If there are three things in life you can count on its death, taxes, and the Pirates losing. Wait, scratch that. Not this year. For some reason unbeknownst to me the baseball gods gambled last April with the success of different teams at stake. The result? Something that has not been seen in years. Don’t look now the Pirates and Orioles are both above .500 with the gods sending a fat middle finger to the Red Sox and Phillies. Ironic, yes, but the hardest part as a fan is knowing how to approach these next few weeks.
It is easy to have high expectations yes, but this is not the way to go. I’m an Orioles fan, and to be honest, I typically avoid them like the plague until after the all-star break which is typically when they go from close to .500 to close to .300. This may make me seem like a crappy fan, but hey, who says you have to invest emotion in terrible team?
Can’t you just hope for the best, and take enjoyment from going to the ole ball park? Isn’t that what baseball is about? Hope? If the Orioles tank and miss out on the playoffs, I’ll be mildly disappointed yes, but it’s what I’ve come to expect. Why expect the playoffs when a sampler platter of the past 20 years contains nothing but disappointment? It’s unreasonable.
So, assuming the Pirates tank, the main thing to take away from this season would be continued progress, and a bevy of young talent that will be back next year. Marte, McCutchen, Alvarez, Walker, they’ll all be back next year, not to mention the possible debuts of Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon. The team should be able to build on this success.
But hey, the season isn’t over, and I’m not saying give up. I’m just saying temper your expectations, accept progress as a positive result, and hope for a possible post season. Peace out. Bottoms Up.