Same Ol’ Pirates
Added on Aug 09, 2011 by Scott in
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The Pirates finally tied a tourniquet on the bleeding wound last night and ended their ten-game slide with a 5-0 victory over the Giants. However, the damage has been done. What was sizing up as a miracle season at the All-Star break has suddenly, and not surprisingly, turned into another disappointment for that other baseball team in Pennsylvania.
On July 25th, Pittsburgh was 53-47 and tied for the National League Central lead with the Cardinals. The Brewers trailed by .5 game and the Reds were four games back. Fifteen days and one agonizing losing streak later, and the Pirates find themselves battling Cincinnati for third place in the division, 9.5 games behind Milwaukee. What happened?
Let us count the ways. A normally reliable pitching staff allowed 82 runs during the next ten losses. They faced some of the NL’s finest hurlers, including Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Carlos Zambrano and Aaron Harang. But that really doesn’t excuse being drubbed by the Cubs and Padres — the two worst teams in the league minus the Astros.
Everyone gets battered by the Phillies, The Phillies look like the best team in baseball. So getting swept by them is nothing to be embarrassed about. However, tanking a four-game set at home to the Cubs and allowing 35 runs in three games against the NL West cellar-dwelling Padres is shameful.
But hey, it’s the Pirates. They were 57-105 in 2010. From 2005-2009, they lost over 90 games each season. The last year they dropped less than 83 games was the abbreviated work-stoppage season in 1994. If any sports franchise has perfected the art of losing, it’s the Pirates.
Despite their shocking surge during the first half of 2011, most pundits and fans appeared to be bracing for the other shoe to drop. The feeling was there’s no way they can maintain their stellar play. A young roster would succumb to the mounting pressure of contending for a playoff spot.
Cue the swoon.
The optimist believes they have plenty of games left to right the ship. The pessimist believes the ship has already sailed. After all, it’s the Pirates.
