Major League Baseball is a microcosm of life.
No matter what you do in life, whether you’re a professional baseball player, a sports writer, an accountant, or even a service worker, the overall objective is the same.
You’re tasked with regulating your energy, trusting your abilities, and doing the work placed in front of you the best you can.
Some days, you have more energy than others. Some days, you have more pain. Some days, you might lack trust in yourself. Some days, you might feel invincible.
I think we’re drawn to sports as a society because it’s the best way to qualify and quantify who is successful at consistently trusting their abilities, regulating their energy, and performing in the present moment.
Some people look to sports as a source of personal inspiration. They attach themselves to a specific player, for reasons they might not fully understand. Most people follow the best players in the game because they want to know how to be the best. Some people follow a specific player because they subconsciously identify themselves in that player.
The same goes with attachment to teams. I could never honestly root for the New York Yankees, because in my own personal experience, I’ve always operated more as an underdog. That’s why my favorite teams in life have been the Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Oakland Athletics. And the Minnesota Twins for a few years when Torii Hunter was their center fielder.
When the connection is made to a player and a team, it offers us the chance for escape.
Transference kicks in, and we live vicariously through the success or failure of the team as a temporary substitute to further understand and motivate our own life journey. That’s what makes sports potentially so great, or potentially so frustrating.
Pittsburgh is an underdog city.
It’s a city that has been decimated over the last century with the loss of coal mines and steel mills. It’s a city that once had a population over a million people, and has been on a steady, continuous decline.
Pittsburgh is also a city that has seen a bit of a revival over the last decade, with more of a presence of technology and medical industries replacing the factories and mills of the past. The downside to this is that the traditional blue collar workers probably aren’t getting those jobs, and instead, those jobs are slowly bringing a different type of people to the city. A rising tide of population does lift all boats, but I digress.
When it comes to Pittsburgh sports, you see a level of pride from Pittsburgh residents that you rarely see with other teams in other cities.
There is no question that a lot of transference is taking place with Pittsburgh residents and their sports teams. I’ve never lived in the Pittsburgh area, with the closest place I’ve lived being the Altoona area for the first decade-plus of my life. My father’s family came from the Pittsburgh area. As a somewhat outsider, I’ve noticed how much Pittsburgh residents swell with pride when they’re seen by the outside world for the good. Even when they no longer live in Pittsburgh.
A magazine lists Pittsburgh as one of the best places to live, and the residents swell with pride in their city.
The Pirates make the playoffs for the first time in decades, and TV sets around the country shake from the raucous blackout crowd.
Every city that is not Pittsburgh has a bar that is specifically for people from Pittsburgh to gather together.
Pittsburgh residents take pride in every aspect of their city, and they care what the outside world thinks. Probably too much. Probably because for most of our modern-day lives, Pittsburgh has been a loser. I don’t say that disparagingly, but factually. It’s lost industry. It’s lost population. There’s also the Pirates.
Above all, Pittsburgh residents want you to know they’re not losers, despite all of the losing.
They want you to see their city in the same light that is captured with every Dave DiCello sunrise photo of the skyline. They want you to know about all of the great hidden gems inside the city, as well as everything that makes the surrounding suburbs special. They want you to know when their sports teams are good, to a point where it can annoy other fan bases to no end. Especially Steelers fans.
I’ve never lived in Pittsburgh, but I’ve always admired that pride in the city from its residents. Most of all, with their sports teams.
That’s why I’ve been running this site for 16 seasons. At first, it allowed me to continue my sports writing career with a subject I cared about, and one that wasn’t covered by Pittsburgh media, despite extreme fan interest. The prospects. The future. The hope that the Pirates could one day be another shining example to tout from this city.
Eventually, I became one of the few credentialed media members who would check owner Bob Nutting in person with questions on how he was running his business, and I’m pretty sure I’m the only media member who doesn’t have a slant toward ownership, the front office, or the players. My slant is fully toward the fan needs. And the fans need a winner, regardless of what the owner, General Manager, or players need to do to make it happen.
I think Pittsburgh is headed to a point where the Pirates will be winners. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. I also think this is already starting, even if this season carries the cautious optimism that protects from the many losing seasons of the past.
The 2024 roster has been led by an elite young pitching staff, fueled by rookie phenom Paul Skenes. Talk about a perfect example of someone who consistently trusts their abilities, regulates their energy, and performs in the present moment. Since Skenes has arrived, the entire young rotation has elevated to a more consistent and more confident level of performance.
I want to see the Pirates win. Mostly because I know what that would do for the mood of their fans — not just inside the city, or in the surrounding areas, but for everyone who identifies part of themselves as Pittsburgh, via the Pirates.
There is some residual underdog transference on my part in cheering for the Pirates to win.
However, these days, in my age-40 season of life, and in my 18th year as a sports writer, my sports transference goes to Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers: One of the best in his game who doesn’t get his due, and has way too many haters. That might sound arrogant to some, but we can’t control the teams and players we end up following for personal inspiration and escape. They choose us. And if you’re hating on me for relating in such a way to the best in another industry, I’ll just take a page out of Embiid’s book:
My focus in covering the Pirates isn’t to falsely provide hope for those who need to see their underdog team win. Nor is it meant to provide validation from those who can’t trust something until they see it happen. My focus is to give you my best attempt at an objective approach from an honest subjective viewpoint — to the point where you’ll be able to relax and trust when the Pirates are actually headed toward a winner.
I think they are starting to arrive.
And I really hope to see it happen for everyone who transfers their own personality into the city of Pittsburgh.
Pirates 2024 Draft
Thursday was the 2024 MLB Draft signing deadline, and the day went without any additional signings from the Pirates.
That’s not a surprise.
The Pirates signed their first round prep hitter Konnor Griffin to an over-slot deal on Wednesday, and also added 11th round LHP Jacob Bimbi to an over-slot deal. The two moves left them with zero dollars in their bonus pool for over-slot deals. After signing 19 of 21 players from the draft class, the only two remaining unsigned players would have required over-slot deals to join the Pirates.
The Draft Pick Signing Tracker has all of the players who signed, and their bonuses.
My post-draft column has my thoughts on this draft class. I’ll be revisiting that soon, now that the signing class is officially set. Spoiler alert: This was a good haul of talent for the Pirates.
Roster Moves
There have been a lot of moves the last few days, in order to make room for all of the trades. I detailed most of those moves on Wednesday. Check out that First Pitch for the full rundown of the MLB and minor league moves. There were two that I missed.
Joshua Palacios was placed on the 10-day injured list, after hurting his hamstring earlier in the week. The Pirates just added outfielder Bryan De La Cruz at the trade deadline, and have been playing Ji Hwan Bae in the outfield. Palacios has been hitting well, and will only boost the depth off the bench for this team when he returns healthy.
RHP Ryder Ryan was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man spot for the new additions. Ryan has been used as a depth option out of Triple-A this year, with a 5.29 ERA and a 3.81 FIP in 17 innings, striking out 16 and walking eight.
I’d expect more moves this weekend as the remaining deadline additions are added to the roster. This is also the time of year for minor league promotions, and there have already been a few of those this week, which should continue the ripple effect throughout the system.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Anthony Solometo had his best start of the year, throwing five shutout innings for Bradenton. Liover Peguero continued his recent hitting with his 19th double of the year. Offseason Cuban signing Emmanuel Chapman threw four shutout innings in a start for Altoona. Termarr Johnson had two hits in Greensboro. Read about all of Thursday’s Pirates minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch:
Pirates Prospect Watch: Anthony Solometo Changes It Up With Five Shutout Innings
