CLEVELAND -- One fascinating dynamic that emerged in the Pirates' clubhouse late in the 2019 season: Players were pushing Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman, their two terrific rookies, to feel more comfortable in leadership roles.
And that push apparently won't abate, no matter how much change occurs over the players' heads.
"I think we've got to change the culture a little bit, and that's always on the players, first and foremost," Joe Musgrove, the team's unquestioned leader, was telling me. "Sometimes, having as many young guys as we do, it's hard to go out there and play with the confidence of a team with a ton of experience. With all the setbacks, all the injuries, all the issues we had, it allowed an opportunity for our young guys to go out and get major-league reps. The next step is taking control of the situation all around them."
Reynolds and Newman, he meant. And in the most respectful way, I might add.
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