Tuesday, July 31 2018 will be a day Pittsburgh Pirates fans remember for a long time. After trading away the top two stars in the franchise prior to the beginning of the season, the Pirates front office backed up their words and went “all in” on the final day of the trade deadline, acquiring closer Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers and starting pitcher Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays in a pair of blockbuster moves that sent shockwaves through the entire baseball world.
While Bucs General Manager, Neal Huntington certainly deserves credit for pulling the trigger on both deals, none of the excitement that took place on Tuesday without one key event happening; which was the players stepping up in an enormous way.
On July 8th, with his team eight games under .500, Huntington challenged his club, saying that he would begin to consider selling away the team’s veteran players if there was not an immediate improvement in their play. Though no players were present when the comments were made, Huntington’s words certainly reached the Pirates clubhouse.
The Pirates responded to their GM’s comments not with words, but with an 11-game winning streak.
While everyone outside of the Pirates locker room had written the team off, the 25 players inside it had rallied together and rejuvenated what looked to be a lost season.
It would have been easy for the Pirates to wave the white flag; instead they chose to raise the jolly roger.
A five-game sweep over the first-place Milwaukee Brewers allowed the Bucs to go into the all-star break with hope. The four day recess in action allowed some eyes to return to the club that was once doomed for failure. Could they keep the positive momentum going in the second half of the season?
The pressure was on, and once again the team stepped up.
Despite having their win streak being placed on ice during the all-star break, the Bucs remained red hot, sweeping the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark and then taking two games out of three on the road against the first place Cleveland Indians.
After reaching an all-time low point of the season in early July, the Pirates had battled back into relevancy in the same month. The team held up their end of the bargain, which thus allowed their general manager to do the same on Tuesday.
Yesterday was the first time since arguably the 2015 season where no one could have a legitimate complaint about the Pirates.
The team won a hard fought 5-4 contest over the division leading Cubs and the front office brought in two talented players that will help them creep closer into the playoff picture.
Regardless if the Pirates make the playoffs in 2018, baseball is back in the Steel City. With a distinguished ace, a loaded bullpen and a lineup made up of numerous dangerous hitters, fans have a solid ball club to cheer for once again.
And all of the excitement was sparked by this 2018 Pirates team, who no one believed in.
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