, dropping to minus-1 from nine.
Dickerson also had a single-mindedness last season when it came to raising his batting average.
He finished at a career-best .300 after shortening his swing and choking up on the bat with two strikes. Dickerson was a .280 hitter through his first five seasons.
Though Dickerson was the starting designated hitter for the American League in the 2017 All-Star Game, he found 2018 to be more gratifying.
“I set out to change some things about the game and I did it,” he said. “It was a good feeling.”
Dickerson is feeling much more comfortable in his second season with the Pirates. He arrived last Feb. 22 under hectic circumstances, getting designated for assignment by the Rays, then having his wife give birth to the couple’s second child on the day of the trade.
However, Dickerson was able to put all that aside and have a fine season, though his home runs dropped to 13 after hitting 27 the year before while playing his home games at more hitter-friendly Tropicana Field.
“I pride myself on taking care of business and playing the game the right way," Dickerson said. "No matter what happens or who you play for, the performance just kind of takes care of itself. I just concern myself with my work ethic and my camaraderie with my teammates. It's important to get along with those guys. As far as success, I never really worry about it. Results take care of itself."
How much longer Dickerson will enjoy that camaraderie remains to be seen. He turns 30 in May and becomes eligible for free agency at the end of the season.
The Pirates have shown no interest in extending Dickerson’s contract, and he could be traded at the July 31 deadline if they are out of contention.
“It's great to be part of this family,” Dickerson said. “It's a great environment. I love it here. I'd like to stay. We’ll see what happens.”
MORE PIRATES
• The Pirates chose Erik Gonzalez as their starting shortstop earlier this week and I have yet to talk to one scout this spring who thinks he can be an everyday player. The same refrain I keep hearing: "He's a nice utility infielder, but he's going to get exposed playing five days a week." -- Perrotto in Bradenton, Fla.
• It would seem to be in the best interest of both parties for the Pirates to find a trade partner for Kevin Newman. Newman lost out to Gonzalez for a starting job, he has fallen behind Pablo Reyes in the utility infielder pecking order, and their shortstop of the future, Cole Tucker, will play at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. Newman has no future in the organization and the Pirates might be able to get a second-tier prospect in the lower levels of the minor leagues for him. -- Perrotto in Bradenton, Fla.
PENGUINS
• Mike Sullivan is widely considered one of the NHL’s very best coaches. He’s one of the best at X’s and O’s and is one of the league’s more progressive minds. But he’s going to have to dig deep into his bag of tricks to help get Phil Kessel back on his game. Sullivan might have to try his hand at sports psychology. Kessel, whose last even-strength goal came at the end of January, has been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury in recent weeks, but that wouldn’t keep him or anyone out of the lineup. Besides, the problem with Kessel is in his head and hands, a team source told me. Kessel has simply “lost confidence in himself, his shot and his stick.” Benching Kessel has never been an option, either. It’s not about keeping an ironman streak alive. You simply don’t embarrass a veteran player like that, plus you never know when he’s going to snap out of it. But the Penguins need it to happen soon or this could be a short playoff run. That they are still even in a playoff position without Kessel scoring — or anyone else outside of Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel — is amazing. — Chris Bradford in Nashville, Tenn.
• The Penguins work on almost every situation during practice, including 5-on-5, 5-on-4, 5-on-3, 4-on-4 and 3-on-3. The one they don’t do a lot of work on is 6-on-5. That, of course, has been the Penguins’ Achilles heel this season, particularly of late. They have allowed seven goals to be scored after their opponent has pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker. It’s not a matter of practicing it, a source told me. It’s all about a mindset to defend and a willingness to do whatever it takes, even if it means taking a puck to the head. — Bradford
• It remains to be seen what Adam Johnson can bring offensively to the Penguins. He played in the top-six in Wilkes-Barre but will likely play on the fourth line in Pittsburgh. That's where he started out on Thursday night in his NHL debut. That said, Johnson can bring in a needed infusion of speed at this point of the season when legs are starting to get tired earlier. Johnson would also be wise to play a hard game, a source said, even if it’s out of character for him. The Penguins’ fourth line has grown vanilla in recent years and, really, since Ryan Reaves was traded. How, one asks, can you differentiate Garrett Wilson from Joe Blandisi, or Derek Grant from Tom Kuhnhackl, or Carter Rowney from Joe Vitale? You can't. — Bradford
STEELERS
• We've all seen the single-source stories coming out from interviews with Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell as they talk about their new teams and their time with the Steelers. We're not going to rehash any of that here. But I did trade some texts with a prominent offensive player regarding some of the things being said about Ben Roethlisberger in the national media. "It’s sad to see! Can’t respect them after doing that if u leave u leave no big deal but don’t try and lie on the way out!" For Brown, it's an attempt to look like less of the bad guy for forcing his way out in an attempt to get more money. For Bell, it's much of the same, though he's trying to make it look like he had more reasons than simply financial ones for sitting out all of last season. Does anyone really believe he passed on $14.5 million because he felt Roethlisberger wasn't going to call his number enough? That's exactly the opposite of his reasoning. He didn't want to be overused. As for Brown and Bell's contention that he felt frozen out of the offense, he had 14 more targets -- in the same amount of games -- as he had in 2016 (pre-JuJu Smith-Schuster) and had nine games with double digits in targets. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• There's been a lot of fretting about the Steelers not doing anything with the contract of Bud Dupree. But of the 32 players selected in the first round of the 2015 draft, not only did 11 not have their fifth-year option picked up, 16 are now with different teams. That's half who are no longer with the team that drafted them. After everything that has happened in free agency, Dupree's $9.2-million salary ranks 21st among edge rushers for 2019 compensation. And the Steelers obviously only have a one-year commitment to that. They can either take his potential replacement in this year's draft and move on next year, or they can see what the 25-year-old does this season and then make a determination about whether to sign him long-term or not. And Dupree's 2019 salary isn't even the worst for an edge rusher in the league on his fifth-year option. Atlanta is paying Vic Beasley $12.8 million in 2019. Beasley had 15.5 sacks in 2016, which is nice. In his other three seasons, he has 13 combined, including 5 in 2018, when he also had a whopping 20 tackles. The player right ahead of Dupree in terms of 2019 compensation ($10.1 million), Tyrone Crawford of Dallas, had a career-high 5.5 sacks in 2018. Dupree's contract is the cost of doing business at that position in today's NFL. -- Lolley
• Many of the rule changes proposed for 2019 involve tweaking replay in some way, fashion or form. But the Chiefs -- not surprisingly -- also have suggested that both teams get an opportunity to get the ball in overtime, even if the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown. That seems fair enough. Why should the team that wins a coin toss to start overtime have a decided advantage over its opponent? The NFL should go to more of a college-type overtime. There's no reason one team should simply get the ball, go down and score a touchdown to win the game. Yes, you have an opportunity to stop the other team, but why shouldn't your offense also be given the same opportunity? -- Lolley