Record Setting Ineptitude

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17-Years and Counting




Year W/L Attendance Rank

1993: 75-87 1,650,593 (12 of 14)
1994: 53-61 1,222,520 (13 of 14)
1995: 58-86 905,517 (14 of 14)
1996: 73-89 1,332,150 (14 of 14)
1997: 79-83 1,654,022 (12 of 16)
1998: 69-93 1,560,950 (15 of 16)
1999: 78-83 1,638,023 (14 of 16)
2000: 69-93 1,748,908 (12 of 16)
2001: 62-100 2,464,870 (11 of 16)
2002: 72-89 1,784,988 (13 of 16)
2003: 75-87 1,636,751 (14 of 16)
2004: 72-89 1,580,031 (15 of 16)
2005: 67-95 1,817,245 (16 of 16)
2006: 67-95 1,861,549 (15 of 16)
2007: 68-94 1,749,142 (15 of 16)
2008: 67-95 1,609,076 (15 of 16)
2009: 62-99 1,577,853 (15 of 16)


In Joe DiMaggio’s day the streak meant his fabled hitting streak, but nowadays, when people think of the streak, they think of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the past 17 years, the Pirates have built the most impressive streak in Professional American sports history. That streak however is not nearly as positive as Joe D’s. The Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992 when they last won the National League Eastern Division title. In that time a lot has changed. There are more teams in Major League Baseball and the Pirates even switched divisions. One thing has remained constant in the MLB since 1993, the Pirates finishing under .500.



How did it get this bad?

Once upon a time, the Pirates were one of the elite teams in Major League Baseball. They had the best young outfield in the National League; featuring All Stars, Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla. People around baseball knew it as the outfield of dreams. After a down period in the 1980s, the Pirates drafted well and won three consecutive NL East titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992. Each other those seasons, however, ended in heartbreak and disappointment. All three years, the Pirates lost in very dramatic fashion, especially in 1992.

The Heartbreak

“The two-one. Swung, line drive left field! One run is in! Here comes Bream! Here's the throw to the plate! He is...SAFE! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN!”
That’s probably the most heartbreaking call in the history of Pro Sports in Pittsburgh. With that famous call by Skip Caray came not only an end of the 1992 National League Championship Series, but also the Pirates winning. Since October 14, 1992, the Pirates haven’t even flirted with post-season baseball, much less played in it. It wasn’t just that the Pirates lost the series, in that offseason, they also lost Barry Bonds and plenty of other talented players. The Pirates run was over and since then, it’s been rebuilding time for the Bucs. 17 years of a “5-year-plan.” Not only have the Pirates been losing, they have been losing a lot.

Einstein’s Theory of Insanity

The Pirates have continually tried basically the same thing to find their winning ways again. Draft and hope the young players develop into all-stars. However, baseball players are expensive, and often the prime young players are traded away, because the Pirates cannot afford them. It’s the life and times of the modern MLB. The Pirates have put plenty of players on the field since 1992, but the results have been the same by October; the Pirates are under .500 and have been out of the playoff race since about July.

Glimmers of Hope

As the final out was recorded to end the 2009 Professional baseball season, the Pirates once again found themselves under .500. It was also their 17th consecutive losing season; the most ever in the history of North American professional sports. The Pirates could call themselves the worst ever. Yet in that losing season there was hope. Hope’s name was Andrew McCutchen. Not since Barry Bonds have the Pirates had such a dynamic outfielder. He was amazing in his rookie year, and many fans hope that he continues to improve to give the Pirates hope.

For the thousands in attendance

If a team stinks in an empty stadium do they make a sound? Judging by the attendance numbers, year in, year out, not too many people are coming to watch the Pirates. Since 1993, the Pirates have finished on average, 14th in the National League in attendance. They have finished dead last 3 times, and have finished second to last 6 times. They have ranked no higher than 11th out of 16 teams and that was in the opening season of PNC Park.

Linco Interview sound bite

Record Attendance

Why is it that a team with one of the newest and most beautiful ballparks in America cannot draw a crowd? The Pirates losing is the most likely culprit. Since 1993, the Pirates have lost 1518 games; an average of 89 losses per season. “The streak” has not only prevented the Pirates from being relevant in pennant races, but also from being relevant in their own city. It doesn’t help that since 1993, the Pens have won a Stanley Cup and the Steelers have won two Super Bowls. Quite simply, not many in Pittsburgh want to support the losing team. Charles Evans, 23, Pittsburgh says, “Baseball has never really mattered to me, I’ve never really seen the Pirates win anything. My dad used to be really big into it, but now I only go to games when other people have tickets. It’s not that I find baseball boring, but I don’t feel the need to support a team that loses all the time.”

Dawn is coming

With the current core of players, many insides the Pirates’ organization feel that the dark days are gone and the winning will return soon. Whether, Andrew McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf, Lastings Milledge and Garrett Jones can lead the Pirates back to prominence has yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure. As long as the Pirates continue losing, not a lot of people will be watching.

The Bullpen!!

I am going to preface this entry with one thing; I know it’s only 12 games into 2010. I just have to say I am very much enjoying the way this bullpen is playing. They aren’t perfect by any means, but they really seem to do a great job of battling. Other than Duke and Maholm, the starting pitcher has been so lackluster, that the bullpen has had to do the brunt of the work. I am hoping the starters do come around, because that is the only way this team is going to have any success, but really, I am enjoying the intensity of this bullpen. It seems like every close game; they do well in. I am not calling them the best in the Majors by any means, but I am enjoying their start.

To keep the theme as pitching; I am really liking the way Zach Duke is playing. Some people wanted him traded as earlier as the offseason, but I stand by that I see no reason to trade him. It isn’t like he is some old, aging pitcher. He’s still young and we have control of him. Why not see what he can do? He was our best pitcher last season, and so far this year, he is once again. I am not saying that he is the best in baseball, but he is definitely the ace of our rotation. Keep up the good work, Mr. Duke.

The veteran pitchers signed on the offseason are also paying off very well early on. Donnelly, Lopez and especially Dotel have all done good work for this team so far. It might not be the best pitching staff in the Majors, but it is a far improvement over our bullpen from this time last season.

The Pirates are bipolar

I feel the Pirates are an example of bipolar disorder. One game they look very solid and they seem to be turning the corner, then the next game, they allow 13 runs in a single inning.

What does this mean in terms of our chances this season? Honestly, I don’t know. No one does. There are going to be a lot of people guessing about what the Pirates have to do in order to become more consistent this season, but really it all comes down to pitching.

It seems like other than Zach Duke, no other starters are stepping up and I don’t think you can win 75-80 games with having one consistent pitcher.

The Pirates of course play tonight against the San Francisco Giants. Matt Cain goes up against Paul Maholm. I am hoping Maholm can play the role of stopper, much like Zach Duke. He needs to stop this losing streak. Everyone knew this season would be a grind, but in order to obtain that allusive winning season, you have to prevent prolonged losing streaks. Don’t let 2 games become 6 games, because it can happen, very easily.

Walka, walka, walk off!!

The game began with a massive HR from Garrett Jones and it ended with a walk-off single by Ronny Cedeno. The Pirates defeated the Dodgers by a score of 4 to 3 in very dramatic fashion.

The game began in powerful fashion as Garrett Jones hit his 3rd HR of the year to give the Pirates a very early 3-0 lead. The game remained that way until the 5th inning when Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin hit a solo shot off of Pirates’ starter Ross Ohlendorf. Then the Dodgers struck again adding two more runs to tie the game after 5 innings.

The turning point of the game was the 9th inning when the Dodgers lead off the inning with a double and then a wild pitch by Octavio Dotel advanced the runner to third. Dotel battled and eventually got out of the jam by striking out a better and causing two weak groundouts. The bottom of the 9th was a near miss as the Pirates attempted a steal by Andrew McCutchen, but he was thrown out to end the inning.

The Dodgers went down quietly in the top of the 10th, and the Pirates did not let the game go past that point. The Pirates loaded the bases thanks to two base hits and a walk. Ronny Cedeno then battled for 12 pitches, fouling off several pitches after falling behind 0-2 in the count. He then took a 3-2 pitch and lined it to center field, scoring Lastings Milledge, giving the Pirates a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates have taken the first two games of the season in very contrasting fashions. The first game was a blowout, and the second was full of drama. However, both had the same ending, the good guys in black and gold walking off the field winners. Let’s hope that is a trend that continues this season.

The sun is shining and Garrett Jones just gave the ball a tour of the river

Well, the Pirates home opener has came and went. It was one for the history books folks, as the Pirates scored 11 runs, the most by the Pirates on opening day. For at least one day, the Pirates looked fantastic, and completely outplayed the Dodgers in every facet of the game. It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, but any time you can defeat a team as good as the Dodgers, it’s a good day.

Game started out shakey as the Dodgers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but in the bottom of the first, Garrett Jones quickly tied the game with a mammoth 2-run HR that landed in the river, to tie the game. He also gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead, when he homered to opposite field in the 3rd inning. To put is simply, Garrett was a monster out there. He also made several fantastic plays in Right Field, including a catch that saved two runs. Zach Duke’s line may not have been the most dominant ever, he went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs, but he did his job well and kept the Dodgers in check.

In the middle innings, the Pirates pulled away on a Ryan Church pinch-hit, 3 run double to take an eventual 8-2 lead. The middle relief was a little shakey as they gave up 3 runs to let the Dodgers back into the game going into the 8th inning. Then Ryan Doumit came up to bat with 2-men on base and hit a towering HR to give the Pirates an 11-5 lead, that they never gave up. The Pirates defeated the Los Angelas Dodgers by a score of 11-5. A very dominant start to the 2010 season.

Overall, it was a very good opening day experience, and it’s always good to start the season with a win. Once again, the Pirates will host the Dodgers tonight, and I will once again be in attendance. You will get to see more live blogging, as I really enjoyed doing it, and hopefully, the updates were worthwhile. I look forward to seeing Ross Ohlendorf pitch for the first time this season, and I hope the Pirates continue to play well. The most beautiful thing to remember is, it’s baseball season folks, and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Hope Springs Eternal

End of Winter by Eve Merriam

"Bare-handed reach
to catch
April's
incoming curve.
Leap higher than you thought you could and
Hold:
Spring,
Solid,
Here."

It’s here! Opening Day, 2010. I cannot stress enough how excited I am for this day. I am considered by some to be a cynic, by other, an optimist, but as of today, I am just a baseball fan, following his favorite team. I don’t pretend to be an expert; I am just a man that loves his team. I am looking forward to tweeting during the game, and giving you, my loyal readers, a good experience while I am in attendance at PNC Park.

It was a long winter, and I am so glad that it’s over and spring is here, and regular season baseball is back. Other sports have opening days, but baseball does it better than everyone else. Opening Day is where hope springs eternal, everyone is optimistic, and for maybe just one day, you can think, hey, maybe we can surprise people this season.

I am so excited to have this blog for the upcoming season. I think it is going to get really interesting as the season progresses, especially as I live blog/tweet updates during the game. It’s an exciting time to be a baseball fan, and hopefully, it will be an exciting time to be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

The offense is...offensive!