Colin Dunlap: Feels Good To Be Wrong Sometimes
Contrary to what some might think, Mea Culpa isn't the name of some girl from Bloomfield.
And I'm here to offer one --- yes, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I screwed up and have come to peace with such a concept.
Sometimes it feels good to be wrong, but there still needs to be an act of accountability, an undertaking of contrition.
Here goes: Never in a million years did I think Edinson Volquez and/or Josh Harrison would do the types of things they are doing right now for the Pirates.
Never in a million years did I think Edinson Volquez and/or Josh Harrison would help the Pirates to the degree they are right now.
Never in a million years did I think Edinson Volquez and/or Josh Harrison would be key pieces to a pennant-chasing club.
Sorry. I had it all wrong. Like, I had it waaaaaaay wrong. I was an idiot. I screwed up.
It would have been one thing to simply think some of those thoughts in my bald head --- certainly many of us thought some of those thoughts --- but I came out and stated very strong opinions that ended up, well, being very wrong.
In this case, because Volquez and Harrison have been significant parts in helping the Pirates to a 64-55 record and causing that baseball gale to blow through our city once again this summer, I'm more than happy to have been wrong. I was still wrong, however.
When the Pirates signed Volquez to that one-year deal for $5 million and I called him a "tomato can" time and again before he even made it North from Bradenton and claimed that they'd be lucky to get "a win per million bucks" from him --- well, you see how that's gone.
Some prognostication, huh? Perhaps I should leave the forecasting stuff to guys like Verszyla.
Volquez, with another solid effort on Tuesday, is 10-7 with a 3.67 ERA, 95 strikeouts to 51 walks and has eaten up almost 140 innings. His name has to be mentioned in any Comeback Player of the Year discussion you'd like to have (if people have such things).
Then there is Harrison --- a man I strongly proclaimed would probably "always be the 25th guy on a good team and no more."
Another good call by me, huh? All Harrison is doing right now is having Pittsburgh in the palm of his hand as he's among the top hitters in the NL at .318, is hitting .467 this month and has solidified himself as the everyday third baseman.
They are selling Josh Harrison t-shirts --- and tons of them --- at those booths that line the sidewalk in the Strip District.
Just think about that for a moment. That's when you know you've really made it here in Pittsburgh.
So, yes, I was wrong. I was waaaaay wrong about Messrs. Volquez and Harrsion and this space is not only an acknowledgement of such, but also a clear apology to them that I had it all wrong.
They both were --- at least for now --- much better than I thought.
And you know what, in this case because of the way they have indisputably helped the Pirates, it feels good to be wrong.
As an aisde, I'd give you my guess on the lottery numbers tonight --- but I haven't been so good with predictions lately.
