The “Here we go Steelers” Pirates Fan.

                Steel City fans have always been and will always be football fans first.  There's no knocking on their 6-time Super Bowl Champion “Stillers”, even after they get discount double-checked by Aaron Rodgers in the Super bowl.  What can be knocked is their baseball team’s existence since 1993.  Up until the 2011 season and Andrew McCutchen, Pirates fans were busy washing their terrible towels and Troy Polamalu’s hair during the summer months.

                Somehow last season’s 72-90 was chalked up as a season of promise for the Pirates.  It certainly was a dramatic improvement from their 105 loss season in 2010.  Although the pirates did show some real promise and did contend for the division title for a good half of the year, they still have a long way to go before being prominent in the N.L. Central again.  They have a lot of questions to answer, which unfortunately for Burgh fans, can’t be answered by Mike Tomlin.

                  In hopes of landing an over .500 season for the first time since their last playoff appearance nearly 20 years ago, the Pirates need to stay consistent throughout the entire season and not just the first 4 months.  Though they proved to have a promising first 4 months, Pirates fans saw a glimpse of the old familiar disappointment they were used to in August and September last year.  Though consistency is large factor of their hopeful success this season, the Pirates are going to need more than just that to move into contention 2012.

                The Pirates will be looking at a familiar team in 2012.  They add back Nate McLouth from his dreary stay in Atlanta, in hopes that he can get a second-wind in his career at his original home.  With McCutchen playing follow the leader with the offense, McLouth’s rejuvenated bat and speed, and filled power voids at 1^st base and the middle of the line-up, the Pirates could be a “sleepy” contender in 2012.  There’s still the question of pitching that looms though.  The adds of the off-season haven’t been too alarming, but they’ve been productive nonetheless.   With continued trade and signing improvements, Steel City fans might have not have a reason to wave their ironically “terrible” towel at PNC Park this summer too.