PITTSBURGH PIRATES

WHAT TO LOVE ABOUT THE TEAM

It’s the day after Valentine Day, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are starting Spring Training. What is there to fall in love with this season?

Some would say being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan is like asking for heartbreak.  The team enters the offseason and one gives them another chance, but just to be let down.  Then, they start the season and everyone is optimistic that things could be different, but they never really are different. Every year the Pittsburgh Pirates build you up just to let you down.

However, this year there is plenty to love about this Pittsburgh Pirates team.  While many are being more pessimistic this year than in previous seasons, fans should really give the team another chance.  One cannot resist what the heart wants, and that is successful Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.

The first thing to love about the Pittsburgh Pirates this year is obvious, their pitching staff.  The Bucs had one of the best, young pitching staffs in baseball last year.  Led by Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams, it was one of the main reasons the team ended the year with a winning season. The team also saw Joe Musgrove take a big step forward and have his most success as a starter.  The big move last year was acquiring pitcher Chris Archer, who started to pitch a lot better down the stretch.

The second thing to love about the Pittsburgh Pirates is their bullpen.  The team may have the best back-end of the bullpen in baseball.  Felipe Vazquez has quickly become one of, if not, the most dominant lefty relievers in baseball.  The team also added Keone Kela, one of the top up and coming relievers in the game.  Kyle Crick also progressed better and better every time out and should settle into the seventh inning role.

The thing to love about the Pittsburgh Pirates offense is that there is a lot of room for progress. The team has a lot of young hitters who could take a step a forward and be a big reason why this team could win more games than people expect.  Hitters like Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, Elias Diaz, and Colin Moran all are still within the first few years of their career.

The team saw both Diaz and Frazier take steps forward last year and earn more playing time for this upcoming season.  Colin Moran was just a rookie and did not show off the power that he showed at Triple-A the year before.  The real key is Josh Bell, if he can get some of his power back from two seasons ago, and then there will be a lot to love about the offense.

The tough thing for Pittsburgh Pirates is that fans in this town love their sports team. Even though the team has not done much this offseason, there is still a lot of potential for the team coming off an 82 win season.  Hopefully, everything lines up correctly and the team gets back into playoff contention.  There are a lot of reasons to love this team, just give them a chance.