Tim Benz: Pirates offense tells us Bob Nutting is either lying, or he believes his own baloney

Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting is either a liar, or he believes his own line of B.S.

I’m not sure which is worse, but his team’s impotent offensive lineup would suggest he’s guilty of the latter.

Prior to last week’s home opener at PNC Park, Nutting had the temerity to tell MLB.com, “I think that I’ve done everything that I can to provide the tools and resources to the team. There is a point where it becomes execution. That’s why you play the season.”

Well, unless the Pirates start hitting better, there really is not much use in playing for the rest of the season, but let’s focus on the broader scope of Nutting’s quote.

If Nutting has truly provided the finances necessary to field a capable lineup, then this is what his manager (Derek Shelton) and his general manager (Ben Cherington) are trotting out on a regular basis:

• A team batting average of. 198, the worst in Major League Baseball.

• A team slugging percentage of .301, the worst in the National League.

• A team home run total of eight, the lowest in the National League.

• A team strikeout total of 125, tied for third-most in MLB.

• An occasional lead-off hitter in Jack Suwinski, who has a strikeout rate of 13 Ks in 30 plate appearances and a .120 batting average.

• A designated hitter in Andrew McCutchen, who is 38 years old and is currently being pressed into service in right field.

• No pure first baseman to speak of.

• The team’s most notable free agent bat, Tommy Pham, is 5 for 40 (.125)

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On Wednesday, the team went 13 innings, scoring just two runs. What remained of the 8,430 fans in attendance managed to watch just five Pirates hits over the course of 3 hours, 23 minutes. They were no-hit through six innings. Four lead-off walks occurred in the first six innings. None of them got to second base.

As a result, if Nutting truly believes his own baloney about doing “everything that I can to provide the tools and resources to the team,” then he needs to fire Cherington and Shelton because they can’t figure out the execution part of the equation at all.

They haven’t so far this year when it comes to assembling a competitive lineup, and they haven’t for the previous five years.

If the responsibility for execution is on them, then actually make them responsible.

According to Spotrac, the Pirates cash payroll of $96.1 million is 28th in baseball. Only two teams (the White Sox and Marlins) are lower. That’s $84.8 million below MLB’s average.

Therefore, honestly, I don’t know how any GM/manager combinations could succeed under those circumstances. However, in terms of cash layout last year, Detroit only spent $120 million, won 86 games, and went to the playoffs.

The Pirates spent $110 million and finished with only 76 wins. The Tampa Bay Rays won 80 games and spent $5 million less than the Pirates.

The 2013 Pirates roster that won a wild-card game (when there were only two wild cards) put up 94 wins with the 24th-ranked cash payroll at $86.2 million. The next season, the payroll dropped by $4 million (cash) and they made the wild card round again anyway.

So, Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington figured it out for a while. Find two more guys like them then, Bob. If you — truly, honestly — have “done everything” you can while your chief lieutenants haven’t paid off your, um, sincere efforts, then swap them out now.

Again, though, that’s only if Nutting honestly believes his own horse pucky. Otherwise, he’s just lying and hoping we believe him.

If you do, I’ve got a case of Surfside and some Bucco Bricks I’d like to sell you.

Listen: Tim Benz hosts his weekly baseball podcast with TribLive’s Kevin Gorman