A little over a year ago, I sat down and wrote that the Pirates were facing one of the most important offseasons in franchise history. The team was coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign in which…

A little over a year ago, I sat down and wrote that the Pirates were facing one of the most important offseasons in franchise history. The team was coming off a disappointing 2024 campaign in which they had once again plateaued at 76 wins and finished last in the unspectacular NL Central. This had occurred despite receiving a Rookie of the Year-worthy — and almost Cy Young-worthy — performance from Paul Skenes, and a brief hot streak in July that turned the Bucs into buyers at the trade deadline for the first time in years.

On Wednesday night, Paul Skenes became the third pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 144-year history to win the Cy Young Award. He joins an exclusive group that, until this week, consisted of…

On Wednesday night, Paul Skenes became the third pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 144-year history to win the Cy Young Award. He joins an exclusive group that, until this week, consisted of only Vern Law and Doug Drabek. The Pirates have a long and illustrious history — the past few decades excepted — but the relative dearth of Cy Young winners demonstrates that the franchise hasn't been blessed with much elite pitching over the past century.

I am sitting down to write this, my first blog post in over a month, in the early morning of Sunday, November 2. Hours ago, I and millions of others around the globe watched the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in a thrilling, dramatic, and ultimately heartbreaking Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Game 7 was a reminder that baseball, when played at a high level, can be an absolute joy to watch — and that nothing good has happened in years and will probably never happen again.