For most of my almost 23 years of being a sports fan, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been the definition of suck, losers, pitiful, embarrassment, disgrace and many other negatives terms. The Pirates have had losing seasons for the last 18 years and have turned into the laughingstock of professional sports. Now I've always been a Pirate fan to an extent, I've always rooted for them but I have never been a supporter of the organization itself. I have approached each season with a pessimistic outlook, knowing that no matter how much excitement surrounded the team that year, the talent that was being put out on the field each day just could not compare to the rest of the league.
Now as I type this the Pirates sit at 35-33, which is their best record at this point since 1999. First of all, how sad is it that for more than 10 years, Pirates fans haven’t even had hope just a few months into the season. Secondly, everyone can see that this record isn’t that great and isn’t a sign that the Pirates are ready to compete for anything. But I do think it is something to be excited about. If you removed the history behind the Pirates right now, this would be a decent team in the majors. This is the first team in many years that shows promise and the glimmer of hope that one day the Bucs can get out of this hole they’ve dug for themselves. Now is this the year they have a winning record? Eh maybe, maybe not, but that answer right there is enough reason to keep up on how they’re doing. We haven’t even been able to say “hey at least we have a shot at making it this year” in a very long time. The players on this team are also a group of guys that you can get behind too. McCutchen, Walker, Alvarez and Tabata form a core group that is not only exciting to watch now but will continue to improve in the years to come. Add in the way that the pitching has been performing this year and you have a team is not only likeable but that just might pull off the impossible.
I am not saying that is time for everyone to jump on the Pirates bandwagon and prepare for them to contend for the playoffs every year. I’m still not sold on the front office and ownership, if they want to finally bring back all of the people that they’ve shunned away over the years then they’ll have to prove it. They don’t need to go out and sign expensive free agents just to prove that to us, what they need to do is make sure all the talent they have brought up and put together stays here for the long term. The people need to see the likes of McCutchen and Walker signed to long term deals. The front office needs to show that they won’t repeat the past mistakes that others have made before them and that is how to do it. Once this team really comes together and some of our other prospects finally make up here then they can go and sign those expensive free agents to fill the last few holes we will have. Until then just make sure to open the checkbook for our own guys. And for now, enjoy that we have decent baseball to watch because you may be able to see the beginning of a revolution or quite possibly the end of professional baseball in Pittsburgh.
- Dan Shaffer
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