PBN Around the Horn

PBN Around the Horn: Time For Some Cautious Optimism

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2022

Welcome to the PBN Around the Horn. Here you’ll find news and notes from across Major League Baseball, your Pittsburgh Pirates, and around the Sports Now network.

UPDATE (1:35 p.m.)- The Nationals have hired Joel Hanrahan as pitching coach for Low-A Harrisburg and Dave Jauss as a senior advisor for player development.

Nats announce their minor league coaching staffs & player development staffs. Some familiar names like Joel Hanrahan as pitching coach in Low-A. Joe Dillon will take on the role of hitting coordinator, Bob Henley as field coordinator, & Randy Knorr as catching coordinator. pic.twitter.com/Xr1VQGC6fP

— Talk Nats ⚾ (@TalkNats) January 18, 2022

Watching the Pirates sign multiple international prospects brings up several camps of thought. You have the “2035 here we come,” folks, and then you have the “Future Spongebob gifs.” Even though they are on both extreme ends of the spectrum, both thoughts have merit. While signing kids who have potential is always a good move, you still have a major league club to think about.

There comes a time when a fan must develop cautious optimism. It’s ok to be excited for the future and concerned for the here and now. Fielding a competitive team may not be feasible now, but management will need to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to field one.

So for now, we should keep both eyes on the future, but way back in our minds, we should look at the moves, signings and ask management if this will benefit the Pirates when push comes to shove.