00:00Tom, let's start off with the Pittsburgh Pirates are just kind of hanging around in this wild card race.
00:05I mean, look, they got a chance here, Tom, to go for it.
00:08I don't know if they will or not, but this is as close as they've been in years.
00:11One of the reasons is they brought up this kid, Esmeriland Valdez, and he's hitting over 300 with 11 home
00:18runs.
00:18And Tom, every day you look up and he hits another home run.
00:22Like, this is an incredible story.
00:24You know, they signed Ryan O'Hearn to a two-year deal.
00:27I questioned it. I didn't think that that was a great deal, paying him all that money.
00:30It's worked out. He's been good, too.
00:32Pirates pitching is pretty good.
00:34But Valdez, let's give him credit.
00:37What a fantastic find he has been.
00:39I don't know that he's going to out-duel Sal Stewart for Rookie of the Year,
00:43but, man, what an incredible month and a half, two months here.
00:46Yeah, the Pirates certainly found a winning option with Valdez here.
00:50And, you know, they are and have been willing to take swings on some veteran players
00:56and then mix and match them with some younger players.
00:58To your point, they brought in O'Hearn.
01:01They brought in Brandon Lau.
01:03So they're trying to do a little bit of everything where they get a little bit of injection in the
01:06youth.
01:07They have some stability in their lineup.
01:08And it's caused them to be one of the best offenses in the league.
01:12They need a little bit of help when it comes to pitching.
01:14You know, I think it's a good staff.
01:16But they need one or two few more pieces in order to really push themselves into the wild card.
01:21Do I expect them to be massive buyers at the deadline?
01:23No, but one or two more could really help them.
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