Hey guys, what's with all the K's. Every day in checking the box score, I see 12, 13, 14 strikeouts per game. I haven't seen anything less than 10 recently. Does Ritchie need to be DFA'd or what. So many people left on base in key situations because of the Big K. That seems to our biggest problem.

I'm holding back blaming Ritchie. At the start of the season fans were calling for his head. But when the players suddenly remembered how to HIT, Ritchie became a near-genius for "turning things around".

These Ks indicate to me that the players are struggling all around - trying too hard to do too much too soon in their at-bats, and failing. I bet both Ritchie and Hurdle are exasperating themselves telling the boys to FOCUS on their goal at the moment - whether it's to advance a runner, hit to the right instead of the left, work the count, or whatever.

This slump and the Ks that fill it are directly the fault of the men with the bats in their hands. They need to stop trying so hard, stop thinking so deeply.

IMHO

I read that they crossed the 1,000 mark for K's with only Houston ahead of them by a few. That tells me that even when the offense was hot , when McCutchen was carrying the team, others were busy flailing away at a ridiculous rate. Someone should be held accountable for such ineptitude.

Well, athletes that do incredible things end up on a box of Wheaties. The Pirates are unique.

They want their picture on a box of "Special K"

They are rivaling Holland for windmills in full operation.

You just noticed this? They are actually striking out less now.

The reason for all the K's is that we are running AAA ball players out there against major league pitchers in the heat of a pennant race.

Potash asked Ritchie if he plans to do something in response to the swings and misses. The Fan reported that Ritchie said the best thing is to do nothing.

NO i didn't just notice this, just thought i would pipe in my 2 cents of frustration like everybody else. And it's hard to believe they are striking out less.

They want their picture on a box of "Special K"
That's a good one surgnbuck

Fictional interview with Ritchie.
Potash, "Greg, have you talked with the hitters about adjusting their swings with two strikes?"
Ritchie, "Huh"
Potash, "Like choking up a little or shortening their swings to increase chances of making contact?"
Ritchie, "Hitters don't choke up any more. Our boys swing for the fences in all situations."
Potash, But the Pirates are almost league leaders for whiffing, wouldn't it help if they actually put the ball in play?"
Ritchie, "Dan, putting the ball in play is overrated, a productive K can be a good thing."
Potash, "How?"
Ritchie , "Only I and a few posters on the Pirate forum understand the complexity of it."
Potash,"So , what can Pirate fans expect to see from Pirate hitters?"
Ritchie, "Aggressive at bats Danny boy. Walks and working the pitch count are for puzzies."

Not hard to find the answer. They look at pitches down the middle, get 2 strikes and then chase strike 3 in the dirt or head high. Most will never swing at the 1st pitch and opposing pitchers are all too aware of this.

He learned that from Huntington.

Yep, the number of Ks on this team is criminal - and has been since the start of the season.

It really came to a head in the Cardinals and Padres series' this week. Night before the 19-inning game, I believe, bases loaded in the eighth, middle of the order up - Alvarez Ks for the first out, Jones Ks after a 3-0 count and the Pirates end up with zilch.

Is Pedro, in particular, kidding? He's three-pitches-and-sit-down so often that if it's a 5-pitch at-bat, he gets patted on the butt for going deep in the count. And gotta love Cutch, but wow - he's recently been making an art form out of K-ing in big RBI situations.

Wild card season or not - if Ritchie's the batting coach next year, sumthin smells in Pittsburgh. Apart from Neil Walker, virtually nobody else on this team displays any awareness of situational hitting or working the count.

When half of the team's outs in any given game come from Ks, it's incredibly hard to win. Not making contact is the ultimate "bad out." For an offense that's already challenged, Ks only amplify the weakness.

Now that the homers have dropped off, we're seeing that excessive Ks definitely can cost you the game - this team's playing like it's May again, and the record reflects it.