McCutchen Vocalizes Frustration, Marte 80 Game Suspension

“THIS IS MY SPOT!”

As a result of Starling Marte’s 80 game suspension, Andrew McCutchen moves back to center field and he let us know that he does not intend to lose it again. After tracking down a hard hit ball by Mike Leake, in a very fired up manner McCutchen shouted “this is my spot!”, clearly letting out his frustration with losing his spot in center field.

You can watch it here:

McCutchen “This is my spot”

We get it Cutch, it is obviously frustrating to lose the spot on the field you’ve been covering for years but were you surprised? McCutchen played nothing more than a mediocre season in center field in the 2016 season. What would be the sense in leaving an under performing outfielder in the heart of the outfield when a Gold Glover is available? But, apparently all those outfield assists last year were less than honest as Marte had a little boost of nandrolone, a performance enhancing drug, and a dated one at that.

As a result, we are now out two of the Pirate’s best hitters of 2016 in Marte and Kang. One is gone because of cheating and the other for driving drunk, not once, but three separate times. It’s embarrassing as a Pirates fan and it makes me wonder how people are viewing this team now. We can only hope the actions of two individuals have not defined the rest of the guys on the team who work extremely hard in an honest and respectable manner.

Now let’s break down how Marte decided to respond to the situation as he left Busch Stadium to begin serving his suspension. These statements are always jam packed with BS and attempts to save any respect fans once had for them. And Marte did not disappoint as he blamed his “mistake” on “neglect and lack of knowledge”. It is not simply a “mistake” by Marte, it is a blatant slap in the face to those who trusted in him as a Pittsburgh Pirate. And to blame it on “neglect” and “lack of knowledge” just makes the slap sting a little more as he denies what he has done. He then asks for forgiveness for “unintentionally” disrespecting his fans, the organization, and all those who trusted in him.

How about this Marte, when you come out and be honest with us maybe we can forgive you. But don’t sit around and act like you didn’t understand what you were doing and how it could possibly affect the team which has given you so much. As a matter of fact I’ll write your next statement for you:

“I am sorry for what I have done. I have let down my fans and my organization as I took PED’s in my selfish pursuit to become a better player. I am ready to serve my suspension and I can assure you that this will not happen again after my return to the Pirates. Thank you.”

This is all we needed to hear Marte. Don’t dance around your actions like a little kid trying to avoid his grounding. You were using a steroid that dates back to the Sammy Sosa era, it’s not like you were taking a medication that you were unaware had performance enhancing effects. Own up to your mistakes as a respectable player would do, learn from it, and move on to become even better than you were before as a player and a man.

As for the rest of this season, the Pirates will need these young guys to REALLY step up. And Andrew McCutchen will have to be the leader he is capable of being to help this team maintain a chance for the playoffs until Marte can return and possibly Kang, if that is even possible at this point. I still have faith in the talent on this team but it goes without saying that the actions of these players have dug the Pirates a deep hole. Will they fight their way out or will they keep on digging?

– Andrew Glaser