Tim Benz: Pirates riding the ups and downs during the early stages of life without Oneil Cruz

Not one to show much emotion, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington couldn’t help hide a wry smile and a chuckle at the turn of phrase during a reporter’s question. The suggestion essentially was that once doctors performed surgery on Oneil Cruz’s broken ankle, it was “the best case scenario” diagnosis.

As in, no additional ligament damage was found, which may have complicated the shortstop’s return beyond the four months that he’ll already be shelved.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard ‘best case’ in this,” Cherington joked. “But, yeah, there are always alternatives that are scarier. But based on all the information we have now, we understand that he is going to make a full recovery, and that is good news.”

In terms of the team itself, though, the “best case scenario” heading into the season appeared to be chasing .500. And that was before the team’s most talented player was declared out until early August.

Since Cruz went down with his leg injury on Sunday, the Pirates held on to beat the White Sox, 1-0, that day and had a thrilling 7-4 walk-off win against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

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The importance of staying competitive and winning a few emotional, closely contested outings wasn’t lost on Cherington.

“It’s something the players talked about right away,” Cherington said. “This is just another challenge in front of us we’ve got to overcome. The most simple way to do that is to focus on the next pitch, and it’s an opportunity for guys to step up.”

All of that is especially important when the reality of not having Cruz is too much to overcome, as was the case in the other two games against the Astros when the defending World champions won 8-2 on Monday and 7-0 Wednesday afternoon.

“We did a good job. We saw the defending champions, and we saw their three best pitchers (Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy),” manager Derek Shelton said after Wednesday’s defeat. “We were in a situation (Tuesday) night when we had to come back and win, but we had been ahead. (Wednesday) we played well for six innings and just didn’t pitch well at the end of the game to give ourselves a chance.”

The players in the locker room advanced similar opinions. That playing their best ball in the immediate aftermath of Cruz’s injury means more than what may otherwise be the case in mid-April. That playing poorly and dropping a slew of games in a row may create a self-fulfilling sense that the team can’t be competitive without its leadoff hitter, shortstop and most gifted asset.

“Everybody knows Cruz is hurt,” first baseman Carlos Santana said Wednesday. “But we have a good group. The energy is great. The attitude is to play hard every day in the field. You never know. If we keep playing like (Tuesday night), we’ll see what happens later.”

Outfielder Bryan Reynolds suggested the Cruz injury can serve as a reminder to young players that no team ever gets the benefit of playing in a hermetically sealed bubble for 162 games.

“That’s a part of baseball, a part of all sports,” Reynolds said Monday. “Nobody is ever going to have a team that doesn’t suffer any type of setback. It’s all going to come down to how we respond to it. We have a good veteran group. We’ve got young guys that are focused, too. I think we’ll be able to handle it.”

The schedule will continue to test that resolve. The team doesn’t have an off day until April 24. After wrapping up against the Astros Wednesday, the Pirates now hit the road for seven straight games, the first four of which are against the defending National League Central Division champion St. Louis Cardinals, then it’s a three-game stop in Colorado.

Surviving the lack of power, production and energy Cruz provides in the short term will be one thing. Perhaps it’ll be extended if the Pirates do build up their sense of self-belief by staying afloat in the first few weeks of his absence.

How long that lasts into June and July, though, may be another story entirely. And it’s one that’s become all too familiar in Pittsburgh over the last few decades.