You can attribute everything to those eighteen straight losing seasons. They have had horrible draft picks, some bad managing, to just wretched players. A Pirate should be something that strikes fear into other people’s eyes when they look at it. Instead of fear everyone has just laughed at the Pirates for the longest time. They should change the name of the team from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Pittsburgh Clowns. That is what they have been since 1993.
Everyone wants to know, will this be the year the torture will end? Will this be the year we have a reason to turn on the tube and watch these guys? Will this be the year we have a winning season? Can they at least break Five –Hundred? We will take anything that is a step in the right direction. We will take anything that will give us a glimmer of hope.
In 2007 we got our newest majority owner and management team. They had a garage sell with that current team and brought in new talent and actually signed them through the draft.
Andrew McCutchen could very well be the best center fielder in the game. At the least he in the top five and is still very young. Neil Walker is a hometown hero that is turning into an elite second baseman. Those two were both drafted before Huntington and Nutting got here. Jose Tabata was acquired via trade from the hated Yankees. He was one of their top prospects and definitely has potential to be a top player in the game today. Finally Pedro Alverez was drafted by Huntington and Nutting. He is off to a slow start this year. This is his first full season in the MLB. He is still adjusting. He does have a very promising career ahead
So far through May 31st this year the Pirates are a surprising 3 games below five-hundred. Last year at this time they were ten games below and they looked very bad.
There is just something different about the Pirates this year. They have something about them that they will not give up. They get down; they fall behind in a game or go on a losing streak. They battle though. They seem like an innocent child that wants something. The parents say no but they just keep on asking and keep on wining and begging until they get what they want.
The Pirates are very resilient and persistent and that would seem to rub off from their new manager Clint Hurdle. Let’s just say he is the complete opposite of John Russell. Clint is very outgoing. He gets into his players faces. He has fun and interacts with his players. Also he has had success in the MLB as a manager before. John Russell only had a job in baseball as a manager because the Pirates gave it to him. Hurdle was actually wanted by other clubs but he chose the buccos.
As we look at the rest of this season I have to admit for the first time in a while I am excited for this young team. Yes they are young, they are inexperienced. This is Clint Hurdle’s first year on the team. But they actually have some young talent on the team that has lacked it for a long time. They have even more talent in the minor leagues. We haven’t thought of this word for the Pirates in a while, but exciting comes to mind.
I think they can continue to waver around the five-hundred mark this year. Will they have a winning season? I do not believe so. Will they even make it to five-hundred? I do not know for sure but I believe they can make it interesting which they have not been able to do for a while.
What will the future hold? The future looks bright depending if this new management team can sign the talent they have now. Now they won’t be able to sign everybody. They have to make an effort. They have to show the deserving fans they are committed to winning. If they do that, slowly but surely more and more fans will come out and support the team.
Only time will tell what will come of the new look Pirates. Here’s hoping the Pirates find success sooner than later. That could come this year, we will have to wait and see.
written by Michael Healy
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