PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There are a lot of positives for Joe Musgrove to return to where he pitched 32 games, but first-and-foremost. He’s here for a win.
“These guys got a good look at me for a couple of years,” Musgrove said. “But I got a real good look at them more often. I got a good idea of how I want to pitch these guys. I have an idea of how I feel like they are going to attack me and work at bats.”
That doesn’t sound like good news for Pirates fans, Musgrove has thrown 15 innings in his Padres career giving up no runs, no walks, 3 hits and 18 strikeouts. He threw the Padres first ever no-hitter on Friday.
Musgrove said he worked hard this off-season after being traded to San Diego for outfielder Hudson Head, left-hander Omar Cruz, right-handers Omar Cruz and David Bednar and eventually catcher Endy Rodriguez.
He says he did learn from his time as a Pirate.
“I learned a ton,” Musgrove said. “I learned how to deal with failure. I learned how to internalize myself. I felt like I was a leader in the clubhouse. We were struggling as a team to get wins and put games together. I put so much pressure on myself to go out there and try to do everything. To be perfect and put myself in a position where I felt like every run I gave up was three runs.”
“It just added so much extra pressure trying to carry the weight of everyone on the team instead of just doing my job and focusing on myself.”
“If you can get 9 guys on the field that are dialed into their own program. Getting themselves mentally locked in, that ultimately produces a better team unit.”
“It might come off as selfish. The intent is to be my best so that I can ultimately help the team.”
You could understand his frustration, winning 1 of 8 starts despite a 3.86 ERA in 2020. To drill down even more, in three of his last four starts with the Pirates in September he gave up no runs. He got the win in one of those.
Even with all of that frustration, Musgrove believed they were on the cusp of something special in black and gold. Then the trades happened. Musgrove asked what he would tell the fans in Pittsburgh?
“I don’t know what I can say to make anyone feel good about it,” Musgrove said. “As players (Adam Frazier, Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon) we talked a lot over the off-season. We felt as a group we weren’t far off from being a competitive team. A couple of injuries and a couple of players from being a really good team.”
“Before any of the trade stuff happened, we were pressing to the front office in Pittsburgh that we liked the group that we had. We were confident in our ability to compete.”
“We had Jamo coming back off surgery and that was a big starter for the rotation. We had JB figuring things out and showing signs of being a monster at the dish. We had a lot of good pieces. Chad Kuhl was finally coming off his first year of surgery. We thought it would get back in a groove. We just feel like we had a lot of guys developing that were going to turn us into a very good team.”
“It’s out of my control. We would have enjoyed to stay here and play and try to compete as a group of young guys that were hungry to learn and hungry to get better. Especially with the changes in the coaching staff, everyone was meshing really well.”
Maybe he is on to something, maybe. The core he is describing, except Taillon, won 19 games last season. Regardless, Musgrove said he enjoyed his three years here after coming over in the Gerrit Cole trade to Houston.
“I love this city,” Musgrove said. “It really grew on me the few years I was here. The blue-collar lifestyle. I feel like cemented myself to the city pretty early with the way I played the game and the fact I dove into the culture of the city. I feel like I had a lot of fans and a lot of family.”
Musgrove still maintains friendship with numerous Pirates, none more than Phillip Evans. He lived at Musgrove’s house in Lawrenceville last year. They worked out together during quarantine and have been friends since childhood. Musgrove believes Evans is just now getting his chance and has the tools to be an everyday player.
All of those friendships go away Wednesday night. It becomes a business trip.
“Ultimately it’s just another start,” Musgrove said. “You can’t get too emotionally attached to the outing. It will be a little more fun because I’m close to those guys and I know them personally. We will get to jaw at each other back and forth. It will be a fun, competitive outing.”