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A year after setting the record for the most consecutive losing seasons by a North American professional team, the Pirates have already established the near certainty of extending that record for at least another year.
They are 22-31 so far, which in itself is enough to make oraculators feel safe in forecasting another sub .500 year, but in reality they are far worse.
The Pirates have scored 171 runs and given up 299. That minus 128 runs is the worst in all MLB by 34 runs. Their Pythag expected record based on the run differential is 13-40.. .245 ball which projects to an historic seasonal mark of 40-122.
All of this wretchedness is presently masked, the Pirates are 4th in their division, only 8.5 games out of first...seemingly still in contention. This illusion is the product of the uncommonly fortunate luck which Pittsburgh has had in one run games. They are 12-5 in such contests, the second best record in MLB after the A's 10-2 mark.
It is not a one dimensional team, they stink in all areas. They are last in the NL in runs scored, 14th out of 16 teams in runs prevented. Their starters are bad, the ERAs of the five who have started the most games are:
3.90
5.09
9.35
5.62
4.26.
Three others have been given a chance to start games, in their collective eight starts, their ERAs are:
4.50
13.50
27.00
As these guys get shelled, standing by to dump gasoline on the fire is a bullpen with two guys pitching well, Meek and Javier Lopez, supported by a cast of fellows with ERAs of:
5.40
5.06
6.14
6.23
What is with this franchise? One would think that the humiliation of setting the consecutive losing seasons record would have jarred them into a more competitive mode, but instead they appear to be running out a team which will compete for the honor of the worst of the bunch among the losing teams stretching back to 1992.
Can anything be done about this? Should anything be done about this?
Yes, they have a history of losing, and like the Royals and Orioles, the Pirates need new ownership. I'm sure one day they will bounce out of this problem and get on a winning track. Right now, they are still considered the doormat of the NL Central. The Pirates could put a winning streak together easily in that division, considering how weak five of the six teams are this year.
Yes, they have a history of losing, and like the Royals and Orioles, the Pirates need new ownership. .
They have been through three ownership changes during the 18 seasons of futility. None of them seemed to have the brains or resources to solve the problem.
All of this wretchedness is presently masked, the Pirates are 4th in their division, only 8.5 games out of first...seemingly still in contention. This illusion is the product of the uncommonly fortunate luck which Pittsburgh has had in one run games. They are 12-5 in such contests, the second best record in MLB after the A's 10-2 mark.
While it's true that Pirate ownership apparently has every other concern in the world except for the baseball team, this quirky little stat you've mentioned has the potential to be almost frightening...
Eight and a half back in the first week of June. No matter how awful the team may really be, that's not a bad position to be in. Imagine if they maintained something like that spot in the standings until Labor Day, and then had a string of wins in one-run games during September. You'd have to call it unlikely (which may well be a 24-karat gold understatement), but you have to admit the remote possibility that it could happen. What is basically a triple-A minor league squad could take the division!
The Pirates actually had a good history before this current drought.
It's kind of hard to be able to do anything in an uncapped league when you have no fan support. I don't think I've ever seen a Pirates game sold out. No revenue = no ability to sign decent players or keep them.
The Pirates actually had a good history before this current drought.
It's kind of hard to be able to do anything in an uncapped league when you have no fan support. I don't think I've ever seen a Pirates game sold out. No revenue = no ability to sign decent players or keep them.
I was actually referring to their most recent history. Sorry if I didn't clarify. No, I didn't forget that great 1979 team that won it all. Great players and a fantastic year.
The Pirates actually had a good history before this current drought.
It's kind of hard to be able to do anything in an uncapped league when you have no fan support. I don't think I've ever seen a Pirates game sold out. No revenue = no ability to sign decent players or keep them.
What a shame in a beautiful city like Pittsburgh, well they still got the Penguins and Steelers!!!
Am I alone when I say I want to see the Bucs bring back the bumble bee unis?
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