Josh Bell is an animal.
He made that clear when he did this — from his weaker, right-hand side, no less — in the second inning of the Pirates' 5-4 loss to the Tigers Tuesday at PNC Park:
Sure, the Pirates lost, and sure, Bell fell silent after this hit early in the game. Most notably, he grounded into a game-ending double play in the bottom of the ninth with two on and a legitimate chance to tie or win.
To which I present my first thought:
1. Leave Josh Bell alone
So Bell wasn't the hero tonight. Yeah, he could've been, and yeah, it would've been a sight to behold if he blasted one into the river to walk things off in dramatic fashion. With Starling Marte on first, a simple double probably would've won the game. I get that.
But the fact remains, Bell leads the NL with All-Star votes. He's coming off a Player of the Month performance in May.
He'll be fine. If you want to be angry or you want to spew some vitriol, that's cool, too. I understand how frustrating this team — and this organization — can be. Just keep your venom away from No. 55 for now. It was a less-than-perfect game during a less-than-perfect run. All along, fans and media alike have projected a regression of some sort for Bell. He just couldn't maintain that pace for a full 162-game season. It was unfair to ever think that could happen.
But now that it's happening, don't act surprised. He'll level off, and the footing he finds will be more than adequate.
For now, just chill on Bell. Enjoy what he does do and don't dwell too much on his groundouts and his double plays.
2. Keller can play ... I think?
I don't know what to make of Mitch Keller. I don't know if the Pirates know what to make of Keller, either. In fact, I'm unsure it's the right time to "make" anything of him. He's a 23-year-old pitcher working through the bumps of big-league play, and his performance is pretty much as expected.
Sometimes, he flashes brilliance:
Sometimes, he commits a throwing error to first after fielding a routine sacrifice bunt. Sometimes he lets his curveball — which was largely considered a strength but has gone underutilized at MLB level — hang a little in the zone.
"I left a few up, especially in that first inning," Keller was saying of his curveball at his stall postgame at PNC Park. "Other than that, it felt pretty good, we were just going slider over that tonight."
In his MLB debut, Keller allowed a first-inning grand slam en route to one of the most brutal debut innings a young pitcher could expect. I was there in Cincinnati watching it happen. I distinctly remember thinking, "Oh, no. They gotta pull this kid before he's ruined forever." It was bad.
Only the Pirates didn't pull Keller. They left him in the game, and he responded by pitching three shutout innings, striking out seven and retiring 10 of his last 11 batters. Shows how much I know.
His second outing against the Braves last week, on June 12, was worse. He allowed six earned runs in three innings, notching 45 strikes on 71 pitches. Again, it was bad.
So when he took the mound Tuesday evening at home for the first time in his career, nobody knew what to expect. The Tigers had four runs by the time he left the mound, but just two of those were on Keller, as a Jung Ho Kang fielding error resulted in the other two, which brings me to...
3. The third-base mystery
Do you know who will hold down third base for the Pirates moving forward? I don't.
Kang had this brutal error Tuesday:
But then he rebounded with a triple and a clutch walk. Then he took two bases off an error just for a little sprinkle on top.
Is that a good performance or is it a bad performance overall?
I just ... I don't know. Colin Moran drove a run home in pinch-hitting duties, and he's been consistently good for some time now. Kang's upside is evident, but his mistakes are, too. His game against the Tigers presented a perfect microcosm of all that.
Then there's Ke'Bryan Hayes, the heir apparent in Triple-A Indianapolis just waiting for his shot. Even Kevin Newman (more on him in a second) can and has played third. There are plenty of options here for the Pirates, and there are no clear answers.
Forced to pick, I like Moran to be the everyday starter with Kang subbing in on matchup-specific days. Let Hayes develop. Let Newman get reps at shortstop while Cole Tucker continues to grow.
That, to me, is the play right now. But I'd be lying if I said I felt strongly about it.
4. Adam Frazier can't do this
Frazier needs to be better. At the plate. In the field. Everywhere. The Pirates cannot afford to have No. 26 floundering like this:
I don't know what that is. Truly. Frazier wasn't available to media after the game, so I didn't get to hear his side of the story on this one. Clint Hurdle summarized it as amicably as possible postgame, saying, “I think we had a chance to turn two conventionally. I think we had a chance to shovel it to second, turn the ball back to first base … There’s a play to be made there, and I don’t think that’s the one.”
No, Mr. Hurdle, that's definitely not the one. Couple that with an 0 for 3 performance at the plate tonight, and I kinda understand why Frazier bounced before facing the music at PNC Park. Our fearless leader Dejan Kovacevic still believes in him, and even now I recognize this was a particularly bad showing for him.
But the hourglass is draining here. He needs to step up — soon.
5. Newman can play ... I know.
Before the game, Newman sat at his locker, a ball of athletic tape in his hands. A trash can sat some 10 feet away. Newman spun in his chair and fired. I could almost hear the "Kobe" chants raining from the stands.
But there was no swish. He didn't even find the rim. Newman missed the can entirely, an airball approximately three feet too strong.
"You picked the right sport, man," I offered with a chuckle.
Newman returned the laugh with a "No kidding" and it all just felt right.
Because after much debate and much consideration, along with a whole lot of, "Can he or can't he hang at the highest levels," all Newman's done is light it up on the field when given the chance.
There was this late, game-tying triple against the Tigers Tuesday:
In the past seven days, Newman's batting .348/.400/.478 with three doubles, a run and four RBIs. He's reached base safely in 26 of his past 28 games. He hasn't committed an error since June 6 against the Braves, a 10-game stretch.
Don't look now, but Kevin Newman might just be a ballplayer, Lunatics.