Like his fellow teammates, Andrew McCutchen heard the displeasure voiced by fans in attendance during the Pirates' 3-0 loss to the Guardians yesterday. 

"I understand where they are coming from," he said this morning. "I’ve been here long enough. I get it. I just hate it for the guys who haven't been a part of it and haven’t been here very long and guys just getting here and there’s a guy like ‘Man, these people seem pretty upset.’ " 

McCutchen said it's challenging to go out there, try to perform and do well while there's this "cloud over the team." He knows every player that steps up the plate and takes the mound is going to try their best, but he admits it's tough when chants of "SELL-THE-TEAM" are gaining steam throughout the ballpark on a day-to-day basis. 

"No matter what, man, you got all that going on around you while you’re trying to focus on one thing and do well, it’s hard," McCutchen said. "Trying to filter out the negative and try to focus on yourself in that moment, it’s hard, it’s tough." 

McCutchen believes the negative fan reaction, which stems from poor performance and management both on and off the field, adds pressure on the players. 

"You got guys who don’t play every day, showing up in the lineup with that cloud over them. It becomes a challenge. The game is challenging in itself, but when you’re dealing with a lot of fans who seem to be fed up with the way things are going, it makes it a little more challenging," McCutchen said. "All we can do is try to do our best as a club to try and block it out and try to win the ballgame. But I can’t control how they feel. I just understand."

As much as he would rather hear cheers than jeers, McCutchen continued to express his understanding of the situation. He's been on good and bad teams throughout his big-league career and gets why fans are frustrated with the state of the organization and a team that has won just eight of its first 22 games. 

But, as the season continues on, McCutchen is focused solely on what he can control.

"I want to do my best to perform because I’m not trying to end my career losing, and I’ll tell you that right now. I don’t want to end my career with hats off and I lost. I’m trying to do what I can because I want to do my best and I know the guys in here, they want to do their best. That’s just not how I picture things going, but I’m just going to bear down as much as I can individually and do my job individually and help in any way that I can because that’s all you can do. You can sit here and mope and complain and cry about it, or you can go out there and do something about it. That’s what I’m going to try and do."