Jolly Roger Good in Pittsburgh

PNC Park has never been more alive than it was last night in the one-game Wildcard. It looked like a college football crowd with an organized blackout with every fan wearing black in the stands. The baseball team from Pittsburgh did not look bad either. Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati, 6-2 with a strong pitching performance from Francisco Liriano and two home runs from Russell Martin.  With Pittsburgh's newfound crowd and a team that believes, how far can this team go in October?  

There might not be a more underrated comeback story than Liriano in the last couple of years. If Liriano pitched for a Los Angeles or New York team, he would have grabbed headlines all summer with his pitching performance. Because he played for Pittsburgh, he received some fanfare for his season, but there definitely is not as much hype as it needed to be for Liriano. Left-handed batters cannot face Liriano. He is downright terrifying against them as lefties are going .133 against them for the season. Liriano's devastating slider is like a finisher in professional wrestling. Many are not getting up after he throws the slider. He hit rock bottom in 2012 to bounce back for a huge year in 2013, it is amazing.  

Clint Hurdle has brought a team to the World Series, the 2007 Colorado Rockies. That team went on an unbelievable run, and if they did not have a week off before playing Boston, they might have won the World Series. Hurdle can bring this Pittsburgh team to the pinnacle, but it is going to be tough. Going through St. Louis and then either Los Angeles or Atlanta, will be extremely difficult especially with an inexperienced team. Martin has been there before, same with Justin Morneau, but the rest of the team is pretty fresh to the playoff experience. The real moment for Pittsburgh will come when they get hit in the mouth and how they respond to it. The latter is huge when it comes to the playoffs. 

The Pirates will have a crowd behind them. Last night, many people on Twitter noted Pittsburgh's fans had not been there for the entire year. They were right as Pittsburgh came in 19th out of 30 teams in terms of attendance.  People called them bandwagon fans instead of marveling in how they showed up in a major way on Tuesday night. There needs to be a realization that the Pirates are third in terms of professional sports in Pittsburgh. The Steelers and Penguins are two premier franchises in their respective sport with a dedicated fanbase. Pittsburgh families spend their money on these two teams and the Pirates get left in the dirt.  I do not blame the average Pittsburgh Joe for doing that. The Steelers and Penguins have won championships in the last ten years and the Pirates have not made the playoffs in 20+ years, it is understandable. 

The Pirates had a crowd brought back memories of the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers or an old school New York Yankees atmosphere  After Johnny Cueto gave up a home run in the second inning, fans started chanting CUUUE-TOO, CUUUE-TOO like he played goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers. The last time I can remember something remotely close to what the Pirates fans did last night was when New York's crowd chanted 'Who's Your Daddy?' to Pedro Martinez after he made a comment that 'The Yankees are my daddy.'  They complete shook Cueto and he did not pitch well with the rowdy fan atmosphere. Even if the bandwagon showed up late, this will be a tough place to play in October.   

Pittsburgh is the golden child on Major League Baseball. Everyone is pulling for them in the postseason. The bandwagon is overfilling with fans. The biggest hope for Pittsburgh is these fans whom joined the party late come back next season too. Hopefully, the flag is raised many times this postseason.

Charlie.