Pirates have their fall guy in mind, but he should by no means be only one fired

The Pittsburgh Pirates were in the middle of what could be perceived as a breakout season. Not only did they have young pitching they could hang their hat on, but they were sitting at 54-52 before the trade deadline, just 2.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL. Against all odds, they were right in the thick of it.

Unfortunately, the Pirates have collapsed ever since the deadline passed. They enter Tuesday's game against the Texas Rangers with a record of 58-66. They're sitting in last place in the NL Central, and are 8.0 games back of the third Wild Card spot as of this writing. Their season isn't completely over, but it sure feels like it is. With how they've been playing, it'd take a miracle to turn this thing back around.

Assuming the Pirates miss the postseason, this will be their ninth straight year watching meaningful October baseball from their couches. That simply should not be tolerated. Sure enough, the Pirates might have already identified a potential fall guy according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

"The Pittsburgh Pirates’ free-fall out of the NL wild-card race could cost manager Derek Shelton his job, or at least result in some changes on his coaching staff."

Assuming the Pirates don't go on some miraculous run down the stretch, there seems to be a good chance that Pirates manager Derek Shelton, or some of his staff, will be let go after the season. While that might make some sense, that's far from the only move that should be made.

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Pirates can't let Ben Cherington off the hook for late-season collapse

The Pirates hired Cherington in the 2019 offseason as they were in the midst of four straight seasons of no playoffs. Since hiring Cherington, they've won 276 of the 670 games they've played. That's good for a .411 winning percentage. This includes a pair of 100-loss seasons, and the short season in which they had just a .317 winning percentage.

He has done some good things in his rebuild, particularly in the pitching department but the Pirates are what they were when he started - a losing ball club. Cherington had a chance to help them win, but clearly did not do enough.

Armed with a young and exciting pitching staff, Cherington had one clear objective in the eyes of most - he had to add to the offense. He did that through trades for Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan De La Cruz, but really? That's it? Those guys were seriously going to get them over the hump?

In Cherington's defense, no major bats were moved and owner Bob Nutting likely wouldn't have approved massive payroll additions, but c'mon. Things have to have ended up better than they have. Yes, it's on the players who play the games, but Cherington did not do enough to put them in a position to win.

This will likely be his fifth-straight losing season, and it's hard to identify when the end of that streak is. If there's going to be a fall guy for this season, let it be Cherington. Don't let him have the opportunity to hire a second manager when he hasn't done any winning in this organization yet. Shelton can go, but they need bigger changes in Pittsburgh. The owner won't fire himself, so Cherington is the most impactful one who can go.