My Rationale for a Blog: My Own Sanity

So I grew up watching the Pirates. The team last had a winning season when I was ten years old, but those years from 1988 to 1992 were magical, playoff losses aside. In any case, as a child I learned to appreciate Major League Baseball.

By MLB baseball, I mean these things:

--An outfield that usually consisted of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, and Bobby Bonilla, who, at that time, were all ABOVE-average (at bare minimum) MLB players. Some would say good, some would say great, but to put it mildly, they were better than a lot of other outfielders. Bonilla's occasional adventures aside (I was a kid, so give me a break if I don't remember specifics), the players could HIT and FIELD. In retrospect, it truly was astounding.

--A team that possessed solid MLB pitching. A starting rotation that consisted of Doug Drabek and John Smiley, players who at the time were among the league's elite starting pitchers, supplemented by pitchers who weren't All-Stars but knew how to win baseball games. Really, a Cy Young winner, and a 20 game winner? Talk about bygones of a different era.

--Very importantly, a front office that identified, assembled, and acquired talent (until 1992, anyhow) and a manager who understood his players and the game and who knew how to coach winning teams and All-Star players.

--Most importantly, a team that had the talent to win and that expected to win, each and every night. The MLB team I grew up watching played in a boring stadium, but the players I watched were terrific talents, All-Stars in their time supplemented by solid MLB players. Repeating what's most important: The team had the talent to win, believed it could win, and amazingly, won a lot of games that were pleasant for a young girl to watch.

That being said, I still have those memories of those Pirates teams. Despite trying, I can't bring myself to root for a baseball team with an ownership group (a la the Yankees) who, for however evil, actually has shown concern for winning AND profit rather than just profit. This is perhaps the born-and-raised Pittsburgher in me, or just the delusional aspect of being a fan. Whatever it is, however, it's annoying and ingratiating when it comes to the baseball team I root for, but it is what I have.

So thus, this blog blossoms into being--and really, writing helps keep me sane. So as I enjoy a summer in Pittsburgh and try to maintain my sanity while watching my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates masquerade as a legitimate MLB team in the most beautiful park in America, I must blog. For sanity's sake.