The Pittsburgh Pirates won't finish 2019 with the worst record in MLB much less the National League. But make no mistake. No team had a worse season than the Bucs.
A 21-41 record after the All-Star Break would be bad enough, but a litany of fights with each other and other teams, insubordination and now the arrest of closer Felipe Vazquez of sexual assault of a minor, a crime he has apparently admitted, has rendered Pittsburgh the least desirable organization in MLB.
Vazquez's arrest comes just over a week after he was fined $10,000 following a fight with fellow reliever Kyle Crick. In the fight, Crick sustained an injury to his right index finger requiring season ending surgery.
Although Pirates GM Neal Huntington and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle are not responsible for Vazquez's alleged behavior, the incident adds to the perception the Pirates are an organization in complete chaos. However, it is unlikely, that Huntington and Hurdle will walk the plank as they are under contract through 2021 as Bucs owner Bob Nutting loathes spending money.
If a head does roll I think it will be pitching coach Ray Searage. Although Searage was a pivotal figure in the Pirates three NL Wild Card berths from 2013-2015, his pitching staff this season have an ERA of 5.24, second worst in the NL only to the Colorado Rockies. Searage has been under scrutiny for some time now. The fact that his pitchers are putting up more of a fight against each others than opposing batters (except when pitching inside to the Cincinnati Reds) suggests a parting of the ways is in order.
Still, the arrest of Vazquez will cast a shadow over the franchise as big as the Pittsburgh drug trials of the mid-1980's. Short of a complete turnaround next season with a different cast of characters, the Pirates have once again become the Siberia of baseball.
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