Cops and Robbers

Sometimes as fans of the game we get lost in trying to over think things and wonder "what if?". This can lead to us living in the past or future without taking in the present.  I know as a Pirates Fan I had to endure a lot of those moments.  Two moments come to mind for me.

The first is Game 5 of the NLDS in 2013.  The Pirates chose to go with rookie Gerrit Cole to take the mound vs Adam Wainwright in the deciding game.  I had a bad feeling about that because 1)it was shorter rest for Cole than the original scheduled starter AJ Burnett and 2) AJ historically never pitched 2 bad games in a row. 

The moment the Cardinals got on the board I immediately went in to thinking about what could have been if Cole didn't start and AJ did.

The second happened very recently.  Andrew McCutchen was coming off the worse year of his career.  He started the first two months of the 2017 season barely hitting above .200.  I never lost hope in my favorite player returning to his glory though.  I did start thinking about "what if he's traded at his lowest value? What if the return for Cutch nets us guys worse than Andy LaRoche?  Could I stomach that?". 

I bring this up because while it's ok to imagine you have a Delorean and can time travel, don't get caught up missing the joys (as few as they may be some weeks) of rooting for your favorite teams and players.  

Every time Cutch and JHay do a celebration at home plate even when the team is losing is just as special as when the team is winning.  

Don't rob yourself of the joy of sports.

Robbing is wrong.

Sincerely, 

The Diamond Marshall

Andrew McCutchen

The above card is another one I have had on the radar for a few years.  It's extremely rare as it's numbered 8/10.  This is the Gold Parallel which I must say looks awesome in person as it really makes the badge pop.