In this weekly Monday feature, Post-Gazette writers Bill Brink and Stephen J. Nesbitt look back at the week that was and grade the Pirates’ performances in a few key areas.
The Pirates began the week by concluding a brutal 1-5 road trip before taking two of three from the Reds at home. At 55-54, they are three games back of the second NL wild-card spot. This was the first week of games after the Pirates traded Mark Melancon, Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese. They also dealt Arquimedes Caminero Saturday to make room for Jeff Locke in the bullpen despite the fact that Caminero had been much better since returning from the disabled list.