...and his name ain't 'Joe'.
While I'm sad that the Pirates weren't really able to do a great deal this season, thanks to a lack of a solid core, I am excited that some of the youth movement is beginning to bloom, thanks to Josh Bell's fantastic rookie season, and a similarly great sophomore effort from Adam Frazier.
And look, while this Pirates team isn't great, we are NOWHERE NEAR the amount of sheer ineptitude that they hit in the 2000s. Back then, whenever someone became anything resembling a star, they were sent out of Pittsburgh on a rail. Now, people like Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen and Jameson Taillon can bloom into great star players and hold onto the team without it turning into an every-man-for-himself situation, like in 2009.
I'm not entirely sure if this team's going to look any better for 2018, though. I assume the feeding frenzy in St. Louis will have begun after the inevitable departure of Yadier Molina, and it will be tough for the Brewers to sustain what they've kept this year, so...that could leave a hole for an improved Pirates roster to step in. It just takes some reestablishment of the core, and letting a few older, more injury-prone people out. But I'm still not sure if this rebuilding process will work by next year.
I am pulling for these guys, because I've spent a nice amount of time in Pittsburgh, but practicality is going to have to take a backseat in order for a comeback to happen next year.
Coming Tomorrow- A man with his name struck fear into the hearts of Yankee fans 20 summers ago. Now...the new holder of the name is trying to bring a team that's been gutted, scraped and dulled into a postseason that will most likely not be kind to them.
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