Bucs’ future full of hope, present just as bleak
PITTSBURGH – The Pirates, in some regards, have given their fans more hope in the last few months than at any time in the last 18 years They plugged three rookies into the starting lineup in June and second baseman Neil Walker, third baseman Pedro Alvarez and left fielder Jose Tabata all seem ready to join forces with second-year center fielder Andrew McCutchen to form the nucleus of a good offense for many years to come.
The Pirates signed three amateur right-handers this past week and spent $11.35 million in bonuses in the process, agreeing to terms with Jameson Taillon, their first-round draft pick; Stetson Allie, their second-round pick; and Luis Heredia, a 16-year-old from Mexico. All have the power arms to become No. 1 starters in the major leagues.
Yet, that is the future. Sadly, the Pirates’ present is as bleak as it has ever been.
The Pirates aren’t losing with regularity. The losses are piling up at an alarming rate.
The Pirates clinched their 18th consecutive losing season on Friday night when they dropped a 7-2 decision to the New York Mets at PNC Park. The defeat extended the Pirates’ all-time North American professional team sports record of sub-.500 finishes that they set last season.
The disturbing part about loss No. 82 is that it came before the high school football teams had even participated in their first scrimmages. Never before had the Pirates secured a losing season so early, even last year when the 82nd loss made history on a foggy and dank Labor Day afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park during a 99-loss year.
Here is how bad it is? The Pirates took a 40-82 record into Saturday night’s game against the Mets. In order to avoid what would be just the franchise’s second 100-loss season in the last 56 years, the Pirates need to win 23 of their final 40 games.
To go 23-17, the Pirates would have to play a .575 clip. It seems unfathomable for them to play at that pace considering their winning percentage for the season is a meager .328.
Of course, 100 losses would be fitting for this team. It is the worst Pirates team since the 1952 club went 42-112, worse that the ragtag 2001 club that christened PNC Park with a 62-100 record.
At least, the 2001 team was without two of its three top starting pitchers (Kris Benson and Francisco Cordova) for the entire season and had the other (Jason Schmidt) for just 14 starts before trading him.
This version of the Pirates hasn’t had any catastrophic injuries. It just stinks.
The Pirates would have to finish 13-27 to avoid 110 losses and even that seems problematic with as bad as this team is playing. On the bright side, though, the modern-day major-league single-season loss record of 120 set by the New York Mets appears out of the Pirates’ reach.
Well, maybe.
Herald-Standard sports correspondent John Perrotto is editor-in-chief of the BaseballProspectus.com.