What kind of manager might Derek Shelton make once the Pirates become meaningful again?
That's not easy to answer, of course, since ... you know, they're not. And haven't been for a solitary day of his two-year tenure. Every lineup he writes up, every move he makes, every remark about everything he does, it's accompanied by asterisks galore. Because of youth, development, payroll, the phase of the building, all that stuff.
For now, here's what I've got: Pirates 2, Brewers 0.
Bear with me, please. I'm not about to forecast that every time the local team falls into a six-game losing streak and it's facing an opponent flying high on an 11-game winning streak, this will be the scene:

JUSTIN BERL / GETTY
Kevin Newman, Ben Gamel and Bryan Reynolds celebrate the Pirates' victory Sunday at PNC Park.
Nor that Tyler Anderson will ride a dominant cutter en route to seven sizzling innings. Nor that David Bednar and Richard Rodriguez will wrap it up. Nor that Wilmer Difo will be both the offensive and defensive hero. None of that or, for that matter, the outcome on this Fourth of July at PNC Park carry any kind of pattern.
Except for one: They caught the ball.
Funny thing about this terrible team that's now 30-53 and pacing toward 100-plus losses: They've made a dramatic, if almost wholly unnoticed, upgrade in fundamentals.
Yeah, Will Craig did the dumbest thing we've ever seen on a diamond, and Ke'Bryan Hayes nearly one-upped him by skipping a base on a home run, and the Pirates will always catch extra flak for any screw-up because they're the Pirates. Which is fine. They have that coming after four decades of mostly failure.
But it doesn't alter the facts: Their .985 fielding percentage ranks ninth among Major League Baseball's 30 teams, their 43 errors are the eighth-fewest, and they've played 50 of their 83 games error-free. In 2020, Shelton's debut season, they ranked 29th in fielding percentage. No team has climbed more places in this category than his.
Are they perfect?
Heck, no. If anything, the underlying advanced analytics strongly suggest they've got tons of room to improve when it comes to range. But range is about talent. Fundamentals are about doing what's supposed to be done. And there can't be any question that's happening.
Look at it individually: Kevin Newman hasn't hit much, his home run here Sunday notwithstanding, but he's now gone a franchise-record 71 consecutive games without making an error at shortstop. He's the first to do that from the start of a season since Omar Vizquel's 89 in 2000, the first ever in the National League. Adam Frazier's a two-time Gold Glove finalist. Ke'Bryan Hayes is a Gold Glove waiting to be plated. Colin Moran is a monstrous plus over Josh Bell. Bryan Reynolds has been outstanding in what should've been an uncertain transition from left field to center. Jacob Stallings might be the game's premier defensive catcher. And between Stallings and Michael Perez, the Pirates are now the only team in the majors without a single passed ball.
Anyone know about this?
For the record, this is the best way to tell a good manager from a bad one. Not the batting orders, which have almost no effect on winning or losing. Not the pitching changes, which are 99.9% dependent on performance. Nope, it's about fundamentals.
This, from the moment I met Shelton, has been his top priority. He wants to see the Pirates known, at all levels, for being intensely schooled in what they're supposed to do.
"I do value that," Shelton was telling me the other day in Denver when I brought up these metrics. "What it tells me is that the practice that we're putting in and the way that Joey Cora and Mike Rabelo put together our practice plans are working and we're seeing the benefits of that."
Cora, the third base coach, and Rabelo, the assistant hitting coach, arrange all fielding work. Both are also prone to randomly dropping a ball in front of a fielder, anywhere at any time, at which point the fielder's expected to pick it up cleanly, then take whatever else Cora and Rabelo toss at them next. These can go on for as long as a minute.
"We have to play fundamental baseball to be in games," Shelton continued. "Obviously, we’re not going to score a ton of runs, so we have to do things fundamentally right. We have to catch the baseball. I think the way we've outlined our practice and how we're going about it is important, not only for us but organizationally because we're kind of the leader in terms of organization at the major-league level of what we're doing and how we're doing it. When our guys in development see this, then they realize, ‘Hey, this works and it's playing at the highest level.’ "
But the Craig gaffe?
"I think that was a one-off play, and we'll probably never see it happen again. Will made a mistake, it was a learning point for everybody in the organization."
Yep. On this day alone, the Pirates benefited big-time from a gem at third base by Difo, as well as a smooth 3-2-4 double play in which Phillip Evans abandoned first to charge the bunt, among other solid work:
Shelton lit up when I mentioned after the game that this was a welcome quiet one after a long week.
"Really fundamental," he replied. "Difo makes that play in the first, the double play was outstanding, and then Tyler just continued to go. We needed a clean game like this, an executed start like this."
None of those will go Craig-level viral, but Shelton and the Pirates are right to weigh the overall volume being very much in their favor.
"I think we've got an outstanding defensive team," Newman told me. "We work at it, our coaches preach it, and we're proud of it. All of us."
"It's not an accident," Reynolds essentially echoed. "We're prepared for just about anything. Even great plays like the ones Key makes. You've got to practice those to pull them off in a game."
I'm not about to put a bow on 23 games under .500. But I find it plenty fair to praise the manager for delivering on his most important task.
• Remember when I wrote from Denver the other day that the franchise was experiencing 'rock bottom' with that lineup?
Well, along came this beauty Sunday:

Funny game, this baseball. Frazier and Reynolds go a combined 0 for 7, Hayes and Stallings get the day off ... and W!
Still don't ever want to see its like again.
• Couldn't be happier for Reynolds. What a ballplayer. What amazing recognition to receive, being voted an All-Star by his peers via the player vote.
I asked about this Sunday and got the trademark, deep-voiced, whatever-toned, "Yeah, I guess that's nice. I'd have taken it either way."
What a future he's got. And yeah, that'll be right here.
• In general, for any player to become a bona fide All-Star on a team trending hard toward 100-plus losses is impressive. I vividly recall the howling in 2010 when Evan Meek, a setup reliever, was selected off a roster that'd go on to 105 losses.
But to have two? And to have Frazier voted in by fans, the other by peers?
That'll be the highlight of this summer by a mile.
• Anderson's got to go. No point keeping him. None. He's 31, he's a lefty, he did what he did Sunday -- the seven scoreless innings, three hits, six Ks, two walks -- against a division leader, and he's bound to be worth a little extra just for being a starting pitcher.
That won't be any fun, man. Meaning the rotation without him. It'll be JT Brubaker and a lot of crossed fingers.
• Presuming the Pirates' internal evaluation of the top handful of prospects in the July 11 draft is that they're of roughly equivalent value, there's zero harm in choosing the one with the lowest bonus demand. Because that, in turn, allows them to acquire more talent in later rounds.
Thing is, that's a presumption we can't make in any convincing way, which is why it's unsettling.
My default stance on this front office is to trust. Ben Cherington's a smart man who's succeeded to the extreme elsewhere. He's surrounded himself with similarly smart, successful people. But he's got to prove himself in Pittsburgh, with all the constrictions here and while cleaning up the many messes left behind by Neal Huntington and Kyle Stark. That's not the same. That's an immense challenge.
The fact that most scouting services fluctuate this draft class at the top, with no one close to a consensus No. 1, strongly supports an approach of using signability as a weapon. It really does. And if Cherington can parlay that into an extra high-ceiling prospect, the Pirates will enhance their chances of getting someone -- or multiple someones -- to Pittsburgh.
For right now, Cherington's claiming his staff hasn't picked an approach -- "The truth is, we don’t know what strategy we’re going to use. We’ve got a week to figure that out," he spoke Sunday -- but he's sent up enough signals to indicate he'll utilize signability.
I'll keep saying it: Better get it right. Or, better get them right.
• There'll be no greater common misperception in the coming days than that, if the Pirates take the player at 1:1 who'd sign for less, they'll be taking the cheap route.
Truth: The draft cap for the Pirates, highest of anyone, will be $14,394,000.
Truth: Ever since the draft cap was formed -- as a result of the Pirates grossly over-spending on the Josh Bell class, by the way -- the Pirates have spent every penny, something Cherington's publicly committed to doing. Including again Sunday.
Rip the franchise. Go nuts. I couldn't care less. But at least get the info right.

PENGUINS
• Not going to lie: I'm enjoying the Lightning's dominance over the Canadiens in this predictably flawed Stanley Cup Final.
Partly because there's a devious part of me that's enjoyed seeing Canada go without a Cup since 1993. I find few things more insufferable than the inexplicable, indefensible sense of superiority so many Canadians have about their beloved sport. This at least keeps that in check until the next Olympics.
I also enjoy this partly because the Bolts do it right. No, the Habs aren't nearly as boring as some suggest. It's not possible for a roster with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and other skilled youngsters to be boring. But neither are they the best team in hockey, one that's built on elite skill, speed and an uncommon size component to match. The Bolts have all that and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Their cap circumvention notwithstanding, they're eminently deserving of the second championship in a row they could clinch tonight.
• Only one other team's won back-to-back in the cap era, of course, and that'll lead, inevitably, to comparisons between what we're witnessing now and the 2016-17 Penguins.
Which team was better?
Which run would be more impressive?
I'll take Tampa, though not by much. The Penguins obviously have their two big superstars and received an all-world performance from Kris Letang against the Sharks. But the Bolts have Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point both doing historic things, a still-sizzling-when-healthy Steven Stamkos, the best defenseman on the planet in Victor Hedman and the best goaltender on the planet in Vasilevsky.
Also, I do believe history should be extra kind to any championships won amid a pandemic. The discipline required to excel in that setting -- and bear in mind the Bolts celebrated in front of zero humans in Edmonton upon beating the Stars last summer -- is something else entirely.
• If the Penguins had Vasilevskiy or Carey Price or any other goaltender in the NHL's top dozen or so ... oh, you know.
It's rare for a GM to enter an offseason with so clear a singular mandate, but Ron Hextall's full focus needs to be finding someone to either push or supplant Tristan Jarry. Preferably someone with significant playoff pedigree. Set aside the size, the truculence and all else until this gets solved.
It's already a damned good hockey team. But it's got to believe in the guy in the back.
• In case anyone ever needs a reminder as to why NHL officiating is the absolute worst in sports, press play:
"Just as coaches and players make mistakes, officials do on occasion as well... It is the nature of human element of calling our game."
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 28, 2021
Gary Bettman spoke about the high standards of officiating in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/zL8sdP1YKp
Wow. This guy.
He's basically blaming the players for how playoff games get officiated. He'd actually go on to respond to a pointed follow-up question by saying, “I don’t think it would be fair to suggest that any of these games are being decided by the officials. They’re being decided by the players on the ice, as they should be."
Uh, no. When 'the players' are allowed to break the rules, they'll do so. At which point 'the players' are partaking in an unfair and dangerous event.
My favorite of all came when he stressed that the NHL's been tough on slashing -- it has -- “and we’re looking at crosschecking.”
Actually came from his mouth. They're 'looking' at enforcing a clear-as-day rule that's been on the books since Aurèle Joliat was riding dog sleds to rinks in Saskatoon a century ago.
This commissioner's the problem. Always has been. Will remain that way until he's out.
• Which is to say nothing of his casual, almost caustic dismissals of questions regarding the sickening scandal in Chicago regarding alleged sexual abuse a decade ago by Bradley Aldrich, a video coach with the Blackhawks at the time.
From Bettman: “The reaction whenever you hear allegations like that are concerning, but my first reaction is: ‘Tell me the facts.' Once we know what the facts are, we’re in a better position to evaluate what may or may not need to be done.”
The facts?
OK, here's one fact: After Aldrich was done with the Hawks, he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old Michigan boy while volunteering for a high school team in 2013. That's a fact, as affirmed by our criminal justice system.
That should've been more than enough for the NHL to take swift, aggressive action in the form of a league-level investigation, but Bettman instead has allowed the Hawks to hire a law firm of their choosing to conduct what the team's calling 'an independent review' as to who knew what and when and what, if anything, was done about it.
Sure. That'll work.
Yet again, the problem's at the very top. Bettman's obviously not responsible for what happened, but he sure will be if it happens again. Or if others who were assaulted anywhere don't feel the league will support them.
• Say it with me: Best sport, worst league.
And by far the worst commissioner. Which is saying something considering his competition includes Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred.

CAITLYN EPES / STEELERS
Ben Roethlisberger and Najee Harris talk during OTAs last month on the South Side.
STEELERS
• We can all agree that Dallas represented the Steelers' real line of demarcation in 2020, right?
Yeah, they beat the Cowboys down in Arlington, 24-19, but it was devastatingly awful considering their opponent was down to their fourth-string quarterback. Everything but the final score was about as bad as it gets.
Also within that: This would be the game that pretty much ended Ben Roethlisberger effectively balancing the run and pass. Before Arlington, the Steelers were 7-0, and Ben attempted 36 or fewer passes in five of those games. After that, his attempt totals were, in order, 42, 46, 51, 53, 37, 38, 49 and ... yeah, all 68 of those passes against the Browns in the playoff collapse.
Coincidence?
Not a chance.
Few offenses succeed with a single dimension, and that goes double when piloted by a 39-year-old quarterback who can't move much anymore and, for whatever reason, doesn't throw downfield much anymore.
So, why should anything change in 2021?
Well, it might not. Ben might be stubborn and shrug off the run, even with Najee Harris in the fold, and only remember what the P stands in RPO, meaning the run-pass options he's given at the line of scrimmage. It wouldn't be surprising.
But it would be disappointing.
If I read this offense correctly at rookie camp, OTAs and minicamp, the team's commitment to the run will be real. I could see Najee touching the ball 30-35 times a game easy, especially if his frequent alignment as a wideout comes to pass. Mike Tomlin's playfully boasted in the past about "running the wheels off" a great back, and he's followed through. Le'Veon Bell was often involved in nearly half of all offensive snaps. And with Matt Canada's schemes stressing the run, the young offensive line's blocking emphasizing physicality, the first-round pick invested in Najee and, oh, yeah, Art Rooney II demanding it ... everything's in place.
If the quarterback cooperates.
Here's hoping, partly for his sake, that he does. Because there's no scarier thought for the season than Ben dropping back 45-55 times a game behind this line. He won't make it even halfway. He really won't.
He sounds like he realizes all of the above, as well as the broader need to run, but he'll have to follow through.
• I know the term 'game manager' causes most quarterbacks to break out in Trent Dilfer-sized hives, but Ben could be an excellent one at this stage of his career.
• I feel like the only one in town who believes in the two tackles, Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner. And within that, the only one in town who believes that, if they're OK, the offensive line will be OK.
That's all right. Just wait. I have doubts across the middle, but these two can play.
• Breakout player for 2021: I'm torn between Devin Bush and Chase Claypool.
Bush was very much trending that way before going down to the knee injury, and Claypool flashed occasional superlatives. Both have ceilings way higher than what they've shown to date, so both can go off big. But I'm leaning toward Bush, mostly because it'll be in his hands. He doesn't have to rely on the quarterback or being chosen out of 4-5 options or the revitalization of the deep game. He's the singular star in the middle of the defense. He could be -- should be -- involved in everything.
It's surprising how few seem to be taking Bush into account. Yeah, Bud Dupree's gone, but this guy's back. That alone, I'd think, is a wash, even if they're at different positions.
• This tweet, by the way, from Bush a couple days ago ...
If you a grown man & you got TikTok on yo phone stay TF from around me.
— Devin Bush ll (@_Dbush11) July 1, 2021
... sure made a stir on social media, if only because it sounded like he might've been poking JuJu Smith-Schuster and/or Claypool. Which would've mushroomed into mega-headlines everywhere.
As it was, there was some fun back-and-forth that followed, and that was that.
But let the record show here that ... man, I just don't care. At all. About any of this, including all kinds of other weirdness from Bush's account that followed, not least of which was laughing at a video of a cat being dropped from several stories to its presumed doom. I know that sounds cold, but I don't cover these guys for how they conduct themselves with this crap.
Win in Buffalo. Do it without petulantly stomping on the Bills' logo, but do whatever else fits the lifestyle after that.
• Meaningless prediction update: I'm still at 10-7 ... if I see the offensive line come together in the interior. And that'll be tough to evaluate even in preseason, so the hedging will go on for quite a while. Or until another veteran's acquired.
I do still think a lot of this team. But the question marks have to be answered with exclamation points.
• Only 18 days, from what I'm hearing, remain until Najee makes his first guy miss at Heinz Field. Can't wait.