The Pirates were swept over the weekend by the Nationals. Going into the series, Pittsburgh was on an eight-game winning streak. The reversal of form isn't a complete surprise, though, given that the winning streak was against three of the worst teams in baseball (Brewers, Phillies, White Sox), while Washington leads the National League East (after sweeping the Bucs).
This raises a concern: Are the Pirates a team that beats up on weak teams, but can't compete with good ones? Studies have shown that a poor record against teams with winning records portends problems in postseason play.
So far, the Pirates are, indeed, doing well against poor competition. Here's the record of National League teams against clubs playing below .500:
Cardinals 22- 9 .710 Braves 21-16 .568 Rockies 17-18 .486
Dodgers 31-13 .705 Padres 14-12 .538 Nationals 16-17 .485
Pirates 24-12 .667 Cubs 17-16 .515 Giants 21-23 .477
Mets 19-10 .655 Reds 14-14 .500 Phillies 10-15 .400
Diamondbacks 15-10 .600 Marlins 10-10 .500 Brewers 5-14 .263
Uh-oh. The Pirates have the third best record in the league against teams below .500. So they've been vulnerable to better clubs, right? Here are the NL teams against opponents playing .500 or better:
Giants 17-10 .630 Reds 18-22 .450 Marlins 20-31 .392
Cardinals 23-15 .605 Padres 20-26 .435 Brewers 20-32 .385
Cubs 20-14 .588 Diamondbacks 19-25 .432 Rockies 13-21 .382
Nationals 21-16 .568 Braves 14-19 .424 Dodgers 8-18 .308
Pirates 15-18 .455 Mets 17-25 .405 Phillies 14-32 .304
So, yeah, the Pirates have a losing record against teams that are playing .500 or better. But so do most teams. And, in fact, they're fifth best in the National League against teams with winning records. So there's really nothing to worry about, so far, which is more than can be said for the playoff contenders in New York and Los Angeles.
Baseball. Analysis. Analysis of baseball. Baseball of analysis. No, wait, that makes no sense.
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