When the hopes for the future start to populate that Major League roster is when a fan of a team that is supposedly in a total rebuild is most excited. There isn't any pressure of "having" to win, and no longer are these players restricted to the myth of whispers, reports, and highlights on social media. You can imagine what it will look like in two or three years if you see them on the field. When you can actually see the things on your screen or in person, you don't feel stupid for trying to catch up on boxscores on MILB.com and the reports of various writers.
The Pirates, who have been through three rebuilds in the past 10 years, are supposedly entering that phase now. At least touching the toe. Yesterday, Oneil Cruz came up. Cruz is the Pirates top prospect and you don't know it. He plays a position that is similar to an NBA wing. He can do a lot on the field. This is like this.
The throw is over 100 mph.
This: or something similar.
The ball traveled at 112 mph.
The rough edges of Cruz's game have begun to be smoothed out. He has played it well enough that Scouts couldn't wait to move him off of short. Cruz will give something most nights that will reward Pirates fans for watching. It isn't a feeling they've had in a long time.
The idea is that once Cruz is joined by the likes of Henry Davis orQuinn Priester or Nick Gonzalez, or all of them, the Pirates will provide some years of contention.
Does anyone think that's true?
If Cruz is traded, most Pirates fans will start a clock on when he will be gone. In his first three or four seasons in Pittsburgh, he might sign a long-term extension or even a free agent contract to get a higher salary. Cruz is trading in some money later for money now.
There is only about five years if that is the case. The more time a player has left of team control, the more valuable he is. Five years is a long time from now. Is the Pirates able to pull it all together in that time?
Can those in black and gold ever hope that a player will play his entire career there? This is a fan base that had to say goodbye to Andrew McCutchen, the most beloved player on the team. All he had to do was sign a contract. The Pirates ended up with Bryan Reynolds out of it. Which Pirates fans would prefer to have had?
Even though the Pirates play in a division that doesn't have a financial power, no one in Pittsburgh believes that Bob Nutting would allow these prospects to be augmented with free agents to turn the team into a true power. If you want the NL Central, it's there. The gates are not manned by the Yankees or Astros. They were able to get everything to go right in 2015. They are most likely to be undone by MLB's whackadoo playoffs. The Pirates front office has never given fans multiple spins at the wheel.
Cruz is going to give a lot of highlights. There are moments that promise even more. If you are a Pirates fan and have been in the desert for a long time, you will take any sign of water. If the fans don't forgive you, you'll have to. Sometimes the movie was cut off before the second act ended. Maybe they don't want to buy into the con again, as Nutting continues to inhale his revenue sharing and TV money and whatever else he has going in and around the park.
Unless you are truly lost and helpless, you will end up with at least a few prospects that can help you in the future. Pirates fans have seen too many times that their ownership isn't willing to take that step.
The arrival of Cruz in Pittsburgh is supposed to change things. It doesn't happen in Rob Manfred's MLB, and he's never shown interest in figuring it out. It might feel like a vicious cycle reloading to them.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
