News flash: Confidence Grows in Clubhouse

I'm glad to read that confidence is growing in the clubhouse, because it sure as hell isn't growing anywhere else. The source of this growing confidence is the increased ability of the young, inexperienced Pirates finally to understand the subtle, advanced baseball concepts that their new manager, Jim Tracy, has been working all year to convey.

"Today is an interesting day because we've been here a number of times this year, where the series is 1-1 and here you go with the rubber game," Tracy said. "There has to be an understanding that these games here, in series like this, this makes the difference in your season right here."

Of course young and inexperienced players will naturally have a hard time grasping the concept that, when you win one game in a series and lose another, it's important to try to win the third. But Tracy perseveres.

Failure to grasp his advanced teachings is a common theme of Tracy's when he is interviewed.

"There was newness all over the place, and then the season begins and they find themselves involved in a game where they have a chance to win virtually every day, and they just weren't quite prepared from an understanding standpoint, to carry that completely through," Tracy said.

To the untrained eye, the problem appears to be more one of talent and skill than of understanding; but those of us who have never played the game should know enough not to trust the evidence of our senses.

As we know, the biggest problem this year has been the performance of our young starting pitchers, particularly Snell, Maholm, and Duke. It's not easy for young pitchers to understand that their job is to pitch well and to prevent the opposition from scoring runs whenever they take the mound, even in September. Fortunately, Dave Littlefield has hired a wise and patient man to instill this understanding into their young, impressionable minds.

"I'd like to see all three of them get that done, so that they know what that feels like," Tracy said. "So that they understand that, 'Hey, I've got to take a start here in the mid- to later-part of September and keep going and keep pushing,' because you're very hopeful that September of 2007 is going to be a very special month for the Pirates."

I can barely wait for the arrival of September 1! What a special month that is going to be!