The Pirates have a very interesting mindset compared to other Pittsburgh sports teams, and maybe even any team in the country.
The Pirates are like a small underdog team that never succeeds, despite having a great ballpark and food options. Their performance over the past 50 years suggests that PNC Park should be a place of failure. They make a lot of money but disrespect their fans by not investing in their players.
The media that supports the Pirates always looks at the positive side. They only need a small nudge to get excited and show support.
Last season, the Pirates' good start led to a significant increase in attendance, even though they didn't maintain their performance.
Despite the promising start, the Pirates only won 76 games and fell short of making the playoffs.
Despite the team's disappointing performance, a large number of fans still showed up to support them.
Pirates fans are not very demanding and don't express their dissatisfaction much.
In contrast, the Penguins had a remarkable period of success with playoffs appearances and winning three Stanley Cups, creating high expectations for the team.
Now, as the Penguins are struggling, a significant portion of their fans are unhappy and feel let down.
This has been the case for the Pirates for a long time.
The Pirates have a very poor history of winning, with only four winning seasons since 1992 and no playoff series wins since 1979. They even got rid of a successful team in 2015 for financial reasons, which was seen as a betrayal.
The Pirates are consistently disappointing, which is quite remarkable.
It's a surprising pattern.
This season is expected to be great.
The Pirates are expected to have a decent lineup and good bullpen, but their starting rotation is weak. One of their pitchers is even named Falter, which doesn't inspire confidence.
The Pirates are anticipated to perform slightly better, and this might lead to fans celebrating just reaching a .500 win percentage as a big accomplishment, even though it's unlikely to happen.
This demonstrates the unique mindset of Pirates fans where winning is not necessary to be celebrated.
The Pirates have the ability to improve and become a more competitive baseball team.
There's a suggestion to promote Skenes and not worry so much about the transition to a professional workload, focusing more on winning than on player service time.
Skenes, who was the first overall draft pick last year, is capable, and there's a comparison with another player who was performing well in the starting lineup.
The Pirates could replicate a scene from the movie 'Major League', where the GM tries to recruit a player from Mexico, indicating a humorous approach to the situation.
For now, Beat them, Bucs.
No one should believe. But many do.
