Ray Searage: Pirates Have 'Perseverance Out The Yin-Yang'

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage joined "The Fan Morning Show" Wednesday to talk about the performance of his staff as September draws near.

Searage made his belief in his bullpen guys clear, despite their recent struggles, Those struggles continued last night when Tony Watson couldn't hold a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.

"I have the utmost confidence in these guys," Searage said. "They know what they have to do. They've got both feet planted on the ground. They're prepared. And you know what, if they have a bad day, so be it. You're not a superman. You don't wear that "S" on your chest and fly around the ballpark. You go out there and you give what you got that day. I can always rely on these guys to give what they got."

Searage told the guys that there's an incredible aura surrounding this team that was very evident last night, as Ike Davis helped the Pirates bounce back by hitting a three-run, go-ahead home run in the eighth inning.

"They've got perseverance out the yin-yang," Searage said. "It's awesome. It's really a pleasure and an honor to be around this type of team in that dugout, because of the personalities that we have. They're very talented, they're very single-minded about doing their job and trying to help the team win, and do whatever they possibly can."

Searage also mentioned that he thinks Russell Martin deserves much loftier praise in a division that has a number of talented backstops.

"I think [Martin] is underrated," Searage said. "A lot of people talk about [Jadier] Molina and [Jonathan] Lucroy, and we're a small market. You've got to look at this guy- if he's not the top catcher in the National League, I'll eat my hat. This guy, he's got X's and O's, he brings energy to the game, he brings energy to his starters, and he can help the pitchers with the X's and O's in getting out of situations...when it comes to between the white lines right there, Russell Martin is probably the best catcher I've ever been around to handle a pitching staff, bring energy, and not want to lose. He brings an edge to this staff."

The interview can be heard here:

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

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