Pirates' clubhouse mood not as dour as it seems


More writing like this can be found in The Perrotto Report newsletters, which will launch Feb. 26. One will concentrate on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the other on Major League Baseball. Order instructions and more details can be found at The Perrotto Report online store. The prices are so good, even Bob Nutting would like them.

BRADENTON, Fla. --- I don’t profess to have a 100-percent certain feel of the pulse of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ clubhouse yet. Spring training just opened this past week and I spent only one full day in camp.

However, sometimes, it is interesting to get the perspective of someone new.

So, I asked right-hander Joe Musgrove how he felt he was acclimating with his new team. The Pirates acquired him and three other players from the Houston Astros in a trade for righty Gerrit Cole on Jan. 13.

Musgrove said he has been getting nothing but good vibes from his teammates so far. I got the vibe the amiable 25-year-old wasn’t just giving a politically correct answer after being traded from the defending World Series champions to a team that hasn’t been to the Fall Classic since 1979.

“I got the sense very quickly this is a close-knit group, which is we had in Houston,” Musgrove said. “I can’t stress how important that is. We had a young core group of players with the Astros that struggled through the bad times and stayed together for the good times when we won it all last season. We had a lot of talented players, but we also got along well and that I think that type of unity helps win championships.”

Musgrove said that Friday about an hour before veteran infielder David Freese questioned the Pirates’ desire to win, both that of ownership and the players.

During the offseason, utility player Sean Rodriguez was critical of owner Bob Nutting for not trying to win. Following the trades of Cole and center fielder Andrew McCutchen last month, second baseman Josh Harrison asked to be traded if the Pirates weren’t going to try to contend this season.

Yet I don’t get the sense of a fractured clubhouse or a brewing mutiny. I get the feeling many of the younger players have turned the page after two losing seasons.

“Look, do you think we would win the division this year if we had Cutch and Gerrit?” one of those younger players asked.

He didn’t answer the question. He didn’t have to.

The Pirates had their run. They emphatically ended their ignominious streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons with three straight postseason appearances from 2013-15.

However, that window of contention has firmly closed and is time to retool. While it’s disappointing for the fans and the veteran players --- especially since the Pirates never made it past the divisional-series round of the playoffs --- the organization has moved on.

Whether anyone likes it or not.

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