Derek Holland sat in the visitors' dugout at Miller Park on Friday, head down, hunched over and a towel slung over his left shoulder, the pitcher contemplating what had just happened.
In a 9-1 loss to the Brewers, Holland had registered eight strikeouts. He also gave up three home runs, moving him into a tie for the MLB lead. The "softest" of those three carried a 107.3 mph exit velocity, while the Brewers walked four times and scored eight runs off the lefty starter.
The dichotomy of Holland's start _ good at times, hugely hittable during others _ was just the latest episode in what should be a wild couple of days for Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who earlier Friday made a move that signaled his intentions.
By trading Jarrod Dyson to the White Sox for international bonus pool money, Cherington hung a sign outside of PNC Park saying that he was very much open for business _ if that wasn't obvious already given the Pirates' record, which now stands at 9-20 after they lost for the ninth time in their past 10 trips to Miller Park.
But the Dyson move was interesting because it wasn't necessarily expected, as the 36-year-old center fielder was lugging around a .157 batting average. It's applicable here because Holland may offer the Pirates (and other teams) a pitching equivalent.
On one hand, Holland has been solid in spurts _ two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings in his Pirates debut, an earned run over 5 more in his last start, the one in Minnesota where he cruised through 5, encountered some trouble, and Miguel Del Pozo imploded.
What is Holland? It's a good question.
Another team could conceivably see him as a left-handed veteran who's comfortable working out of the bullpen for the stretch run, while others might've looked at his average exit velocity before Friday's start _ 93.3 mph, worst in MLB among pitchers who've faced at least 100 hitters _ and run the other way.
Even what Holland did against the Brewers provided little clarity. Holland struck out five through the first two innings and allowed just first baseman Jedd Gyorko's home run in the first. It came on a first-pitch fastball that Holland did not bury far enough inside.
Holland controlled his fastball and was around the plate a lot. Sixty-five of his 100 pitches were strikes, and he threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 26 men he faced. He might've actually been around the plate a little too much as evidenced by the turning point in this one, which came when right fielder Ryan Braun sat on a full-count sinker and drove it over the left-field fence for a three-run homer.
The location wasn't terrible _ low and inside, for a strike. But it appeared to be predictable, Braun either picking up a tell from Holland or simply guessing that he was leaning heavily on his sinker.
Catcher Jacob Nottingham got another low-and-inside sinker from Holland fourth inning and drove it 436 feet for a two-run shot, giving the Brewers a 6-0 lead. Left fielder Mark Mathias' two-run double in the fifth turned this thing into a laugher.
The Pirates did little offensively aside from JT Riddle's solo homer and Josh Bell picking up a pair of hits. It was also curious that manager Derek Shelton chose not to challenge what appeared to be a pickoff of designated hitter Avisail Garcia at first base in the fifth.
But that hardly mattered when you consider what Holland allowed, which marked the second time in five starts he's given up eight runs or more. Back on Aug. 8, the Tigers hit five home runs and scored nine earned runs off Holland.
So while Cherington will surely try to shop Holland _ and many others _ what happened Friday may have made that a little harder to do.
