Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Harrison looking past awkward January
By Derek Snyder
Despite an awkward January, Pittsburgh Pirates second-baseman Josh Harrison is ready to make the most of whatever the 2018 season throws his way.
It’s never a simple thing when a player announces he wants to be traded. As fans, whether we agree with it or not, it’s the team’s front-office is who has to deal with the effects of the situation. Needless to say, that was exactly the case when Pittsburgh Pirates second-baseman, Josh Harrison, reacted to Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole being traded in January.
It’s no secret that the Bucs may have a tough couple seasons ahead of them, which is why I understand Harrison’s feelings towards the club. It’s tough when a player sees their organization trade away their two best players, especially in Major League Baseball. The regular season is one heck of a grind and players need to know the front-office has their best interests in mind.
Now that a few weeks have past, we should put Harrison’s statements behind us because it sounds as though Pittsburgh’s second-baseman is doing the exact same.
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Take a look at these quotes from Harrison, courtesy of Adam Berry’s article on the team’s official website:
"“These are my guys in here,” Harrison said Sunday morning. “At the end of the day, I can control me. I’m going to be me. I don’t know how to be anything but me.”Having said what he needed to say, Harrison has gone about his business-as-usual this spring. The notion that he might behave any differently surprised him.“I said it when I first got here. You can’t dwell on it. You look forward,” Harrison said. “We got to strap it up and play a game. … Just to get back into the feel of it, that’s something I don’t take for granted.”"
At the end of the day, I like seeing players have the opportunity to have passion and speak their mind. Heck, how many Pirates fans were mad when the team traded away McCutchen and Cole before Spring Training even started?
Josh Harrison has proved, time and time again, that he wants to win and he wants it to happen in Pittsburgh. He’s always been an athlete who gives everything he has on the field, and it’s time the Pirates front-office begins to rebuild around him.
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However, thanks to some key prospects the team was able to acquire in the McCutchen and Cole deals, plus a huge trade for Corey Dickerson this offseason, the Pirates may be close to competing anyways.