The Pittsburgh Pirates are the worst hitting team in baseball.

Can you imagine a team whose batting leader is hitting just .247? That’s right, no Pittsburgh Pirates hitter has a batting average above .247. This is the season the Pirates have had. With a 56-92 record, the Pittsburgh Pirates sit last in the NL Central by a handful of games and have the second-worst record in the majors.

This is unfortunate when you consider the fact that just a few seasons ago, it seemed like the Pirates had a young core that could take the team to new levels. This seems far from the case at this point, as the hitting prospects for the team have never been so bad.

The one bright spot offensively in Pittsburgh is Garrett Jones, a minor league journeyman who, at 28, seems to have finally found his groove with the Pirates. In 269 at-bats, Jones has racked up 20 home runs and 40 RBIs, hitting .297 in the process (his average isn’t high enough to qualify as “official,” hence the fact that Andy’s .247 average LaRoche is the tallest on the team.) ).

Other than this, Zach Duke has been somewhat decent as a starting pitcher. A great start to the season has faded a bit, but the marked improvement from him over the past two seasons is remarkable. The same could be said for Ross Ohlendorf, whose 11-10 record and 3.92 ERA are a pleasant surprise for the team.

Still, when your batting looks like that of the Pittsburgh Pirates, does effective pitching make a difference?