Be of stout heart, young Pirates fans
Read Joe Posnanski's open letter to young Royals fans and substitute "Pirates" for "Royals."
posted by Billy at 12:53 PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
In the spring of 1983, Pirates reliever Enrique Romo failed to report to camp. Attempts by the team to locate the enigmatic righty failed, and he was released. Similarly, for 20+ years, Pirates fans were unable to locate their once-proud franchise. This blog, last seen in September 2006, was the record of one father and son who nurtured the hope that one day Romo and the Pirates would phone home. That day arrived seven years hence, and now we are back. Enrique, we salute you, wherever you are.
8 Comments:
At least people aren't piling up on the Pirates this year, it's nice not to be in the lowest 5 ranked teams in USA Today's Sports Weekly Power Rankings.
Actually plenty of people are piling up on us. Fox Sports put us at #29 on their first power rankings of the year, and I don't have links but I remember a few other rankings places had us near the bottom. And I would say it's pretty accurate. Until we make real moves unlike acquiring 1-year stopgap players such as Burnitz and Randa, we deserve to be piled upon. I mean, honestly, it's fun to be hopeful but do you really think this year will be much different?
Oh and out of curiosity, what did USA Today rank us?
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/rankings.htm
I listen to a lot of sports radio and the vibe is somewhat up beat, even Mark Madden is finding nice things to say about the Pirates. On national sports news, ESPN Radio's Game Night had a rather positive outlook on the Pirates hopes this year. Sports Weekly's blurbs on the Pirates have all been fine. The only person I've seen pile up on the Pirates so soon this year is... well, you.
And my dad. :) I think the most knowledgeable coverage of baseball is found at blogs and message boards, and though there is a lot of positivity, most Pirate fans are being realistic. I'm by no means writing the season off, I'm just being realistic. Which is all I can do. Last year, I was very negative at the beginning until we made our run and we hit .500. I was seeing stars like everybody else in the city at that point. But by the end, my negativity at the beginning was justified. We just barely missed a 100 loss season. I choose to learn from my past experiences. Whether you do is your choice.
But pessimism is just so damn disgusting. Granted, it usually leads down the correct path, but it makes me feel so dirty and gross. I'm young, full of dreams and aspirations. I'm going to stay on the sunny side of the street. Have fun in your miserable dark world, but if you ever want to join the fun, it's not too late.
Yeah, crying "this is our year!" every season and watching as your team plummets to mathematical non-contention by early August... I bet that's fun.
I have fun following the Pirates, Bill, I just avoid lofty expectations. It's still incredibly fun to watch our young talent develop, to revel in the bright spots' brilliance (Bay, Duke, Maholm last year), and even to get caught up in the citywide fever when we go on a five-game winning streak.
But Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2006 World Series? No, I don't hold my breath on it.
Shoot man, World Series? I'd be happy if they just broke .500, that's all I want.
Not to break up this little family ruinion, but I also take the negative view, and imagine more of the Pirate bloggers then not do the same.
But I don't think I'm being pessimistic. I still get excited about the games, I still stick up for my team even if I think I'm wrong.
As for .500, at one point in time that motivated me, but I think it hold no value to me now. We'll see if we are flirting come September
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