(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Back in February, it almost looked as if there would be no MLB games in 2022. Now the season is halfway over.

At the halfway point, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 39-54 and sitting in third place in the NL’s Central Division. Beaver County freelance sportswriter John Perrotto joined Matt Drzik on the July 21 edition of A.M. Beaver County to talk about the Pirates’ second half of the season, along with how they got to this point with everything that happened in the first half of the 2022 season.

In Perrotto’s eyes, the strength of the Pirates so far this year is their offense. He noted that the Pirates had the fewest amount of home runs in the 2021 MLB season with 124–20 fewer than the 29th-best Diamondbacks (144), and that they have nearly matched that with 97 in the first half. But on the other hand: “I think where they fall short is pitching,” he countered. “I don’t think they still have enough quality starting pitching to be a contending team. The bullpen has been okay, the starting pitching needs work.”

The Pirates aren’t the only team struggling in Major League Baseball this season; twelve of the 40 teams sit below the .500 mark with eight of those twelve having yet to reach 40 wins in the first half. Perrotto points to the system of financial success as the main culprit: “Unless you really feel you can make the playoffs, there’s no incentive to even try and put a good team together because you gain more from losing than you do from being just okay,” he added. “That’s something that neither the players nor the owners fixed in the collective bargaining agreement that they signed in March.”

The Pirates open their second half hosting the Miami Marlins on Friday night (July 22) at PNC Park. Coverage begins on Beaver County Radio at 6:40, and first pitch is at 7:05.

To hear the full interview with John Perrotto, click on the play button below!