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Bob Nutting at home opener: Postseason 'absolutely' possible for Pirates in 2019

Bob Nutting at home opener: Postseason 'absolutely' possible for Pirates in 2019
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Bob Nutting at home opener: Postseason 'absolutely' possible for Pirates in 2019
Pirates owner Bob Nutting says the 2019 team is "much better" than last year, and a postseason appearance is "absolutely" possible for Pittsburgh in 2019."You look at the pitching rotation, some of the maturity of the players as they've come along -- we are excited about the team this year," Nutting told Pittsburgh's Action Sports director Andrew Stockey at the home opener Monday.Tap the video player above to watch our full 1-on-1 interview with Bob Nutting.When Pittsburgh fans look around the NL Central, they see big offseason moves made by St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati in an effort to improve their rosters.Nutting said he understands the frustrations, "but my job is to get the very best team we can on the field, and we need to do that differently than some other markets. It's never going to be an even playing field. We have challenges."We are one of the smaller markets in baseball. We are never going to use that as an excuse. What we are going to do is take the landscape that we have and do the very best job we can. We do that by bringing in talented players, by developing talented players. I look at what we have in Triple-A right now. We have as much talent inside this organization as we've ever had."PNC Park attendance last year sank to its lowest number since 1996. The drop came even as the Pirates posted an 82-79 record -- a seven-game improvement in the win column over 2017.Despite what fans may think, Nutting believes this Pirates team can compete like the "Buctober" squads of several years ago did."I think we saw it in '13, '14, '15 -- we took serious runs, we had very good teams. I think we can do that again this year," Nutting said. "Doing the best we can with the tools that we have is all we can ask our guys to do. I believe it's competitive. I believe they're going to be very strong. I think 2019 is going to be an exciting year.""So you think a wild card is really possible for this baseball team this year, given what you are up against in this division?" Stockey asked."Absolutely," Nutting replied. "Absolutely."
PITTSBURGH —

Pirates owner Bob Nutting says the 2019 team is "much better" than last year, and a postseason appearance is "absolutely" possible for Pittsburgh in 2019.

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"You look at the pitching rotation, some of the maturity of the players as they've come along -- we are excited about the team this year," Nutting told Pittsburgh's Action Sports director Andrew Stockey at the home opener Monday.

Tap the video player above to watch our full 1-on-1 interview with Bob Nutting.

When Pittsburgh fans look around the NL Central, they see big offseason moves made by St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati in an effort to improve their rosters.

Nutting said he understands the frustrations, "but my job is to get the very best team we can on the field, and we need to do that differently than some other markets. It's never going to be an even playing field. We have challenges.

"We are one of the smaller markets in baseball. We are never going to use that as an excuse. What we are going to do is take the landscape that we have and do the very best job we can. We do that by bringing in talented players, by developing talented players. I look at what we have in Triple-A right now. We have as much talent inside this organization as we've ever had."

PNC Park attendance last year sank to its lowest number since 1996. The drop came even as the Pirates posted an 82-79 record -- a seven-game improvement in the win column over 2017.

Despite what fans may think, Nutting believes this Pirates team can compete like the "Buctober" squads of several years ago did.

"I think we saw it in '13, '14, '15 -- we took serious runs, we had very good teams. I think we can do that again this year," Nutting said. "Doing the best we can with the tools that we have is all we can ask our guys to do. I believe it's competitive. I believe they're going to be very strong. I think 2019 is going to be an exciting year."

"So you think a wild card is really possible for this baseball team this year, given what you are up against in this division?" Stockey asked.

"Absolutely," Nutting replied. "Absolutely."