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Average isn’t going to cut it

By Adam Brewer for The Greene County Messenger 4 min read
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As legendary NFL coach Dennis Greene once shouted in a press conference after a mid-season game, “They are who we thought they were.”

That same quote could sum up the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates season.

The Pirates are just average, they aren’t good and they aren’t bad. They are just average in all phases of the game, from the team to the front office.

The last two seasons Bucco Nation has been feeling two words and both starts with the letter A, Apathy and Anger.

The attendance has dropped at PNC Park (still no sellout for the 2017 campaign), the TV ratings are declining (now are the Pirates on Fox Sports, Root Sports or AT&T Sports, I can’t remember) and just the general attitude of most Pirates fans is that of a defeated fan base.

It’s hard to believe that just two seasons ago the Pirates were a 98-win team. Fast-forward to now, and it seems like we are in a new (an apocalyptic) universe as it comes to the Black & Gold on the baseball diamond.

Now here comes the anger part: They said they want to build a competitive winner in Pittsburgh year in and year out, but yet all they have done the last two seasons are trade (or at least try to trade) their top players and have yet to sign or trade for a high-priced, top of the line free agent.

Trust me I get it, the Pirates are not the Yankees, Red Sox or Cubs. They are a small-market team with a low (very low) budget and they can’t afford to make signings that could possibly backfire and set their organization back a couple of seasons.

But you have to try to do that at some point, right? You have to risk something and try to win for now, right? You have to put all your chips on the table and try to enhance your chances to win, right?

For some reason, the Pirates are afraid to make a big move because of financial risk. They are deathly afraid of trading away their top prospects (even though they always compliment themselves for having one of the best farm systems in MLB).

How are you going to win or at least have a chance of winning if you don’t make bold moves and play it more on a riskier side of things? Your plan (besides the three winning seasons) hasn’t worked the last couple of decades and it seems like we are heading for more losing the next couple of years.

When Starling Marte and Jung-Ho Kang faced suspension at the beginning of the season, you didn’t trade or bring anyone in. When Tyler Glasnow and your rotation struggled in May and June, you did nothing. When Gregory Polanco got injured two weeks ago in Colorado, you did nothing.

Whether you love or hate Andrew McCutchen or Gerrit Cole, those two are bon-a-fide studs that any major league team would want to sign long term and build their franchise around, but probably those two will be traded in the off-season for a gaggle of hit-or-miss prospects.

But that’s OK, Pirates, just be your average selves and give your fan base just small glimpses of hope every now and then.

Every time they sweep a first place team at home, they are going to go 3-6 against bad teams on a road trip.

The Penguins and Steelers will continue to win championships and put money in their respective teams, while the Pirates will just be average.

Average doesn’t win championships. Average just promotes apathy and anger.

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