Swagger

by jpj74 on Aug 13, 2006 11:14 PM EDT

I like the young talent the Bucs seem to be accumulating, and I'm guardedly optimistic about the future. But moreso than Littlefield's ineptness or the players' flat out inexperience and lack of top tier talent, what really disappoints me about the last 3-4 years of Pirate baseball is that there just aren't any gamers on this team. No brashness, no attitude. You don't see anyone pitching inside consistently with the intent to intimidate, you don't see baserunners go into 2nd base hard. I can't remember the last time I saw a Pirate charge the mound or get into any type of confrontation with an opponent. Not saying that they have to play without class to win, but there's just no damn fire.

The parallel may stop completely at this point only, but prior to '86 the Mets were an abysmal team with no direction. Granted adding super-talents like Doc and Straw goes a long way, but the Mets also put together a team of brash young guys with balls that thought they were a lot better than they were. They improved from '83 to '86 in no small part due to that attitude.

Torres is about the only Pirate I think has a screw loose. The rest are just nice guys. Does this piss anyone else off but me?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editor (Charlie) or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.

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azibuck

by azibuck on Aug 15, 2006 10:37 PM EDT reply actions

"Attitude" on a losing team?

Anyone else think that a team that shows arrogance while losing just looks absolutely silly doing so?

by Willton on Aug 16, 2006 1:20 PM EDT reply actions

arrogance?

It's not arrogance. It's confidence, and it's a mindset that you're not going to let the past dictate the future. Those early 80's Mets had balls even when they weren't winning, and surprise surprise...look at what they accomplished. I heard Grady Little interviewed a while back talking about how guys like Damon, Millar, Varitek, etc...didn't think twice about The Curse or any of that nonsense. They were overly confident despite a century of reasons to be intimidated by the Yanks.

Your politically correct disdain for what you consider "arrogance" is the reason why Pirate fans have no passion, create no home-field advantage for their team, and clap politely year after year good character guys who can't play.

by jpj74 on Aug 19, 2006 10:01 PM EDT reply actions

Need for more "balls"

The St. Louis Cardinals are a team full of nice guys, and they went to the WS 2 years ago. It's not about attitude or passion or "having balls." It's about talent. The Pirates could have all the attitude in the world and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. What they need is talented ballplayers.

I don't give a rat's ass whether the Pirates like helping old ladies cross the street or like kicking midgets in alleyways. I want them to win.

by Willton on Aug 20, 2006 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions