But first the backstory: Tommy Pham's on second base. Eighth inning. One out. The Pirates are down a run after having been up a run after having been down three, and he's out there representing a chance to even the score yet again. With Andrew McCutchen up, no less.
And then:
Uh-huh.
Man, it takes a lot to rile up a Sunday afternoon crowd at PNC Park, with all the families and children in attendance, but I'd swear I heard language befitting ... well, befitting being picked off in that setting. By a 24-year-old reliever, Abner Uribe, who'd never previously registered an official pickoff in his career. With Uribe quite literally staring down Pham the entire time.
No, really ... HE'S STARING.
And this after the Brewers had already tried pickoffs at second base not once, not twice but three freaking times, including one from the catcher, William Contreras.
Which, after the Pirates would fall by precisely the margin of that one potential run, 6-5, brought my first insultingly stupid question for Don Kelly: Is having someone picked off second something you'd rather not see, particularly given that there'd already been three pickoff throws that way and one of those had almost nailed Alexander Canario?
Kelly's insultingly obvious answer: "Yeah, we need to be better there. Canario early on, that was close at second, too. Just something that we need to clean up and be better at, especially in that situation late in the game."
Second insultingly stupid question: And how does a manager go about instilling that?
Kelly's second insultingly obvious answer: "Talking to the players and also T-Brock and Rabs and making sure that we tighten that up. If we’re not going anywhere, if we’re not stealing, there’s no reason to get picked off."
See what I mean?
But you know, every once in a great while, I'd say, it's healthy to at least engage in the dialogue, if only so that we can all see how absurd this has all become.
So, it's one of two scenarios, then:
1. Kelly needs to communicate with his base coaches, Tarrik Brock and Mike Rabelo, as well as with all of his players that a 37-year-old veteran of 1,160 games and 4,520 plate appearances at the Major League Baseball level ... should stop doing that.
2. This roster's abominably bad but for a precious few exceptions.
It's a free country 'n' at, but I'm taking No. 2, you guys. And that's anything but Kelly's domain.
That's on Ben Cherington. All of this is.
Kelly isn't the one who, given voluminous smarter -- and affordable -- options in free agency, chose Pham at $4 million for one year, only to see him bat .198 with four whole extra-base hits, all doubles, over 141 plate appearances. But hey, he's at least been either surly or silent in the clubhouse, day after miserable day, rather than offering any semblance of the leadership he was supposed to offer.
Kelly isn't the one who, for $5 million over the same year, could've had Austin Hays in this outfield. He's 29, he was signed by the Reds in January after one down year, and he's batting .324 with a .951 OPS, six home runs and 24 RBIs.
Kelly isn't the one who's keeping Pham on the active roster, for that matter. He should've been designated for assignment weeks ago, if only to brighten the broader mood a bit. But then, that'd be acknowledging yet another waste of money.
Kelly isn't the one who oversaw the disintegration of the developmental system reach the extreme that there was a for-real spring battle for a corner outfield spot between Josh Palacios, Jack Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae. Those three, to date in the majors this season, are batting a combined .193 -- 28 for 145 -- with 50 strikeouts.
Kelly isn't the one whose system's so bankrupt of hitting, top to bottom, that Joey Bart, the player who's assumed the mathematical majority of the cleanup at-bats this season, has one home run and 11 RBIs.
Kelly isn't the one ramming Jared Triolo onto the active roster in spite of a .136 average over 100 plate appearances, including his ongoing 6-for-56 free fall.
Kelly isn't the one who redirected money initially intended for the big-league payroll this past offseason into an even larger army of advanced analytics types.
Kelly isn't the one in charge of those advanced analytics types who think so much of their own status that they've made their own custom 'PIRATES ADVANCED ANALYTICS' logo to brand their stuff. (Swear to God. Saw it today for the first time on a giant trunk for all their equipment that for some reason needs to travel with the team to Phoenix and San Diego.)
Kelly isn't the one attempting to sell to the citizenry, as Cherington did this morning on his weekly radio show, that there's offensive help on the way ... in Class A Greensboro. Where three 21-year-olds are off to encouraging starts. In Year 6 of his tenure that began with a total teardown. (Can't make this stuff up.)
Kelly isn't the one who watched his bullpen get so beaten down over this weekend -- despite commendably terrific starting pitching -- that Ryan Borucki pitched for the third time in four days in blowing the lead today, that Dennis Santana had pitched four times in five days, that Caleb Ferguson had pitched three times in four days and five times in eight days ... without anyone being brought up from the minors for this game.
And want to know something else?
By summer's end, Kelly won't be the one held responsible for this.
Nor should he. He's managed all of 16 games, 10 of those — like this one — have been decided by a single run, and he's 7-9. That's not awesome, and I wouldn't pretend otherwise. But there's also been a clear difference in how the team's carried itself, on and off the field, not least of which was the comeback here today.
Kelly had every right after this to say, “The guys are coming together, playing hard. We’re finishing games. We’re battling back. Today, we get down 3-nothing in the first inning. Easy to pack it in. The guys continued to grind, battled back and we took the lead. Unfortunately, we didn’t hold onto it. That’s part of the game and we’ve got to keep on going and building off what we were doing this homestand.”
They've got Paul Skenes, bequeathed by the baseball gods above. They've got Oneil Cruz, a Neal Huntington acquisition, bombing balls at unprecedented velocities. They've got Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller, two more Huntington acquisitions. All are top-shelf talents, including Reynolds once he'll inevitably get right.
They're 19-35.
The GM won't be here in 2026. The manager will.
The GM's done his damage. Give the manager a chance.
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THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
10:53 pm - 05.25.2025North ShoreDK: This sure isn't Kelly's mess
Two insultingly stupid questions.
Two insultingly obvious answers.
One simple conclusion.
But first the backstory: Tommy Pham's on second base. Eighth inning. One out. The Pirates are down a run after having been up a run after having been down three, and he's out there representing a chance to even the score yet again. With Andrew McCutchen up, no less.
And then:
Uh-huh.
Man, it takes a lot to rile up a Sunday afternoon crowd at PNC Park, with all the families and children in attendance, but I'd swear I heard language befitting ... well, befitting being picked off in that setting. By a 24-year-old reliever, Abner Uribe, who'd never previously registered an official pickoff in his career. With Uribe quite literally staring down Pham the entire time.
No, really ... HE'S STARING.
And this after the Brewers had already tried pickoffs at second base not once, not twice but three freaking times, including one from the catcher, William Contreras.
Which, after the Pirates would fall by precisely the margin of that one potential run, 6-5, brought my first insultingly stupid question for Don Kelly: Is having someone picked off second something you'd rather not see, particularly given that there'd already been three pickoff throws that way and one of those had almost nailed Alexander Canario?
Kelly's insultingly obvious answer: "Yeah, we need to be better there. Canario early on, that was close at second, too. Just something that we need to clean up and be better at, especially in that situation late in the game."
Second insultingly stupid question: And how does a manager go about instilling that?
Kelly's second insultingly obvious answer: "Talking to the players and also T-Brock and Rabs and making sure that we tighten that up. If we’re not going anywhere, if we’re not stealing, there’s no reason to get picked off."
See what I mean?
But you know, every once in a great while, I'd say, it's healthy to at least engage in the dialogue, if only so that we can all see how absurd this has all become.
So, it's one of two scenarios, then:
1. Kelly needs to communicate with his base coaches, Tarrik Brock and Mike Rabelo, as well as with all of his players that a 37-year-old veteran of 1,160 games and 4,520 plate appearances at the Major League Baseball level ... should stop doing that.
2. This roster's abominably bad but for a precious few exceptions.
It's a free country 'n' at, but I'm taking No. 2, you guys. And that's anything but Kelly's domain.
That's on Ben Cherington. All of this is.
Kelly isn't the one who, given voluminous smarter -- and affordable -- options in free agency, chose Pham at $4 million for one year, only to see him bat .198 with four whole extra-base hits, all doubles, over 141 plate appearances. But hey, he's at least been either surly or silent in the clubhouse, day after miserable day, rather than offering any semblance of the leadership he was supposed to offer.
Kelly isn't the one who, for $5 million over the same year, could've had Austin Hays in this outfield. He's 29, he was signed by the Reds in January after one down year, and he's batting .324 with a .951 OPS, six home runs and 24 RBIs.
Kelly isn't the one who's keeping Pham on the active roster, for that matter. He should've been designated for assignment weeks ago, if only to brighten the broader mood a bit. But then, that'd be acknowledging yet another waste of money.
Kelly isn't the one who oversaw the disintegration of the developmental system reach the extreme that there was a for-real spring battle for a corner outfield spot between Josh Palacios, Jack Suwinski and Ji Hwan Bae. Those three, to date in the majors this season, are batting a combined .193 -- 28 for 145 -- with 50 strikeouts.
Kelly isn't the one whose system's so bankrupt of hitting, top to bottom, that Joey Bart, the player who's assumed the mathematical majority of the cleanup at-bats this season, has one home run and 11 RBIs.
Kelly isn't the one ramming Jared Triolo onto the active roster in spite of a .136 average over 100 plate appearances, including his ongoing 6-for-56 free fall.
Kelly isn't the one who redirected money initially intended for the big-league payroll this past offseason into an even larger army of advanced analytics types.
Kelly isn't the one in charge of those advanced analytics types who think so much of their own status that they've made their own custom 'PIRATES ADVANCED ANALYTICS' logo to brand their stuff. (Swear to God. Saw it today for the first time on a giant trunk for all their equipment that for some reason needs to travel with the team to Phoenix and San Diego.)
Kelly isn't the one attempting to sell to the citizenry, as Cherington did this morning on his weekly radio show, that there's offensive help on the way ... in Class A Greensboro. Where three 21-year-olds are off to encouraging starts. In Year 6 of his tenure that began with a total teardown. (Can't make this stuff up.)
Kelly isn't the one who watched his bullpen get so beaten down over this weekend -- despite commendably terrific starting pitching -- that Ryan Borucki pitched for the third time in four days in blowing the lead today, that Dennis Santana had pitched four times in five days, that Caleb Ferguson had pitched three times in four days and five times in eight days ... without anyone being brought up from the minors for this game.
And want to know something else?
By summer's end, Kelly won't be the one held responsible for this.
Nor should he. He's managed all of 16 games, 10 of those — like this one — have been decided by a single run, and he's 7-9. That's not awesome, and I wouldn't pretend otherwise. But there's also been a clear difference in how the team's carried itself, on and off the field, not least of which was the comeback here today.
Kelly had every right after this to say, “The guys are coming together, playing hard. We’re finishing games. We’re battling back. Today, we get down 3-nothing in the first inning. Easy to pack it in. The guys continued to grind, battled back and we took the lead. Unfortunately, we didn’t hold onto it. That’s part of the game and we’ve got to keep on going and building off what we were doing this homestand.”
They've got Paul Skenes, bequeathed by the baseball gods above. They've got Oneil Cruz, a Neal Huntington acquisition, bombing balls at unprecedented velocities. They've got Bryan Reynolds and Mitch Keller, two more Huntington acquisitions. All are top-shelf talents, including Reynolds once he'll inevitably get right.
They're 19-35.
The GM won't be here in 2026. The manager will.
The GM's done his damage. Give the manager a chance.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
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