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Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates is tomorrow
At approximately 2:05 PM on Monday, Rick Porcello will fire the first pitch of both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox 2017 season. After a long winter, and what seemed to be an even longer month of Spring Training, real baseball is here.
2017 is a big year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After making the postseason in three consecutive seasons, thanks in large part to injuries, the Bucs regressed to 78-83-1 in 2016. Now, manager Clint Hurdle and general manager Neal Huntington enter the final season on their contracts looking to bounce back.
While winning the National League Central Division is not likely, or even realistic, for the Pirates in 2017, returning to the postseason is. It’s not the Pirates’ fault that the Chicago Cubs are simply head and shoulders above just about every other team in baseball.
Let’s begin with my predictions for the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates. First up, the team MVP for 2017.