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Here's why the Pirates have benched Andrew McCutchen all week
It hasn’t been the best week for the Pirates, their fans ... or their former MVP.
The team seemingly threw in the towel on the season Monday by trading starting pitchers Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese — just two days after dealing closer Mark Melancon. And then came word that center fielder Andrew McCutchen would get an extended break in hopes that some time off will snap him out of his offensive funk.
McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP and an All-Star in the each of the previous five seasons, is suffering through a miserable year. His .241 batting average is more than 50 points below his career norm, and his .311 on-base percentage is nearly as unsettling. His .719 OPS is 170 points below his career average, and he has struck out in 25 percent of his plate appearances.
He hasn’t been in the lineup since Sunday and won’t return until at least Friday.
“He’s tried a lot of things. This man’s fought and shown up and done early work, late work, side work, video work. I just encouraged him, in some situations like this, what I’ve seen happen with good players, you just unplug them,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The manager’s got to do it. I’m just asking you to sign off on it.”
Although McCutchen would prefer to play every day, he understands the decision.
“We sometimes get spoiled with it,” McCutchen said via the Post-Gazette. “When you have the year that you’ve had, the years that I have had, it can sometimes spoil people because I can actually be average. … I’m not hitting how I normally have hit in the past four or five years. I know what I’m capable of doing. I’m not accepting where I’m at, I’m still going to keep working. I haven’t given up on myself, that’s not in my DNA.”
Despite it all, Pittsburgh is just three games back in the race for the second NL wild card as it seeks to reach the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. But the deficit certainly seems larger.
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