The All-Star Game has come and gone, and we’re awaiting the second half* of baseball. While it hasn’t exactly been parsed out the division winners and losers, the playoffs appear to be largely already determined.
*(the post-All-Star Break “second half” is a giant misnomer.)
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 48-49, and are virtual locks to not be playing baseball in October. With that said, this recent run the team has gone on shouldn’t be diminished. In fact, it should be embraced. Most analysts projected the Pirates to finish somewhere in the ballpark of 78 wins. The team is currently on pace to finish just above that mark.
The good news is, this is what was largely expected of the young Bucs. The talent is there – it just needs time to mature. But how are the fans viewing this season, this Front Office, and this recent run?
It’s been mixed reactions, to say the least.
Fans root for their respective team in different ways. Some of them are constantly curmudgeons, relegating themselves to sulk and complain unless the team is winning a championship. If that’s your style, then feel free to be as surly as you please, but note that it’s not everyone’s method of fandom.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some supporters are hopelessly optimistic and unquestionably loyal to the colors of their team. This group has often been labeled “fanboys” or “apologists,” which are both unfair assessments of a person.
Then, there are those in-between, where they’ll ride the storm out, no matter the casualties, but they aren’t overly optimistic, nor are they non-critical. I would reason that this is the majority of where the fans lie; yes, even in the hard-nosed, win or be gone town of Pittsburgh.
Let’s start with a goal. What is any particular fan’s goal when it comes to the season?
Generally speaking, it’s to win. That seems simple enough, and a pretty good jumping off point.
Most fans want their teams to win, and at whatever cost. This is true because 1) they derive inexplicable joy from the success of players that they don’t know (I don’t say this derogatorily because I do the same); 2) the money is not theirs, and therefore it doesn’t matter how much is spent and where it goes. There is a lot of it, but financial economics still plays a part. There’s a lot of overhead in Major League Baseball (and that includes the underpaid employees – that’s another article).
Because fans want teams to win, it should go without saying that they want the best product put on the field.
Eh, that doesn’t always seem to be the case, either.
It was a commonly held belief that because the Pirates traded Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen that the organization was phoning it in, and that they were only interested in lining their own pockets, so to speak.
In fact, this is where that movement got its start.
This can be problematic on two fronts: 1) if fans want their team to win, then they have to be able to separate feelings from rationality (which is what the FO is expected to do, and they actually know the players, unlike the fans); 2) it seems erroneous to jump to the conclusion that the FO is only interested in themselves, especially in the regard that they “need to put their own money into into, like “x” owner would.” Well, they aren’t even allowed to do that.
I try to be understanding of the plight of some Pirates’ fans. Some of them have been suffering through an inept Front Office and a lack of on-field talent for decades. Pittsburgh had been void of a winning team prior to 2013 since before I was born.
I understand that a culmination of negative feelings can arise throughout trying to root for a team that’s pitiful for that long. I get it. The Pirates had been bad for my whole life. The window for a winning team was short-lived – it closed quickly.
I can see why fans might think those 20 years of agony are knocking on their collective doorstep again. Gerrit Cole was supposed to be the ace to save the franchise, while Andrew McCutchen was supposed to be the position player to take the team to the next level – it never quite happened.
But McCutchen’s best years were behind him. Cole, on the other hand, was improperly handled. But it became evident that a restructuring was in order, so it became necessary to deal Cole in order to bring over a host of regulars.
I know this trade still isn’t perceived well by quite a few people, but because Cole was being used incorrectly, it became a necessary evil. For that, management can be blamed.
That’s the biggest point I’m trying to get to. There is blame to go around. The Front Office has made some bad moves, or haven’t offered up money when they should have. Conversely, they’ve made excellent deals at the right time, or let players walk because the price tag was too high, and it paid off.
There is blame for the coaching philosophy, as well. An organization that, for three years, was ahead of the curve analytically, but have since fallen well behind. Now, they face the realities, but aren’t preparing to accept them or change anything. This is where a lot of the frustrations should be directed.
Finally, the fans. The fans are not to blame because, truthfully, there’s no direct impact. The only fans playing a negative hand in this are the boycotters (and not in the way they want). Those actions don’t hurt the ones at the top, but can be detrimental to everyone in-between. Also, what’s at the end of the line of a successful boycott? The relocation of a franchise.
In the end, I understand fans that are angry, I understand fans that are happy, and I understand those in between. It doesn’t seem necessary to bicker on social media when everyone’s goal is the same, and especially since fans have no active role in what happens with the organization.
If you want to continue to be mad and watch from afar, go ahead. If you want to be happy and attend as many games as possible, that’s fine. If you want to be wary of what’s happening, but still be a participant in Pirates’ events, that’s good, too.
But this team isn’t on the decline – they’re ascending. I can’t say they’ll ever win a World Series because maybe they won’t. Baseball is tough. But in the next few years, this team will be legitimately competitive again.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
