In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
2017 has arrived. First and foremost, everyone here at Pirates Breakdown would like to wish you and yours a healthy and prosperous New Year!
With the new year, there always comes a renewed wave of optimism. Whether it is a newfound dedication to your new year’s resolution, or putting a challenging year behind you, there is a fresh feeling of positivity in the air.
That goes for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans as well. 2016 was an incredibly challenging year for the club, but there are reasons for renewed faith. Here are three of them to reassure fans that 2017 might be different.
They re-signed a starting pitcher. Re-signing Ivan Nova was a huge step for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and showed that they may have learned from previous mistakes. While many feel there is still work to do, the starting rotation will go into 2017 with three viable starting pitchers, and two of them have exciting upside in Nova and Jameson Taillon. A bounce-back season from Gerrit Cole might be a real possibility as well.
The bullpen may be able to re-capture old glory. The signing of Daniel Hudson shows a renewed focus of resources towards the bullpen, again a hard lesson learned from 2016. With Felipe Rivero in tow and Juan Nicasio coming back for another season of dynamic bullpen presence, the Pittsburgh Pirates may again have one of the best relief units in the National League. That woudl especially be true if they find their own version of Andrew Miller.
McCutchen is motivated. After nearly getting traded during the Winter Meetings, Andrew McCutchen said all the right things at Piratefest. He is working hard to regain his form in 2017, as anyone who took a casual glance at his Twitter feed will tell you. Now, his motivation is catching notice beyond Pittsburgh Pirates circles.
Scout predicts "monster" year for McCutchen. "Hardest worker. Most determined kid in game"
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 27, 2016
A motivated McCutchen can mean so much to the Pirates. A renewed competitive fire can go a long way towards building upon McCutchen’s successful last weeks of 2016.
Download Our Mobile Apps
The introduction of our new FREE Mobile Apps gets fans closer to their favorite Pittsburgh Pirates coverage than ever before. Click here to learn about some of the features of our new app – or, if you just can’t wait, click the corresponding app store for your device and grab your copy now.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Each week, MLB Trade Rumors compiles a list of the best in independent baseball media. PBD is honored to be featured, and encourages you to click through to their latest installments for some great reads.
- Hardball Talk compiled their list of the Top 25 Baseball Moments of 2016.
- This is fun. David Laurila compiled the top quotes of 2016 from figures all around baseball.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
