QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS: Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Don Kelly Faces Scrutiny as Injuries TEST Roster

Pittsburgh Pirates face a crossroads as Don Kelly navigates his first full season at the helm—has organizational philosophy become the biggest roadblock to true contention? With the offense surging behind the likes of Oneil Cruz, Jake Mangum, and Ryan O'Hearn, questions loom over the Pirates’ bullpen management and the heavy reliance on analytics over gut decisions. Gary Morgan scrutinizes Don Kelly’s coaching staff shakeups, the controversial move from Oscar Marin to Bill Murphy, and the uneven integration of young talent like Esperlin Valdez and Tyler Callahan. The episode spotlights persistent bullpen struggles, including the use of Dennis Santana and the ongoing debate over workload management for starters such as Mitch Keller and Braxton Ashcraft. As the Pirates chase a playoff spot, can Kelly break free from the front office’s steadfast adherence to projections and adapt in real time to seize crucial wins?Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   Amazon This Back To School Season, spend less on your kids, with Amazon. With Amazon’s low Back To School Prices, just spend less on your kids. Because every dollar you don’t spend on them, is a dollar you haven’t spent on them.    Proton It’s easy to get started. Right now, Proton VPN is offering our listeners 70% off a two-year plan when you go to https://ProtonVPN.com/LOCKEDONMLB.   Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at https://Indeed.com/podcast   KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.