Offense...

So...........

Where do we go from here?

Let's just face it. There is nobody in our system. Marte is not ready. Hague is not the answer. Fox is not the answer. Clement is not the answer. Mercer isn't the answer yet, at least.

We could try all of those guys, sure, but I don't think we're going to find any interesting results.

Max Scherzer appreciated the Pirates 15 K effort

A major league trade needs to be made. An Alonso type trade. A Bourn or a Pence type trade. Why? Our offensive problems are not temporary. There is nobody. NOBODY, outside of Josh Bell who looks like they could seriously cause some damage at the major league level.

Our pitching however, is pretty deep. Much deeper than thought at the beginning of the season. Guys like Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson look like they could come up and at the very least, fill a rotation spot. Brad Lincoln looks like he might be able to be successful in the rotation.

So here's what I would do.

Trade Joel Hanrahan, Erik Bedard and Jose Tabata.

What are you going to get for them? Who knows. Billy Butler? Alex Gordon? Justin Morneau?

Anyone would help right now.

You trade Joel Hanrahan because he is easily replaced. He doesn't have extraordinary trade value, but it isn't bad. I think Brad Lincoln, Moskos, or a number of other guys could actually step into the closer's role and be successful.

You trade Bedard because he has some good trade value right now while he is still healthy. It's not massive, there is a reason why we got him for so cheap. BUT, some teams do need some rotation help and he brings that. The Royals and the Twins though (the teams that have guys like Butler, Gordon, Morneau) probably won't be very interested in him. Easily replaced (probably not with as good of results, but worth it to get a bat) by Owens, Wilson or Lincoln.

Tabata is essentially a throw in. I don't think he carries major trade value as he hasn't proven much at the major league level, but he does add some intrigue due to a low age and decent upside. Easily replaced by Marte

Andrew McCutchen is absolutely killing it, but nobody else appears to want to contribute. Alvarez has reverted back to his early season self for the moment, Neil Walker isn't quite doing what he should be, and everyone else is just plain awful.

A few more notes and stuff

-Harrison isn't the answer at shortstop. Right now he's probably better than Barmes, but that won't last long. If both Barmes & Harrison play 162 games, Barmes is going to have better numbers.

-Speaking of Barmes, I would continue to play him for another couple of weeks. He isn't THIS bad. Nobody can possibly be this fking awful. His career hitting numbers aren't great, so I'm not sure what everyone is expecting, but he should be doing much better than this. An OPS near .700 isn't too much to expect, and would drastically improve this team.

-I like picking up Adam Lind, but the high cost might not be worth it. I think he could turn it around a bit, but probably not enough to justify his contract. Doubt we'll see him in a Pittsburgh uniform.

-Keep in mind, with all of this doomsday talk of the offense, the Pirates are still just 3 games under .500. They came very close to taking a series against the Tigers (who are also under .500 despite having a ridiculously powerful lineup).