Journal: McCutchen eyes title game

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I basically did what I wanted to do here. I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish, and that was to come out here, have productive at-bats, play great defense and play hard so the coaches and scouts could see that. And that's basically what I did. I'm pleased with the season I've had here in the Arizona Fall League and hopefully, this will leave a good impression on the new coaching staff we have in Pittsburgh and everyone else.

When I first got here, the time difference was a big thing. Playing night games, it felt like midnight. To get over that, I just tried to get the right amount of sleep and eat right, and that got me through it. There are a lot of things to do out here, but you have to know what your priorities are, and that was playing here.

I believe the experience here is kind of like the big-league experience. That's something that stood out the most. These are the top prospects in each organization, so you're going to play against the best.

From what I've heard in the past, our team has been a winning team and so it's kind of almost expected for us to win even though they switch big-league teams. But it's good to come here and, with the little bit of time we have, for us to come together as a team and put some wins together and have it clinched with five games to go. So now it's like we can relax and have fun with our next couple of games and get ready for the championship. I guess you could say it's for bragging rights, but we get a little ring, too, so we're playing for something and it's going to be a fun experience.

For the offseason, I'm probably going to sleep for a whole week because it's been a long season for me. After that, I'm going to try to get my mind off baseball for maybe a few days and after that I'm going to start working out to get ready for Spring Training.

I want to thank everyone who wrote in while I was here in Arizona. It was great to hear from all the Pirates fans out there and I really appreciate your support. I hope I get to see all of you soon in Pittsburgh.