The Pirates Still Have Alot to Play For



Unlike Most Pirates, "Cutch" Has ALOT to Play For


If you read this blog on a regular basis, you are probably shocked about the title of this post.  Based on the fact that I am one of the harshest critics of the Buccos of Pittsburgh.  I've bashed them up and down, but with the season "officially" over, I realize that there is alot for the Pirates to play for regardless of another season without a postseason appearance. 

- Break the Damn Streak - The Pirates still have the opportunity to snap the 19 year losing streak.  They are 3 games under .500 and if they want to do anything to make the fans in Pittsburgh even remotely interested / proud of them it would be to break the streak that has been a cloud over PNC Park / Three Rivers Stadium for a long time now.  If there were to rally and battle their way back to a winning record, its safe to say the mood would be much better heading into the offseason and then spring training, comparative to if they tank and make the streak a solid 20 years and counting. 

- Avoiding Unemployment - Lets be honest, there are several players on this year's roster that will not be employed next year.  Shoot, I shouldn't have just said players...coaches, general managers are all on the potential chopping block.  When the season finally ends I will put together a list of what changes I think will be made,  but if the players go out and continue to play hard, play solid baseball, and win more games that they lose there is a chance more might be retained than if this thing keeps heading south. 

- Young Players Getting a Shot - The Pirates have shut down several players and are giving young players an opportunity to prove what they can do at the MLB level.  Its up to these young players to prove they are capable of hitting quality pitching, and fielding their position at the most elite level.  I'm not calling the Pirates elite (we all know THAT isn't true), but the fact they play teams like the Reds and Braves to finish out the season is a good gauge for these young players to see how they face against some of the NL's best teams.

- "Cutch" Garnering National Attention - Andrew McCutchen has the chance to not only continue his own personal success, but to possibly get some much needed attention for the solid season he has had this year.  Since the Performance Enhancing Drug user Melky Cabrera so generously took his name out of the hat for the NL Batting title (don't get me started on the fact that a cheater could have won the award after being caught cheating), that leaves "Cutch" in 1st place with a .336 batting average.  He is only a hair above the competition.  Busty Posey of the Giants is batting .332, and Yadier Molina of the Cardinals is batting .321.  It will be a 3 horse race for the crown, and as a Pirates fan I hope that McCutchen wins the award.  Why? He deserves it.

So even though this second half of the Pirates' season has been dreadful, to say the least, it doesn't mean the team has NOTHING to play for anymore.  The Pirates can still prove alot of people wrong with their play the next few weeks.  I am hoping they play well enough to not only break the streak, but to also see McCutchen win the batting title.  It would be the first batting title in Pittsburgh since Freddy Sanchez did it in 2006 on a dreadful Pirates team with players like Joe Randa, Sean Casey, and Ronny Paulino.  Lets hope the Pirates can have some guts about them and put something together down the stretch.