After 2 Straight Losses, I Have 5 Letters for Pirate Fans

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Photo Credit: Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

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Look, I know the feeling.  The Pittsburgh Pirates weren't just surprising us in April, but it seemed like they were doing the impossible.  How, with this roster, did they have their best start in over 20 years?  It didn't make sense.  So instead of being excited, a lot of Pirate "fans" were preaching caution.  

"It's still early."  "They haven't played any good teams."  "The shoe is about to drop."

And a little bit of caution is okay.  It's natural to feel like this could go off the rails at any moment.  However, there are some who seem to revel in the negativity.  

So of course as soon as the Pirates slightly stumble, if you can even call it that, the fake 'I told you so' fans come out of the woodwork.  If you're one of these people whose whole identity is crapping on the Pirates while their bad while pretending to be a fan, you know who you are.  And you're a loser.

First, I'm not even sure this can be considered a stumble for the Pirates.  They have lost the first two games of a 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.  If you've paid even a second of attention to baseball you know that the Rays are not just the best team in the league, but they're playing like one of the best teams in the history of baseball.  The Rays are not just beating opponents, they are blowing them out.  They have a +113 run differential.  The second closest is Texas at +69. Nice.

These Rays are playing unbelievably and have dominated every team they've played.  They are not just 25-6 overall, but they're also 16-2 at home.  Beating the Rays in the Trop is proving to be a very tough task despite the lousy attendance there.  They know how to play the white roof and the turf surface better than anyone, and we've seen that throughout this series.

So I urge my fellow Pirate fans to follow those five letters that new Jets QB Aaron Rodgers stressed to Green Bay Packers fans years ago: 

R-E-L-A-X.  



The Pirates were not going to win every series from here on out. In fact, they may even get swept once or twice along the way.  That's baseball.  It's 162 games.  It is a sport of runs.  And we already had a great one when we started 20-9.  Now they may go on a 14-15 run.  Or a 9-20 run.  But whatever their next run is, starting 20-9 was a damn good run.

Also, while the Rays appear to be a tough matchup for all teams this season, they are a particularly tough matchup for the Pirates.  They are exactly like us.  They do the little things correctly.  They take the extra base and they make the tough plays.  Especially on their turf.  Some teams are just tough matchups for others.  Plus, Mitch Keller actually pitched great yesterday if you watched the game and ignore the box score.  He is still pitching like an ace.

So I urge the rational Pirate fans to relax.  This is not the start of a collapse, nor is it the other shoe dropping.  It is just the Pirates running into a very good team in a very tough place to play.  That's it.  Two games does not a season make.