While a good portion of the fan base seems to be a not without cause getting a little

amped for 2026, I'm here to remind a wet blanket that I've become The 2025 was really a bummer.

Good morning to you. Good.

Tuesday morning, I'm Dan Kovachievich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports.

This is Daily Shot of Pirates, brought to you by our friends at the North Shore Tavern.

It comes your way bright and early every weekday.

If you're into football and or hockey, well, today is the day to check out all three,

because today is going to mark the first time I've ever tried to link them all into a single

theme. And that's to say how 2025 went, now that we're obviously nearing the end of it,

for all three of the pirates, the penguins,

and the Steelers.

So I hope you'll check those out as well.

One of the many things that leaves me, I don't know if empty is the right word, but at least a little bit hollow,

even after these recent signings, these recent

apparently good signings of apparently and historically good hitters, is that, can anybody

explain to me what happened that would have prevented this from being the case in 2025?

If you go back to around this time a year ago, just 365 days ago, you'll recall, I'm sure, that nobody was getting signed. Nobody was getting

added. I was hearing some stuff from the inside about a move or even two moves that were going

to be made. And unless you count adding, adding and aging Andrew Heaney to the rotation, Heaney just retired, by the way.

That never really took place. Instead, they allowed themselves to get roasted all winter long.

There were protests, there were planes flying overhead, sell the team, Bob, all this other badness.

And the only promise that came from it, and I'm not saying the only positive,

...