The good news is that the Pittsburgh Pirates are 6-2, the bad news is that the team’s bullpen has its fair share of issues right now. Even worse news is how poorly Clint Hurdle is managing the team’s bullpen.
Eight games into the season the Pittsburgh Pirates rank 12th in the National League in bullpen ERA (5.67) and FIP (4.07) and 14th in both walk rate (5.40 BB/9) and strikeout rate (7.56). A lot of these poor numbers stem from two things, though. The poor pitching of Dovydas Neverauskas and Josh Smoker, and one horrific outing each from Michael Feliz and Felipe Rivero.