Ben Cherington's shown endless shortcomings in his seven years as the Pirates' general manager, but the one that's shaken people on the inside the most is his slowness to act.
Like, on anything.
That needs to end, and it'd be nice if it ended today with these moves:
• Beginning with dumping one or all of Justin Lawrence, Yohan Ramirez and Brandan Bidois. The first two, in particular, are hurting not only the bullpen but also the entire operation. The walks. The hits. More walks. The hit batsmen. Still more walks. ... Enough.
• Reverse the outright idiocy of demoting Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen. He had every right late last night to sound like he'll demand a trade, if he hasn't already. He's far out-pitched Bubba Chandler, and he's done nothing to deserve this. What's more, when Chandler spent part of his time in relief in 2025, he had infinitely better command -- 31 strikeouts vs. four walks -- than he's shown so far. This should've been academic.
• Wait, Konnor Griffin was 'available to play' last night, per the team, despite a right 'forearm strain?' The sport's euphemistic term for an elbow ligament issue? Is there a second opinion?
Wake up, man. This season's different. Or it should be.
THE ASYLUM
DK: Cherington needs to wake up
Ben Cherington's shown endless shortcomings in his seven years as the Pirates' general manager, but the one that's shaken people on the inside the most is his slowness to act.
Like, on anything.
That needs to end, and it'd be nice if it ended today with these moves:
• Beginning with dumping one or all of Justin Lawrence, Yohan Ramirez and Brandan Bidois. The first two, in particular, are hurting not only the bullpen but also the entire operation. The walks. The hits. More walks. The hit batsmen. Still more walks. ... Enough.
• Reverse the outright idiocy of demoting Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen. He had every right late last night to sound like he'll demand a trade, if he hasn't already. He's far out-pitched Bubba Chandler, and he's done nothing to deserve this. What's more, when Chandler spent part of his time in relief in 2025, he had infinitely better command -- 31 strikeouts vs. four walks -- than he's shown so far. This should've been academic.
• Wait, Konnor Griffin was 'available to play' last night, per the team, despite a right 'forearm strain?' The sport's euphemistic term for an elbow ligament issue? Is there a second opinion?
Wake up, man. This season's different. Or it should be.
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