My brother doesn't watch Pittsburgh Pirates games. He just looks at their records the past 18 seasons, says they will lose 100 games and says he will only watch again if ownership does something to prove that they are headed in another direction.
It's impossible to talk to him about the team without one or all of the three statements mentioned above coming into play. It's a common occurrence with Pirates fans, so I can't really blame him. Years of the franchise's broken promises will do that to even the most loyal of fans, which my brother was not.
So of course, my brother and plenty of other critics of the Pirates don't want to hear about excitement surrounding the team's 3-1 start to the season. In their defense, the team has jumped out to hot starts before and stunk the rest of the season.
But this season feels a little different. That 3-1 start is because young players like Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker and Jose Tabata are the ones doing the heavy lifting. When was the last time this team had a young core together at the beginning of the season making the difference in close games?
 |
| I owe Neil Walker an apology. I used to think he was a terrible pick and would never make it in the bigs. I was wrong. |
These are legit players the organization can build around. Let's be honest, the Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay and Nate McLouth core was not the same as this. They weren't highly regarded prospects who had fans begging for the team to call them up. Wilson and McLouth each only had one good offensive year. The rest of the time they were mediocre at best. Bay and Sanchez were more consistent, but I don't think they were the types of players you build a team around. They are additions you make to good teams (See Boston and San Francisco) that make them more dangerous.
In the three wins, and even the one loss, these young players have made the difference. Whether it's a Walker grand slam, or a Alvarez infield single that scores two runs because of heads-up base running, these guys are the reason the team is off to good start. It's not like last season when Garret Jones went all Dmitri Young on us with three home runs in the first two games.
This team is winning games in ways that they can expect to win games all season, not just a little hot streak from an inconsistent source. These are also the players that will be around for the next four or five years because the team has control over them on the cheap. It's really OK to get excited about these players and their potential.
On the flip side, I will not tell you to get pumped for the pitching. It was ridiculous that Root Sports and the Pirates announcers were comparing the ERA of the starting rotation from this year to the ERA of the staff throughout all of last year. Comparing the stats from three games to an entire season to point to an improvement is ridiculous. Maybe it was comparing the first three games of last season to this season, but the graphic didn't make that specification.
I'm not saying the team is making the playoffs this year. I'm not saying they will have a winning record. I'm saying the young players the organization and its fans are banking on to bring the team out of the dark ages are showing that they can be "the guys" on a big league roster. The pitching is off to a good start and Charlie Morton hasn't been lit up yet. It's OK and encouraged that fans enjoy this while it lasts.
Huey Lewis and the News - Do You Believe In Love
No comments:
Post a Comment