Overall, Not a Bad Performance

Overall, Not a Bad Performance

November 1, 2010

PITTSBURGH, PA. (AP) - When the season first started, a lot of people considered the playoff chances for the Pirates to be non-existent. And as the season has come to a close, those nifty analysts who consider themselves to be prophets, were right all along. Of course, a monkey could've made that prediction.

What they didn't expect, were for the Pirates to fight it out as tough as they did to finish the season with under 100 losses. Something that was also predicted to become the fate for the swash buckling Pirates. But those who knew better, didn't leap far ahead of themselves to make such a prediction.

Many realized that as soon as the Pirates front office hired the young and fresh faced Andrew Lizon as their new General Manager, that he would rebuild the team to be 100% more competitive. Unfortunately, the way they played last year, 100% better still was not good enough. But it did bring hope to many Pirate fans across the country.

"Man, I sure saw a lot of promise this year," Jack, a Pirate fan from Wisconsin said. "I mean, I knew that this team would probably not make the playoffs, but they didn't finish last either. They've made some incredible improvements though free agent signings and by some pretty impressive trades. I mean, gosh...my hat goes off to the new GM!"

Jack isn't the only one who feels this way. Last week on Baseball Tonight, Peter Gammons said that he wouldn't be surprised if the Pirates made a legitimate playoff run in 2011.

"Andrew Lizon will do whatever is necessary to make that team even better next year," Peter Gammons, Baseball Analyst for ESPN was quoted as saying. "I honestly think that with the resources he has, he can pull something out of his sleeve and whatever it will be, it will be amazing."

"I feel honored that I'm being given so much credit for adding some life into this team," Andrew Lizon, Pirates General Manager said. "But, I feel like most of the credit should go the players themselves, and most of all, the fans in Pittsburgh. I mean, they've kept their heads up when things looked so gloom, and no matter what, they stuck it out."

2010 is over, and it will be a long and interesting offseason for the Pirate GM, but after everything is said and done, it was not a bad performance. Not one bit.

writer of the year canidate for sure!