Locke'd Out

After watching yet another ineffective start from Jeff Locke on Wednesday night, it is my opinion that the Pirates need to move on and away from this guy.  I am tired of the dance that the Pirates have been doing with guys like Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon and Steven Brault.  You know what I mean...bring him up, give him a spot start, send him back to Indy, bring him back from Indy, put him on the DL....yet Locke keeps getting sent out every fifth day in hopes for another "lightning in a bottle" start, like the one against Madison Bumgarner a few weeks ago, only to see him not make it out of the fourth inning AGAIN.

Taillon certainly seems to be here to stay, and, yeah, I know Glasnow still has that Too Many Walks Box to check,  but why was Chad Kuhl sent back to Indy after going toe to toe, pitch for pitch against Max Scherzer on Sunday?

Taillon, Glasnow, and Kuhl may become the Pirates equivalent of a Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz rotation someday.  Or, they may turn out to be the second comings of Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, and Oliver Perez.  I don't know, but I do know what Jeff Locke is, and it is time for the Pirates to move on.  It is my hope that Neal Huntington will make some sort of move or moves at the August 1 trade deadline that will allow the Pirates to revamp the rotation that will include guys like Taillon and Kuhl.

Speaking of Taillon, and it does appear that he now is a part of the rotation, I was fortunate enough to have seats right behind the Pirates dugout (thank you, Tim Baker) on Tuesday night so I was witness to the frightening scene of Taillon being hit in the head by a line drive.

"Frightening" is the best word I can use to describe it, and it is positively unbelievable that he was able to stay in the game and continue to pitch, and pitch quite well.

Tough kid.