The Dick Mountain Between Us

 

I just wanna soak this in for another moment.

Rich Hill...is still pitching in 2023. Rich Hill is still pitching WELL in 2023. Rich Hill is pitching well for the PIRATES in 2023. Rich Hill is pitching well for the FIRST PLACE Pirates in 2023. 

I...I kinda love this. You don't get stuff like this very often. I think the comparison most people have made to Hill is Bartolo Colon, and while Hill's gap between his breakout and comeback was a bit steeper than Colon's, his inability to stop working, even at 43, is a sight to behold. The man is 6-5, with a 4.23 ERA and 67 strikeouts, and is a crucial part of the Pirates' rotation. And not in an 'everybody keeps getting injured, our only hope is putting in the 43 year old' kind of way. Hill is doing way better than anticipated, and had a particularly impressive start the other day.

...I shouldn't be acting like this isn't weird. This whole team is weird. 'Vince Velasquez is out for the rest of the year, which really puts us at a disadvantage, but we at least have Rich Hill to pick up innings'. What the hell? And this is the FIRST PLACE TEAM.

Against all odds, whatever sorcery has brought the Pirates to the forefront of this division has been working, as they're 7-3 over their last 10 games, and have celebrated Andrew McCutchen's 2000th hit, Mitch Keller's 100th strikeout of the season and Jack Suwinski reaching double the current amount of Carlos Santana's home runs on the season. It's bizarre, but it's working. And Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Mitch Keller, Connor Joe, David Bednar and Jack Suwinski are all doing exactly as they should and lifting this team not only above Cincinnati, as people predicted, but above Chicago, St. Louis and, for the moment, Milwaukee. It is incredible to see this team doing this well, especially after people thought they'd cave back in after their big April start.

It's still only so impressive of a lead, as they're still only 33-30, leading by a game, and heading towards series' against solely divisional rivals for most of the rest of June, but seeing as both teams they're heading for, the Cubs and Brewers, have dropped like a stone in recent times, it's not insurmountable. There is good in this team, all it needs to do is stay intact and keep consistent, which may seem like a tall order for a team relying on Rich Hill, but it's not impossible.

Coming Tonight: #27, out of Millville.