Reality Has Set In But Pirates Have Plenty to Play For

The Pirates are now floundering in a seven game losing streak and have lost 9 of 10 overall. It is funny how playing above expectations can simultaneously lead to creating unattainable expectations. The Pirates, who not too long ago held first place in their division, were projected by even the most optimistic fans to win only 70-75 games this season. Through 110 games, the Pirate sit a mediocre 54-56, a record that puts them on pace to win roughly 80 games this year! If you could have said that at the beginning of the season, every Pirates enthusiast would have signed up for that in a heartbeat.

The Pirates ability to play above their heads for 100 games, however, put unreasonable expectations on a team that simply is not all that talented. That 53-47 record through 100 games had Pirates fans dreaming of a division title and actual playoff games at PNC Park. Unfortunately, there was no way the Pirates were going to continue playing that well without some sort of miracle. The Pirates had the run differential of a .500 team and only had that because their starting pitching staff was performing way over their heads. It was only a matter of time before the team came crashing back to earth and we all should have recognized that at the time.

Instead, we decided to suspend reality and believe that these Buccos could continue winning one-run games, that Kevin Correia and the rest of the Pirates starters would continue pitching at a level they never have before, that the returns of Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Doumit, and Jose Tabata would boost the line-up and that trading for Derek Lee and Ryan Ludwick would improve upon their zero production predecessors. Well, I guess the last two statements are true but when your line-up was as dreadful as this team’s was marginal improvements simply aren’t enough.

I have held from the beginning that even if the mini-miracle continued that the Pirates were still not good enough to win the division without major help from their competitors. Even with everything breaking right, this team was not going to win more than 83 or 84 games. For that to win the division, the Pirates would need major help. Who knows, the Pirates may get out of this funk and go on to win that many games but the Brewers have now made it look impossible that merely 83 or 84 wins would take the division. That’s the point I want to make today.

It is not time to get down on these Pirates, who have already accomplished more this year than anyone could have imagined. Instead, it is time to set more realistic goals for this team, most notably breaking the 18 season losing streak the team has endured. Let’s root for Neal Huntington and his staff to continue building toward real contender status over the next couple of years. Reality has set in, but that does not mean the season needs to be a waste. The Pirates have plenty to play for and a future that looks a whole lot better than before this season started.