Why?

I am a huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I always have been, and I'd like to think I always will be. Growing up, like every other little kid in America, I wanted to be a baseball player. I idolized Andy Van Slyke. I pestered my dad with questions about baseball and the Pirates. It progressed from simple questions like "Why is that man (the catcher) a different color from the other man (the batter?" to "Who do we want to win?" and finally to "Why did he bring Belinda in, Dad?" I was only seven when that fateful question had to be asked, with tears in my eyes the next morning at breakfast (because I wasn't allowed to stay up that late, of course, in those fragile and formative years). From that point on, I began to learn something new about baseball, I learned about losing. The Pirates had been good for as long as I had cared to follow them. All of a sudden, they weren't good anymore, but it was OK because Andy Van Slyke was still there. Of course shortly after that, Andy broke his collarbone doing what he did best, playing amazing outfield, and then even he was gone. Jason Kendall came in shortly after, with Van Slyke's (and my) number. He even played my position (or maybe I played his position). But he was no Andy Van Slyke to me. I'm 20 now and I still remember Angelo Encarnacion, Mike Kingery, John Ericks, Will Pennyfeather, Trey Beamon, Nelson Liriano, Clint Sodowski, and of course, Turner Ward. I've frozen half to death at home openers. I sat in the $1 kids seats in the outfield GA at Three Rivers all the time. I picked Duquesne for college partly for its proximity to PNC Park (though there were other, equally good reasons, trust me). After years of my dad and friends encouraging me, I finally decided this spring to start writing my thoughts about the Pirates down. This blog started as a way of giving my Pirate opinions to family and friends while I was away at school, and as a way for me to keep track of my thoughts about the Buccos. I named it after my all-time favorite Pirate, and the warm memories he invokes every time I hear his name. I'm waiting for more of those warm memories to be created, and this site is now for anyone else that wants to wait with me.

Anyways, if you're still here, just know that I welcome comments from anyone, Pirates fan or otherwise. In fact, part of the reason I love doing this is hearing the opinions of other people that aren't newspaper writers, whether they agree with me or not. I only ask that you put some thoughts into your comments. I put a lot of time into this blog, and when I'm done posting I read all the comments and try to answer questions and have discussions. If you're going to rehash mindless drivel from the newspaper or from ESPN or Rotoworld to disagree with me, don't expect a response. I do have other things to do.

Please also keep in mind that while I do run the site and take responsibility for anything you see on the main page, I am not responsible for anything that's said in the comments.