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Musgrove Quote Leaves me Uninspired for Pirates Chances
Yinzer Crazy • May 14, 2020
When will Baseball be back?
As a baseball fan and eternal optimist, I’m surely excited for the potential of a return to play. We’re obviously hurting as a country and any distraction right now would feel like a temporary sense of normalcy. For what it’s worth, talks have recently surfaced involving baseball returning around the 4th of July with some significant changes to the standard season. Both AL and NL teams would employ a designated hitter, fans would likely not be allowed in the stands, and maybe the greatest change of all - teams would only play an 82-game regular season, about half of what we’re accustomed to.
Stop me if you’ve heard this from me before - I’m probably less excited for the return of the Pirates than I am baseball in the grand scheme of things. I’m uninspired by the current roster and new regime's early moves or non-moves - and unfortunately I think there are players in the clubhouse that may agree. I thought starting pitcher Joe Musgrove had some really interesting things to say roughly a week ago when discussing the altered season schedule plans.
Jason Mackey
@JMackeyPG
·May 7
Interesting quote from Joe Musgrove earlier today on a shortened season: "We don’t have to be consistent and a really good team for six months. We have to be good for 80 to 100 games or whatever they decide the number is. ... It's something that can help us rather than hurt us."
Credit Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for uncovering the quote. Maybe I’m stretching a tad, but you can help me decode this. This tells me that there’s a chance at least one guy in that locker room doesn’t believe this team is fit to win - and he’d be right.
When you put on your common sense goggles the quote translates to: “ Playing less games could help us because a smaller-sample size would expose less flaws”.
And once again, he’s not wrong. It would allow teams with less talent to get creative by doing things like beginning more contests with your best and hardest throwing relievers in “bullpen” games, and also starting better front-line pitchers on shorter rest. But the quote itself isn’t all that encouraging. I don’t knock Musgrove at all for his honesty, I just don’t know that as Pirates fans we should be planning the parade route.
Maybe it ultimately will help, and the Buccos will remain competitive. That would be a ton of fun. For what it’s worth, I think new manager Derek Shelton has been dealt a tough hand. I’ve always just wanted to see management pick a direction, and it seems like once again they won’t fully commit to the necessary full-on rebuild. New General Manager Ben Cherington took the job and immediately shed the salary of Starling Marte, one of the Pirates highest-paid and best positional players, and replaced him with a below-level replacement player in outfielder Jarrod Dyson. Not sure what direction you’re conveying to the fan-base there.
I’m excited for baseball. I’m stoked to be able to potentially watch a Pirates game. But I’m not overly inspired by their chances in 2020. And it doesn’t particularly sound like they are either.
Mike Nicastro - Yinzer Crazy Co-Founder and Hopeless Baseball Romantic.
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Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Harv Aronson. Contact Harv @ Totalsportsrecall@gmail.com
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