Am I upset about the Penguins being swept in the ECF? Yes. Am I going to sit around and say this one should be fired and point out all the mistakes the Pens made? No. It sucks, but life goes on. The Steelers are starting to get the preseason rolling, so we have that to look forward to in just a few short months. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE BUCCOS?!?!?!?!
I know there’s a lot of negativity from fans surrounding the Pirates organization, but I’m here to give you 10 reasons why you should stop sulking about the Penguins and be 100% focused on the Pirates all summer:
10. Ten is the number of shutouts the Pirates currently have this season. They lead MLB in shutouts this season, when they only had 10 all of last season. We aren’t even halfway through this season. These 10 shutouts are courtesy of the amazing pitching we have right now: AJ Burnett, Jeff Locke, Francisco Liriano, and Wandy Rodriguez.
9. Just as amazing as our starting pitching, the bullpen has been on fire all season. Nicknamed the “Shark Tank” by Jason Grilli, they have dazzled us all season. With Melancon as the setup guy, and Grilli as the closer, it’s been a one-two punch against teams. The Shark Tank’s motto is “Get Bit” and Jason Grilli was quoted as saying these guys “look for the smell of blood and go in for the kill.” Just a few weeks ago they had an actual aquarium installed in the club house, complete with sharks.
8. The Buccos got two great picks in the first round of the draft: Austin Meadows, an OF, and Reese McGuire, C. Meadows hails from Georgia, and was one of the highest ratings from a prep school, and is projected to make his MLB debut in 2017. McGuire comes to us from the state of Washington, he’s been on the radar since entering high school. He has a GREAT arm and the ability to throw out base runners from the plate, and his projected MLB debut is also 2017. Find these guys on twitter @austin_meadows and @Reese_McGuire21. They’re both very excited to be part of the Pirates organization. (Fun fact: Bleacher Report has the Pirates farm system power ranked #11)
7. The pitching staff deserves another spot on this list. Burnett is leading the NL with 99 STFDs. Locke and Burnett are both 2nd in the NL for BB, with 35 each. Locke is also 7th in the NL in ERA 2.39, and 5th in win % at .833, he’s 5-1 on the season. Liriano is 4-2 with an ERA of 1.75. In the game 6/1 against the Reds he struck out 7 batters IN A ROW, tying a club record. Rodriguez has the most wins with 6. Grilli is leading the league with 23 saves. Melancon is first in the NL in holds. When our offense can’t come through, these pitchers give 1000% of their effort to win games.
6. Our record is 37-26, that’s second in the NL Central. I’m not going to debate or entertain possible slides in July and August. Until this team gives us a reason to think they’re sliding, enjoy the greatness we’ve seen so far this year, the summer in Pittsburgh, and baseball’s most beautiful ball park. Last week we were 6th in the power rankings, this week we’re at 8th. No excuses to not get out there and catch a game. We’re 21-11 at home, get your butts to PNC Park. (Plus you might get to see me! Score!)
5. Offensively, we haven’t been stellar, but we haven’t been pitiful either. Cutch is leading in batting average (.285) and OBP (.350). Pedro is leading in HRs (13) and RBIs (34). Marte has the most hits (67). Other notable stats: Cutch has the most doubles (16), Marte has the most triples (3), and they both lead the club with 14 and 17 stolen bases, respectively. Enough stats, they’re so boring.
4. No one in the Pirates organization was involved in the latest PED scandal. Hooray!! You guys might think, “Why is she so happy about something so stupid?” But could you imagine having our reputation of a hardworking steel city being tarnished by some dumb idiot being on roids?? Me either. It would give the Pirates naysayers one more thing to complain about.
******* In other news, I still ****ing hate Ryan Braun, and he is still the biggest d-bag tool in MLB.
3. Gerrit Cole is making his MLB debut against the Giants tomorrow, 6/11. As soon as rumors started circulating, I bought tickets to the game. It was officially announced Saturday he was getting the call. I can’t tell you how excited I am to get to see him pitch his first big league game!! That being said, I think everyone needs to cut the kid a break, and not be too hard on him in his first game. We all remember the first time we had to get up in school and give a speech, be on stage at the talent show, or for me in dance recitals/gymnastic competitions. Now imagine that being televised and a whole city scrutinizing your every move. That’s probably what Cole feels like right now, and will feel like on the mound tomorrow night. If he has a disappointing first game, don’t freak out. He was drafted in 2011, the guys we drafted this year are projected to play in 2017. Cut the guy some slack.
(If you’re gonna be at the game let me know on twitter and maybe I’ll swing by. I’m in section 320 because I enjoy seeing the entire field while being shaded from the direct sun and protected by the roof if it decides to rain.)
2. Tickets are cheap. Not because the Pirates suck (because they don’t), but baseball isn’t expensive to go see. We aren’t talking about $300 Steeler tickets or $200 Penguin tickets. The tickets in my section are $8/each on StubHub, and that is WITH ALL FEES INCLUDED. Its right next to the press box, doesn’t usually get too crowded, and there isn’t a ton of morons up there yelling/screaming/being drunk. Plus the view of the city from here is exquisite. Take your out of town relatives, take your kids, see the Pirate Parrot, run the bases after the Sunday games, see fireworks or a concert… MAKE A DAY OF IT!! There’s tons of things going on in the city in the summer that are free. Arts Festival. Regatta. You get the point.
1. WE ARE FAMILY!! We do the wave. We raise the Jolly Roger. We eat Primanti’s, pierogies, and wings from Quaker Steak and Lube; we drink Iron City with the Pirate on the can. We follow the Eat N Park Smiley Cookie and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. We enjoy a skyline unlike any other in the nation. We talk about great players like Stargell, Clemente, and Maz.
In other words, we are #BUCN, and to me, that’s #BUCNPerfect.