Bob:
Here we go. We see it, too. The plan with Hill and Santana worked perfectly, and the other trades brought bodies with good reports attached. There are holes to fill, after all, but this lineup doesn’t seem too far away from, dare we say, competitive.
Building from within is painstaking, and if benchmarks are not met, the process could be endless, as you found out during your first six years as the chairman and majority owner. But then there were the 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons, weren’t there? The “fun years,” as we recall, when a guy named Andrew McCutchen led a gang of Pirates to the playoffs for three consecutive years and people were running around saying things like “AbsoBUCnlutely” and “MVP.”
That’s where it all crashed and burned. With just a few more players to add, it was over. Talk to the hand, you said, right? The baseball people advised you what winning would take – and cost – and you backed away and sold off your “gently used” pieces of the puzzle. It was a business decision, we know, but it hurt.
And we walked away.
But guess what? We’ve returned, that’s what, and we’re writing you now to request you don’t do the same damn demolition. We’re asking, too, while going to the ballpark this season to witness – again – below-.500 baseball.
We’re asking you to join us in the fanbase.
Be a fan, Bob.
Sincerely,
Let’s Go Bucs!
