Bold predictions for the 2015 Pittsburgh Pirates

March 20, 2013; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates gloves and a hat sit on the field before the game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports

As spring training looms, fans are getting antsy and starting to think about what’s in store for the 2015 version of their beloved Pittsburgh Pirates.  We put the call out on our twitter to see what predictions fans had for us.  Here’s the cream of the crop:

I can totally see this happening.  I see it going down like this:  On a long flight from a west coast road trip, Cutch and Harrison have been messing with Big John Holdzkom the entire flight, with John getting more and more flustered with each passing quip.  As they go to exit the plane, Holdzkom takes a step out, but finally thinks of the perfect comeback, albeit hours late, and whips around in a frenzy to let it fly.  BAM!  Concussion city.  But in the end, Holdz will always find a way to contribute.  

I can see this happening, especially if someone at PNC happens to yell out “sweep the leg!”

Interesting.  This prediction assumes two things:  One, Gerrit Cole stays healthy all year, or at least healthy enough that he’s not a wreck in September, and that Nick Kingham is the one to make a difference in the fall vs Taillon.  I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them pitched meaningful innings.

Not pictured, but Morgan from twitter gives us this one that is a perfect note to end on:

"My bold prediction, All three Pirate outfielders will make the All Star Game. Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco."

My, how badly I would  love to see this.  I think it will happen.  Maybe not this year, but soon.  And I hope that when it does happen, whoever is managing the NL team at that time (Hopefully Clint Hurdle) will play them all together in the same inning.  I’m getting goosebumps just talking about it

Well there you have it, folks.  Bold predictions are just that: predictions.  Most of these will not come true.  Some may be closer than we thought.  But this is what we as sports fans do in the off-season.  Until we have some actual baseball to watch, this is how we entertain ourselves.

When you look at it that way, these aren’t so outrageous after all, right?