Pittsburgh Pirates being half a game from first amidst brutal losing streak shocks MLB fans: "NL Central just at peak mediocrity"

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been astoundingly bad lately. After getting off to a hot start and surprising everyone, they have petered out and reverted to the mean and then some. They have gone a paltry 6-17 over their last 23 games.

However, this has shockingly not buried them. They were in first place in the NL Central and now, they're in second place. What's more shocking is that they're just half a game back of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Conversely, they're also just four games up on the last-place Cincinnati Reds, so the NL Central is very tight and they're all hovering around .500. The Pirates may not be the contenders everyone thought they were, but they're still more than capable of competing in what has turned out to be a disappointing division.

MLB fans are shocked at the run the Pirates have gone on and even more shocked that it hasn't buried them far in the cellar of the NL Central.

Comment by u/BackgroundElephant39 from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/dropperofpipebombs from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/Wraithfighter from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/UnfortunatelyBasking from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/thecountoncleats from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/banme_if_i_comment from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/Bluehale from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/KimHaSeongsBurner from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

Comment by u/Merkles_Boner_ from discussion [Bunter] The Pirates are 6-17 in their last 23 games and 1/2 a game out of first in the NL Central. Incredible. in baseball

The Pirates were a shockingly good team to start the year. Everyone was firing on all cylinders. Bryan Reynolds played so well the team extended him. Andrew McCutchen looked like the old version of himself that won MVP with the Pirates. The pitching was lights out.

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Pittsburgh Pirates have regressed to the mean

Now, they've returned to the mean and regression has hit them hard. In the offseason, no one expected them to be good and there was a reason for that. Streaks happen in sports, but it does appear as if the current version of the Pittsburgh Pirates is more in line with what their team will truly be.

Are the Pittsburgh Pirates done?

Fortunately for them, the rest of the division doesn't appear to be that much better. The St. Louis Cardinals, the defending champions, are off to a very poor start in the post-Yadier Molina era.

The Brewers have struggled and the Reds and Chicago Cubs were expected to be bad as well.

Perhaps the Pirates can recapture enough of that early magic to make a run at a playoff spot, though.