That's right...I am thinking about those Pirates, the Pittsburgh Pirates, to whom I usually think of as "those Pirates, bless their hearts"...and I am excited about them. This is a team that has not had a winning year since 1992. Pittsburgh has become a breeding ground for the big name players who started here, then went on to bigger salaries elsewhere, ie: Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Tim Wakefield, etc. They don't have the obscene budgets that teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and others have, so they have to let quality (or at least, the big name ones) players leave, and the win-loss record over the years has reflected that fact.
I grew up a Yankees fan first and foremost, listened to most of their games on the radio every year, keeping score when I should have been doing my homework in high school. My sister even busted me once hiding in the confessional during one Saturday mass with a little transistor radio and headphones (sorry Mom, I was a bad Catholic...good thing God forgave me. He and I are good now. He keeps me out of trouble and from doing really stupid things). I loved Dave Righetti. He was terrific on the field and easy on the eyes, what else could a teenage, sports obsessed girl ask for? But I have also been a Pirates fan, from whatever early point in time that I adopted all teams Pittsburgh. It was so long ago that I cannot remember just when it was or why. I was lucky enough to get to a few Pirates games when I was growing up and I still have every item I got from giveaway days at Three Rivers Stadium when they played there. I have a keychain Uncle Jon gave me eons ago that says "Pittsburgh: City of Champions" and it lists the Steelers and Pirates, not Steelers and Penguins.
This year I am excited about the Pirates and find them more compelling than the Yankees right now. Why is that? Pittsburgh is one game over .500, hardly a threat to win the World Series and it's a crapshoot that they'll have a winning record when October gets here. When you look at teams like the Yankees, they have so much money and have won so many times that any season they don't win the World Series, their fans consider it a terrible season. To a certain degree, Pittsburgh has spoiled us Steelers and Penguins fans, even though they do not throw money at their problems in the same manner. Winning raises the bar and the expectations in many arenas of life.
The Pirates have for a while, played their best ball in April and slid downhill after that. It's easy to play well in April, nobody knows yet what you've got for the season. But take a look at the calendar, people, and take note. The Pirates are one game over .500 and it's almost JULY. They are only 3 games out of FIRST place in their division, and okay, that likely speaks to the fact that their division isn't the strongest one right now, but the statistics still count for something. Last night, they didn't play an outstanding game but they played well enough to beat the RED SOX, who are one of this year's best teams. They got Boston to strand several runners on base in key innings. The 8th inning where the Sox got 2 men on base and no outs looked ominous, but somehow Pittsburgh found a way to get through it, Big Papi grounded out to end the inning, the Pirates had protected their 2 run lead and ended up winning 3-1.
The sense I am getting from them this year is that they are finally believing in themselves. They don't go into each game anymore expecting something to happen that tanks their outcome. Right now, they are playing like they expect to win, not playing like they hope to not lose. There is a tremendous difference between those two mindsets and it is translating to better outcomes on the field. Effort and hustle can outplay sheer talent on many days and their manager has them buying into that. It may not produce a pennant this year but if you believe in yourself and not buy into any negativity, it is amazing how much you can accomplish. Pittsburgh is winning again and it is a wonderful thing, not just for the team, but for the city of Pittsburgh and the fans. Pittsburgh is a special city for many reasons, but one of the most telling is how their pro teams support each other. I cannot think of another city where the players do that for each other to the degree that Pittsburgh does. They even all wear the same team colors.
The season is far from over and there are no guarantees that the Pirates are going to finish on the upper side of .500, but what they are accomplishing so far this year is pretty cool. They are well on their way to becoming relevant again and this time, it might be a sustained effort, and that is very exciting to me. Now if I could just get myself to Pittsburgh and park my butt in that gorgeous ballpark they play in now....
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