By Jeff
Pirates fans were so excited a month ago. The team was good! Well, kind of good. But the team is 5-14 in August and their hopes of a winning season, let alone a division crown, are pretty much spoiled.
The lineup has been a problem all season, but the starting rotation and bullpen were saving the team. Then the starting rotation went to hell. Then most of the bullpen went to hell, giving up late leads and not being able to bail out the struggling rotation. But the team still had closer Joel Hanrahan, if only they could get to him. Well, now he seems to be following the rest of the team, as he has given up runs in the three of his last four appearances and has a 4.82 ERA in the month of August.
You can't pinpoint one game that signaled the end of the Pirates unlikely run to the top of the NL Central. Some will point to the July 26 loss to the Atlanta Braves that went 19 innings and ended on a terrible call. That may have screwed up the bullpen, but it shouldn't have affected the rotation and the lineup.
And I'm not sure you can say it mentally drained the team. They went 19 innings with the second-best team (record wise) in the NL and lost on a bad call. I would think it would motivate the team. The Pittsburgh Steelers would use that game as a rallying cry, because the Steelers are best when they have the mentality that they are the underdogs and everyone is out to get them. I would hope the Pirates locker room would be similar after that tough loss.
So where does the team go from here? Well, nowhere this season. There aren't any young guys in the system that I'm excited to see with the September call-ups. I'll still watch all the games I can this season, but the excitement surrounding this team is gone. It was great while it lasted. No Pirates fans have been excited about the team in July for 18 years. It was nice to see that it was possible and that this town still has passion for this team.
The positives to take away is that the team is continuing its recent commitment to signing the best available draft picks, even if it takes ridiculous deals to do so. I have never heard of team spending $5 million on a second-round pick in baseball, but the Pirates did that to entice high school outfielder Josh Bell. Bell sent a letter out to every team before the draft telling them not to bother with him, as he was going to college. The Pirates drafted him anyway and then opened up their wallets.
Just to put into perspective how significant Bell's bonus is, the Pirates signed Pedro Alvarez to a $6 million deal when he was the second overall pick. Bell was the 61st overall pick. The Pirates' second-round pick in 2010, Stetson Allie, signed for $2.25 million. So it's pretty clear the Pirates really wanted Bell and sent a good message to their fans that they're willing to dish out the cash.
The only problem is Bell is only 18. Like Allie ad Jameson Taillon, it will probably be at least three to four years before we see this guy. I think building through the draft is the only way the team can compete in the future, but the franchise is asking a lot of their fans. This fanbase has waited 18 years for another winning team and keeps hearing about the future. There is a whole generation of fans who haven't seen a winning team. How much longer can the franchise expect these fans to wait?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - The Waiting
No comments:
Post a Comment