On May 14, 2020, I began a novel project called “Nutshell Unplugged”, aimed at creating a story to give people hope against mental health battles.
At this time, I was having my own mental health breakthrough, realizing that I didn’t need to be afraid to express myself in any form. I just needed to know what I wanted and be direct.
My own individual circumstances have left me most of my life not knowing what I wanted, and with an inability to be direct. In real life, I went years without speaking. Even in this job, I would hang back in every room, every press conference, and feel in my head that no one wanted me to ever add my thoughts or opinions.
To be honest, that’s probably true from the Pirates’ standpoint. I can’t imagine the owners of the Post-Gazette want my competition either. I’m just a man, with much less funding, using the internet to harness the power of my mind and my resolve.
I’ve largely built Pirates Prospects by treating it like multiple jobs. I lived baseball. Every moment of every day for about a decade. When I took a rare vacation, I felt guilty for some reason. That was due to an insatiable work drive, and a thought that I had to be the star to ever be seen. I didn’t feel I deserved a break. Being able to take a break the last two days is a sign of how strong my mental health is these days.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen me in real life. These days, I’m 6’4″, 240, with a very noticeable head of gray hair in my age 40 season. I can never see myself in any room — where I’m historically giving zero effort to what my face looks like — but it was objectively ridiculous to go through my entire adult life thinking I was invisible or weak.
A lot of that is due to childhood trauma. I was the biggest kid and acted like a super hero on the playground. I was also a minister’s son who grew up to be a pacifist. I got beat up a lot, and lost my front tooth at one point. That one act — more a combination of playground chaos and another kid shoving me down from behind out of frustration — has led to $2000 in expenses in my adult life. Never mind the visual impact from subconsciously holding my jaw and tongue a different way to avoid breaking my tooth.
These are things I learned the last three years while taking a break from baseball and focusing on therapy and life. I was largely inside the house for most of this time. I got divorced. The timing of every move of the divorce matched my attempt to come back. She left the week before baseball returned in 2021. She told me she was filling for divorce the day I went on the road to cover games for the first time during the pandemic. She filed for divorce as I was planning the first article drop last year. The divorce was official in August, and after a late 2022 coverage trip, I shut down completely with depression, and reflected on the year.
Since that point, I’ve been thinking daily about what I want to do in my future, and how to do that. Some days, I would lay in bed all day, playing chess to get my mind focused on something other than baseball. I created a vinyl record store project, and was creating the novel series, which expanded to ten books in three years of planning. I’ve told people in the Pirates organization how I think I could help them with my knowledge. I’ve considered going into the game of baseball after this site. I’ve talked to Dejan Kovacevic about teaming up. Mostly, I’ve been studying this site, trying to see how it works, and how it could work in the future for other people.
Time has been a blur to me in these three years. I get constant alerts on my phone about baseball, from the moment I wake up until the moment I pass out. I never know the day. I sleep on a schedule that is about five hours behind the 9-5 crowd, and which can quickly devolve into an endless cycle of three to five hour naps in between work blocks in an endless stretch of what feels like one long day.
This week, I decided to pause production on this site, allowing me to get things in order before the bulk of the season commences. I’ll be doing some minor publishing, but I need to focus on my roles individually.
Those roles:
OWNER
I’m the 100% owner of “Pirates Prospects” at PiratesProspects.com. Since July 2010, I’ve been creating a business that popularized that term around the Pirates farm system.
I’ve sought outside loans over the years to keep operations going — a standard thing for any small business. When I hit burnout in 2018, and made moves from a Producer standpoint, it sent my life into a spiral. I learned that I had created a system where if I’m not always doing multiple jobs, this site doesn’t work. Essentially, I went broke trying to run this site and help other writers along the way.
This week, I’m in owner mode. That includes talking to people on this site and elsewhere about how to move forward. I’ve ensued that the money commitments for our writers can be met through the end of the year. I’ve also been looking for a way to offset some of my responsibilities into more of a group effort, or to another independent site who could benefit from this site’s revenue and traffic stream.
At this point, I believe I’ve developed a way where this site operates more like a co-op in terms of revenue share. The goal will be that everyone gets a percentage of what they produce, and the rest will go to the site. The Site Fund pays out non-writing roles, like David Hague’s photos, and someone to produce, edit, and run the site.
Under this system, I get paid as a tip from other writers, or from my own writing. I’ve created a system that is no longer feasible for me to meet my own needs. I run the site as my job, but I need to write to get paid, and I barely have time or energy. I believe I’ve found a way around that, detailed below.
PRODUCER
I’ve created the Producer role to differentiate my wants and needs on this site. The Producer role is creating the dream site, within a budget range. It’s finding a way to a goal. That goal is to provide content to Pirates fans — and this site has always catered to those outside of the city of Pittsburgh more than inside. It’s why the viewpoint is so different and expansive.
Part of this role isn’t just producing content, but developing article concepts, and establishing the tone of the site. This site echoed some of the old school, more military-esque methods of talking about player development that the old development team used.
I would constantly see players screamed at in public, in front of fans and possibly family. There was always something players were developing, and an implicit sense that no one was ever enough.
The new development system treats players better. The Pirates have found more ways to reach more individuals and ultimately instill comfort and confidence in their game and their life in general. That’s been my view from limited reporting the last three years. Limited, compared to previous efforts.
I hated that this site previously took an inauthentic tone. I’m not a trained journalist or writer, but someone who does well blending ideas to create a new concept. My own reporting has been a blend of 2009-2013 Pittsburgh media, plus just seeing how everyone else in the Prospect industry talked about the game and players. I gravitated to the more critical voices that I thought were how you do this industry, rather than trusting that my own voice and heart to speak.
In my own case, as someone who never knew how to use my own voice, I never just relied upon my own knowledge and wrote. My best articles have come from such an approach.
I’ve largely been collecting a group of people who bring a conglomerate of views and expertise on this team and game, while creating a system where they can each get paid for their unique expertise. But also, a site where we can be respectful of the human beings inside this industry.
Treat others as you wish to be treated is the golden rule in all walks of life, I’ve learned.
EDITOR
I’ve never really focused on editing. It was a shortcut to do everything else on this site. For years, even before AI, automation was my best friend and limited the quality of the work on this site.
Editing all of the content we produce is nearly a full time job. I’ve talked with Wilbur Miller in the last week about helping with this role. That said, even if Wilbur helps, I still need someone with a journalism background to edit my work. I’d also like that same quality for the entire site. This is something I’m focusing on this week.
In the past, I know how members of the Pirates influenced my work. I’ll use the word influence, because it was more encouragement for certain actions and articles, and screaming behind closed doors when I wrote something that was more akin to the uninformed fan voice or the national perspective. Meanwhile, I earned a reputation in Pittsburgh as an apologist for Bob Nutting, which is fair.
As someone with a business degree, studying the business of baseball for longer than I’ve been an adult, I’ve always been able to easily see this game from a business perspective, first. That approach has been unfair to a lot of players, as I’ve written more from a perspective of why things make sense for the team. This wasn’t out of need for access, but out of fear that I didn’t know a single thing about baseball other than my unique view.
I can tell you from personal experience that the new Pirates development group has a better way of explaining the game and growing knowledge, which can only be good for player development.
I’ve been highlighting a lot of their individualized development largely because it speaks to me as someone who went through a few years of therapy to accept my own individualization, and that no one else can define me.
I’m that time, I’ve also realized a sad reality that pretty much no one knows what they’re doing. The editing on this site will largely respect that everyone is a human being, doing their best to help themselves and others.
WRITER
Most of the Producing is automated at this point. It took a lot of conversations and trial and error to get to what Pirates Prospects Daily currently is. Anthony Murphy is doing a great job with that. That’s one article in a grand matrix.
Owning and Editing could probably be my sole job after getting my personal life sorted out over the next weeks/months. However, objectively my writing brings in more people to this site than anything. I haven’t known how to handle that massive responsibility in the past.
There were some years during this site history where my articles would bring in thousands of readers. Every other outlet would flat out copy my reporting style and method for talking about development. I don’t even know if that method was a good one, as I’ve changed it since. What I didn’t know was that this was a sign I had finally created my own style. I was a Major Leaguer, and didn’t know it, because I was still perpetually worried about making it.
After being cognizant to the impacts of this individualized style, and after getting to a point where I want all media members to succeed easily, I’ve gotten to one final issue:
Finding the time to write.
I spent the last two days resting my body to be able to write free-flowing and honest like this. I’ve got my latest Baseball America article to write today. From there, I’ve got articles on here to write, and I want to give them proper respect and honor the subjects.
This batch of articles includes a career look at Andrew McCutchen’s development throughout his MLB career. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve seen in this industry. It wouldn’t be fair to write that article while being tired, with my attention drawn 50 different ways in life.
Behind the scenes, the idea has been floated to me from some of our writers for everyone on the site to start their own thing. This wouldn’t be a bad idea, as I’m largely trying to get this site off my timeline of responsibility.
For the most part, this is a passion project for most of these writers, and for different reasons. Some enjoy the team itself. Some enjoy the business of baseball. Some enjoy player development.
I’m the only one trying to make an independent media outlet, while also trying to be a professional writer beyond sports. I’m not a Pirates fan, and at this point I could leave baseball behind.
It makes me wonder what I’m even doing here some days. My motivations are to help everyone else, and I’ve been doing it in a negative way for my own physical and mental health.
I took two days to myself, and the fallout has made me realize some of the sources of stress in trying to make this work.
The biggest?
Realizing that this site can’t really exist without me, and realizing I can’t do my writing to make money while also running and editing this site.
This week, I’ll be working toward a solution, while also providing a minimal production schedule.
Thank you to everyone for being patient as I shift gears and prepare Pirates Prospects for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
1,000% behind you, Tim, no matter what you decide… provided that you’re looking out for #1 for a change. Even if that means no more P2, I won’t be sad it’s over but rather glad it happened. Be good.
Good luck Tim, hope u get everything u desire out of life!!
Btw, take people copying you or your style as a compliment.
Good luck Tim. Wish all the best for you.
My two cents:
1) Don’t partner with DK
2) Turn off the notifications for a period of time every day.
Don’t really have anything to share, but seeing that there were 99 Comments was inspirational.
Love Pirates Prospects. So sorry your health has been so challenging, we’re about same age, and at 35 mine just got way more difficult. Starting to get to the other side of it after 5-6 years.
I’m sure you’re well aware, but that sleep schedule does not sound healthy. Hope you can get that straightened out, might really have a positive cascading effect on your health. Hope it works out!
I enjoy reading articles on this site every day. I’m not as active in the discussions as I could be, but this site is important to me.
I’m one of those out of towners who grew up in Western PA. There aren’t many Pirates fans that I know here in Maryland. This site makes me feel closer to the Pirates that I otherwise could feel. Not being in the Pittsburgh area, I cannot chat about the Pirates, or the ball players developing in the minors, with someone random at the gas station, in line at the grocery store, or out in the streets. I come here to see what’s being said and to catch a word.
I haven’t found that elsewhere. I hope that when I hit refresh for the next 7,300 tomorrows there continues to be content to read.
Thank you to all who contribute, comment, and create. This site is a good thing, Tim.
This is the first site I check when I settle in at my laptop in the morning and last site I check at night after the game and get settled into bed. That doesn’t even mention the countless times I visit the site each day to read the great content and shoot the shit with my internet friends. To me this community is even more important than the vast amount of info that can only be found on this site. Talking baseball and reading others takes about baseball allows me to take my mind off a lot of things when it’s much needed.
I’m very happy to hear that you, Tim, are starting to do more self-care. I got laid off from my corporate job of 14 year back in February. Since then I’ve been working at a sports card shop and loving life. Finding that perfect work-life balance is hard, but doable. Once you find that balance, life is so much better. We’ll all be here waiting for whatever is in store next for us. And someday we will share a bowl before a ST game.
Draft Crews. Go Bucs!
And here I thought I was the only baseball degenerate who used this site and this community as a lifeline. You guys are incredible.
What a legacy you’ve created, Tim, how cool to read these comments.
I owe you a continual apology for being your biggest pain in the ass.
I was a Dejan Blog, Smizik Blog, Bucs Dugout guy before settling on Pirates Prospects as the only outlet I needed for Pirate coverage. Through the “pro” vs. “anti” wars, the years when print media deriding you as a “blogger” (holy smokes, talk about last laughs), I’ve always seen and spoken of you in those spaces as belonging.
You’ve carved out a unique voice over the last few years that stands out against the monotonous baseball-speak, and truth be told always news this day was coming because of it. Life after baseball will be good to you. Best of luck wherever life leads.
Tim sell shares just like Wall Street. Offer ownership percentage and hire real accountants and ad revenue prospectors. First you must raise capital and you have a captive audience who just may be your answer, sometimes you just gotta ask.
Jesus, the comments on Ownings taking a third strike right down the middle is worth an entire game thread
If he ever plays again it will be too soon.
That was f’ing terrible. Watches a middle middle FB is unacceptable. Though not scoring with 1out bases loaded the inning before was the real nail in the coffin
All that build up from Brownie on Bochy bringing in lefty Smith to face lefty-killing Castro… you could tell Brownie felt pwned by that pathetic short fly.
I’m pretty sure there’s a weird, funny script in all this, somewhere but I’ll leave that to some baseball addicted producer. All I want to know is where is the fucking game thread? I got money. I’ll pay.
Tim….serious question (and not trying to be mean or disruptive). Just trying to learn more about the process.
Why does it take you all day to edit maybe 4-6 articles? Are John, WTM, etc such lousy writers? Heck, John wrote a book. Can you go into detail?
This is why we used to have a thumbs down
Since Tim was being so transparent, I thought I would ask. But then, you and I have always disagreed on things, so I expected nothing less from you.
Notice that Tim had no problem answering my question?
You proved to everyone what a clown you are.
What’s it like being a pain in the a$$? Asking for a friend. Oh, btw, the emails I got showed just the oppo? One response was: “Thanks for asking that”.
Btw, I had hoped you had gone away, but like an annoying fly at a picnic, here you are. Where’s that Raid?
Nope, I’m still here. At least someone fed your need for attention. I highly doubt that there is someone as selfish as you on this site.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lwvRCFn8KjQ
I don’t have a home routine that is set. You talk in days. I wake up and sleep multiple times a day. I always have baseball messages waiting, but I don’t always work. Sometimes, I’m not in the headspace.
I’m trying to get on a 9-5 routine that allows for writing one article a day, editing everything, and handling life stuff. Along with proper meals and sleep. I had that before the pandemic. This week, I’m getting back to that.
Thx Tim.
No worries Lee! I talked with Wilbur today about some editing strategies. I also chilled with my cats during a Florida thunderstorm. I know you’d approve. Articles resume tomorrow.
Balance and self-care are the most important! Put your oxygen mask on before helping the person sitting next to you
What if that person is a Cards fan?
I’ve made the same analogy this week.
If this is the end, (which sounds like it is, I mean why else have JD, AM, WM, JR has been denied access?) I want to say thank you, not just the staff, but to everyone here. I’ve spend a lot of time here, more than I should and is not just the content, is the people here.
No one has been denied access to anything other than publishing. I’m just the only editor for a week. Everyone else is at contributor level while I get my schedule sorted out. That means they can submit articles and I review them. This week is about owner mode. I’ll probably get some writing in. I’ve got 17 articles to write from the road. Plus, there are a lot of articles already in the drafts right now. We might have a few days of article drops.
I meant access to publishing not the site as a whole, but I’m glad I’m wrong. Thanks for clarifying.
A forewarning for the outage would have been appreciated.
I’m sorry for the delay.
Jason wants to know why you are sorry for him….:)
I don’t want the site to shut down. If Tim wants to step aside, that’s fine, but find a way for the site to carry on. But the article says ‘next phase’, so I am assuming it will continue.
I think one of the hardest things to do as a owner and chief visionary of a small business is to let yourself lose controll of it. I say that not as a business owner myself but as an employee of one. I just finished my 30th year with my company. I was the 4th employee. The owner was a teacher turned business man. He hired a student of his, then couple friends of that student, then a friend of one of those two (me). We were tiny, in crappy office space, and just getting by. But this post is not really that origin story or a story of any kind of rapid growth. We are still small, and have been bought twice. The original owner ran every aspect of the business himself. It was his vision – his baby. He eventually added some help – an accountant and some administrative help came on shortly after me. At length, after more than a decade, he was burning out and wanted a change, so he sold the company to his cousin. The new owner formally divested a lot of the control. The accountant became the CFO, we hired a CTO, etc. He had his own vision, but the company itself was set up to run independent of him, allowing him to focus on bringing that vision to life. I guess my point with this ramble is that sooner or later PP may get to that point – the point where it becomes a thing in itself, with a life of its own, and no longer an extension of the man who brought it to life. I think it has to at some point, for the sake of Tim’s physical and mental health.
This is exactly the transition that is taking place right now. Separating Bruce Banner from The Hulk.
That’s good to hear.
I can’t imagine losing this community and the discussions, info, and insight that comes with so im choosing to believe that P2 will live on!
I know this is about Tim, but I can’t find a game thread so I’m going to make it about Castro.
Dude is unplayable in field at this point.
Anyway, best of luck figuring it out Tim. I’ll keep paying as long as this thing is here.
I don’t know what to say, I’m post-less after reading all the appreciative comments. I’ll let a contribution do the posting.
Stay safe and thank you and your sight for being my 2nd source of data
Only live streaming, going to the park or recorded archives tops the service you feed to us diehards
( i’m watching Sean Sullivan’s last start) as i type
can top
Only way to form your own opinion or while questioning others
I’ll share my opinion on SS, after watching all his efforts this year
Bucs have another legit mid rotation option coming sooner than later
Not over powering, but knows the zone and peppers the corners
Thanks again Tim,
I will leave you with my MVP coverage
rebuild finalists which ended in a tie
1, Pirates prospects/ MILB-PACKAGE
The one and only
DEWEY ROBINSON
I find the amount of personal posts below to be amazing on a site that covers one of the worst organizations in professional sports. It just shows how much people can come together despite going through all the crap we deal with on a daily basis to shoot the shit about something 99 % of fanbases would just just bitch about the entire time.
Shooting the shit is much better bitching any day!
Just had a bit of a flash back Tim. I wish I could remember the name of the The Fan host but I still remember when Gregory Polanco was about to be announced as being promoted to Pittsburgh. You broke the news because, gasp!!!!, you actually covered he minor leagues and the prospects in the Pirates organization. The Fan Host was PO’d because you had the nerve to do your job and reported the prospect news. The fan made comments on air that you should have stayed in your lane and leave to Pirates news to the professionals….. The darned fool was complaining and actually said you should stick to prospect news which was and still is your lane.
Personally I think you should make it a pay site. Other sites have success at this, like DKSports, who cover all of Pittsburgh sports. However, hardly talk about the minor league systems at all, which is where your site shines. Plus, you and your writes provide a lot more in-depth, analytical, and statistical coverage, which I really enjoy. So I really wish the best for your endeavor and am an avid supporter. Keep up the good work!!!
Tim,
Others have said this far more eloquently than I, but I’ll give it a shot. This site is the best prospect site, bar none. What you’ve built here over several years, for people who obsessively follow a mostly bad team, is a sight to behold. Of course, as fans, we’re often oblivious to the time and pressure that you’re under to keep the site afloat and also produce good content. All of which you’ve done a superb job.
I’m sorry for the anguish and pressure this whole endeavor has caused you. The level of difficulty of running a small business in this niche market on a day to day level is astronomical. It, quite literally, never stops. You’re incredibly talented and you’ve given so many an outlet. If shifting P2 to another steward is what is needed for your health and happiness, I think this community would be all for it. Be well.
Take your time and figure out what’s best for you. The community here is great and it’s quite an accomplishment but your life and happiness needs to come first.
Like many the site is an escape from stress or other hardships in our own lives and I thank you for that, but it shouldn’t be the cause for yours. Again take your time and figure out what’s best for you.
Love the transparency, Tim!
Keep fighting the good fight, brother
You said it.
People who haven’t owned & ran a small business don’t & can’t realize just how tough it is. Vacations mean losing income plus whatever the cost of the vacation is (there’s no paid time off). The pressure to help others can be a real burden. Then once you do produce something great, the government takes a huge chunk out during tax time. It’s very difficult to own a business, no matter how successful it is.
Tim, one small bit of advice I’d offer, is to turn off all notifications on your phone. Don’t let that fucking thing continue to interrupt your day with the latest greatest breaking news. Check your phone for info for when you want it, not when they want you to have it.
Also, even though we’ve never met, I feel that you & I have a similar personality & life experiences, & I’m turning 40 next month. I was going thru a tough patch a couple years ago, cashed out my money from the stock market, bought land in the Rocky mountains close to 10,000′ elevation, & taught myself thru Youtube videos how to build a cabin on my property, by myself & the experience changed me for the better. I’m not trying to brag about it, or telling you to do the same thing, just saying that for people with creative minds, it’s good to try something new & you’ll be amazed by how your mind will solve the problems, despite little expertise.
So don’t be afraid to try something new, something outside your comfort zone, but try something that allows for creativity. For me it was carpentry & overcoming off grid challenges, for you it might be painting or learning a new musical instrument, or joining a coed softball team, etc
Also, when is your birthday?
I did something similar but in SC. Bought an old farm house and slowly have turned it into a functioning homestead that provides a large portion of my families food. Hope to some day when the kids get a little bigger do as you and get off the grid. This is is my rough draft. But if it isn’t then I am enjoying this draft as well. Glad to hear your story. Totally agree with challenging a creative mind.
That’s awesome, congrats! If i have any regrets to my experience it’s that I didn’t buy property somewhere warmer, & SC would be a perfect place.
I don’t live at my cabin full time, as I still need to work a couple more years, so I end up using my vacation time to access the property to do the work. This has it’s advantages too, as it creates a sense of urgency to accomplish the projects before needing to catch a flight, & allows me to spread out the expenses over the course of a year.
Off grid has it’s definite challenges, but changing a spouse’s mindset might be the biggest challenge of them all. lol I wish you a successful venture towards your rough draft!
My next investment is going to be a wood burning cook stove. Lost power last Christmas when it was 0 deg with wind chill in SC. Which is unheard of. Even a small house gets cold quick in that weather. And not trying to convince anyone around me to let my family sleep by their fireplace. Would love to hear more about your trials and tribulations.
Thanks. Wife is down with almost all of it but the composting toilet may be a challenge. I will just tell her it’s better than an outhouse. I try and pump out as much work as I can whenever I have some one visiting (my father in law) who can pretty much do anything.
Danny McBride aka Kenny Powers is down your way in Charleston, SC getting ready for a new season of Righteous Gemstones.
Give it a watch if you haven’t already, first 2 seasons were really good. In particular, Walter Goggings playing Baby Billy and Macaulay Culkin playing his son.
I remember Walter Goggings from that police show The Shield.
I remember Walter as Wallace in Shanghai Noon and as Downtown Anderson in Major League Back to the Minors,
I really have to get into Gemstones, especially because of Goggins. He’s awesome and Boyd Crowder on Justified is one of my favorite characters of any show.
Boyd was a great character. But I heard Justified is doing one more season and I don’t know if they can take his character any further at this point.
His Baby Billy character might be the best character of all-time.
Will do. Wrote it down on a post it note. Will put that next to my keys. May even text my wife the title. My fool proof plan.
You forgot to mention the owner of a chicken that needs “Jobu’d” 🙂
True. True. I have 6 chicks coming in a week or so. That may divert their attention from Hannibal Lecter.
I’m getting ready to have my my little office appraised, seriously dreaming retirement. We opened for business Jan 2, 2007…a lifetime ago, and we are tired.
It has made a good living for my wife and me, plus provided another 3 full and 4 part-time positions. It has been a good ride.
Like you, how long will the ride last?
To your health and well-being, Tim.
I am seriously dreaming of retirement too. The dream will come true in the 1st Qtr of 2026 though….still dreaming!!!
I downsized significantly so I could work part time at a rural library and my wife can work as a part time book keeper and stay home. Kids are 5 and 3 and think we have more money than anyone. Grow food and spend as much time outside as we can. Always know I can go back and make that $ in physical therapy but boy this is way less stressful. Keep on dreaming because when you stop it’s all over in my opinion.
Oh, I will keep very busy but doing stuff will much less stress, lol!
My youngest is just starting out with physical therapy. Graduated in 2021. Only about 30 years or so till the loans are paid off, lol!
Seriously. Lowest paying job I think that requires a doctorate. At least it feels like it to me. It’s a great profession. 2020 kind of sucked in the medical field (or all fields I guess) so stumbled upon something else. Best of luck to him/her.
Thanks, Loves the work just finding the right employer to get experience. Hopefully the new one works out, lol!
I always appreciated your positivity on your posts. I also loved the negativity of others. But as some one with a Grandma who’s last name was Grzyndyski I also appreciated your Polish name. Keep making pierogies. I always wanted to have a pierogie place on a pier. Call it Pier Ogie’s.
Lol! How close are you to the coast? I hit the lottery and Pier Ogie’s will exist!
About 2 hours from Folly Beach. Which is Charleston. All of my in laws and my sister live down there. My wife is from there. We couldn’t afford land for a homestead there so we moved inland. They all will be once the sea levels rise. I loved living near Folly. And I love pierogies. Dreamt of filling them will all types of stuff. Even make desert rogies. Like little pies. The options are endless.
Soon as I get the winning ticket, I’m in! Love me some Polish soul food!
Tim:
I join the chorus of well wishes to you for your own well being.
Some additional comments. I have loved this site since I first stumbled unto it in year 1 or 2. I have been an avid daily reader for a variety of reasons. Content, quality, insights, information … I could go on. And if you decide for your own good to just move on, I will still have been better because of the details I have received for minimal cost over the years. And I congratulate you on a wonderful contribution to Pirate fans – giving them info that no other source had (to this day).
What you are going through is not unusual. In fact, I suspect that those who “never had a mental crisis” are in the extreme minority. Most are afraid to admit let alone face. But even knowing you are not alone, the pain is still very real. No matter what your future vocational endevours may be, with this site, a similar adventure, or something totally different, you will not be happy unless and until you face the demons in a positive manner. Therapy does work. Not every therapist is the same, and some might work for one and not work for another. So don’t give up if it doesn’t work the first time, or even the second or third, etc. For reasons that I cannot explain, based upon very real experience just seeing others go thorugh things, talking out issues works. But while writing an essay like this is indeed some sort of therapy by itself, nothing beats talking to the right person who can give you the insights and tools that will make you feel better. Once that happens, then maintain by regular monthly visits. Further, you will be happy and successful in whatever you choose to do.
I sincerely wish you the very best. Personally I hope this site contunes to exists. But do not for one minute think that you MUST continue this. Instead, know that you must take care of yourself, and even though all or most of your readers have never met you, we all care. You are more important than this site. And if we all never read another piece written or edited or produced by you, we will all be ok. So you be ok too.
Be well.
Off Topic and I know that not everybody subscribes but there is a great human interest story on our 2026 CFer in the Athletic. Too long to summarize. Sorry.
Not at all opposed to this pick, but he’s been cold in May whereas Langford and skenes keep on producing. Many good options to choose from
It’s a good read. Makes me want to draft him a little more after reading the article.
I have been on him at #1 . I love Skene, but to me, DC is head and shoulders above everyone else.
I agree. The stats are incredible and he seems to have a great head on his shoulders.
I have messed around the past few days just seeing if any other teams have any prospect sites anything close to this one. The handful that I’ve checked out are butt. This is the only website that I have ever commented on in my 43 years on this earth.
Saying that I hope you do whatever makes you happy in life Tim. I’ve enjoyed checking in on this site (probably too much) since I think you started it. I have enjoyed all of the different personalities of posters. I feel this site may be the only thing that kept me in the Pirate loop since moving from Pittsburgh. Believe it or not there aren’t too many Bucco fans in rural South Carolina.
I look forward to whatever happens. Definitely will miss this community.
Sorry if the snooping on other sites is considered cheating,
Camillo Bianco
Tim, I very much appreciate the work that you have put into this site. It was one of the therapies that helped my through the ordeal of my wife’s fight with cancer and after her passing. This site was one of my prime outlets for a few moments to divert away from reality for a few minutes of time each day. Gave me something enjoyable to take my mind off of why I was sitting in a waiting room during surgeries, treatments, exams, etc. Will never forget this site no matter what the future holds. Thanks again
Echoing others’ sentiments, this site has, at times, acted as a life preserver if you will. But, that is for me and we all have different needs. Soul-searching is an endless endeavor but it sure sounds like you are succeeding. Maybe these Buccos can, too, in time.
I said this to you Tim previously, if PP is a burden and is not making you happy step away and or transfer the sites responsibility to another. Life is much too short to go through it carrying expectations that one can not meet. As the song says”don’t worry be happy”.
Tim,
I first want to thank you for the content on this site that I have consumed for 12 years. This is my favorite website and one that I frequent multiple times a day. It has helped me get through my own personal battles with mental health. If this is it, it has been one hell of a ride.
Thank you for the amazing content and dedication from you and your team.
I’ll post this here, since it’s the most recent column (but not to take away from the important focus of this column)…Kiley has an interesting update to his top 50 today:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/37708227/top-50-2023-mlb-prospects-updated-de-la-cruz-mayer-holliday
For those who can’t read it, some Pirates-centric observations:
Too long of an article for these bad eyes to read, but I just want to say good luck personally. Selfishly, .I hope to see the same great content for years to come. But, if the money or your health runs out and P2 dies, it has been a great run. The site is irreplaceable for the content it provided.
This site is irreplaceable because Tim provides us with a community. I feel as connected to this site as I do to the community of friends I have in the town I reside. It’s totally different, but just as real because of the admiration and respect I have for my P2 friends like you Lee, and so many others.
“The site is irreplaceable…”
Exactly.
Hey….waitaminnit. I said that and only got TWO likes. You repeat it and get 9!!!
Mom always liked you best…..sniff, sob, cry emojis. Not that I am trying to get any sympathy here 😂😂😂
Okay….I am up to four now. It better be near twenty by game time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNCrMEOqHpc
That is hilarious!
First thing I thought of when I read your post. Too bad we just can’t have a random thread where we can keep talking Bucs baseball and whatever else without the article coverage. Just a rolling message board. Would get sloppy I guess.
And how would that be different than now?
No articles. Just one message board that people post on whenever they have something exciting to say. Or random to say. Ect. Loosely based on Bucco baseball.
Reddit is pretty much the closest thing to this. R/buccos is fairly active these days
OnlyBucs.net/forums
Small forum, been around for ages. I can’t remember if they’re taking new members right now or not. I can ask.
It’s fine. I will wait on PP. Not sure where it is going from here like said all over this post. But I appreciate the response.
We would NEVER get sloppy. 😙😙😙
well, you were first-born, so you at least have that.
Are you implying that I a, older than dirt. Sheesh!😂😂
Are you really siblings?
No. Old Smothers Brothers joke.
nah, I’m MUCH better looking than he is…he got the smarts
Obviously you got NO smarts if you think you’re better looking than me. 😎😎😒
Tim, I wish 2 things for you. First, from a work perspective, that you love your work, whatever that work may be. Second, I wish you happiness.
I have been a Pirates fan since childhood. This is the only site I care to view about the organization and its prospects. I love the content and the fellowship communicating with subscribers. You’ve created something great. It may not be perfect, but it is great. My dad came to this country with a suitcase full of clothes and $50. He took our family from poverty to affluency. I remember a person telling my dad that he was blessed with so many talents. Dad simply responded, “I try.” Tim, you’ve tried and because of your efforts, you’ve made something real, something with substance, something that is great. Thank you and congratulations! 😊
Thank you for this update. You could drop all this today and still have made a great contribution to creating a community around the Pirates and a way for many of us to escape from pressures from other parts of our lives. But I hope this site will continue in some form.
Wherever things go, though, I most hope for your well-being and that you’ll find joy and peace.
Tim I wish you the very best and hope that you can come to a decision that is best for you and your mental health.