Pirates baseball...

There may be hope for you yet...but probably not.

 

that's wonderful about the red sox radio deal. really, it is. I guess other small market teams that have achieved more success than much larger markets got lucky.

 

who said the pirates don't suck? I said the Pirates "blow." Isn't that about the same as saying they suck?

 

Mismanaged.

I never said being in a large market was a guarantee for sucess, just an advantage.

 

Even the years that the Pirates had good teams with Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke, etc and were in the playoffs, the fan support was still lukewarm. They never sold out one game in any of the years they played in the playoffs during that time.

The Pirates' team of the "We are family" era is still one of my all time favorites. Nobody could hit a HR farther than Willie Stargell...can you imagine how far and how many he would have hit if he was on juice. Pops was a monster!

 

Inside the Pirates: Worst team in sports history?
A 15-year losing streak would match longest in NFL, NHL or NBA
Sunday, July 29, 2007

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It has been known for quite some time that the Pirates are marching toward a miserable slice of Major League Baseball history: Their string of losing seasons will be 15 if this one stays on course, and that will be one short of the sport's all-time record of 16 set by the 1933-48 Philadelphia Phillies.

But here is an even more painful perspective: The Pirates, if they achieve that distinction, will have the longest losing streak in any of North America's four major professional sports.

Right.

Worst ... team ... ever.

Research conducted at Shea Stadium this week by Bob Waterman of the Elias Sports Bureau shows ...

The NFL's longest losing was 14 years, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1983-96. That group, for those who forgot, spawned perhaps the greatest quote in sports history when head coach John McKay, asked about his team's execution after another defeat, replied, "I think it's a good idea."

The NHL's longest losing streak was 15 years, by the Vancouver Canucks in 1976-91. But that organization, unlike these Pirates, had at least one shining moment in that span: Goaltender "King" Richard Brodeur backstopped their stunning drive to the Stanley Cup final in 1981, where they lost to the New York Islanders.

The NBA's longest losing streak was 15 years, by the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings in 1983-98. They sneaked into the playoffs once, too, in 1996, but their only other claim to fame was employing the sweetly nicknamed "Never Nervous" Pervis Ellison.

The Pirates would be the third team in MLB history, the fifth in any sport, to have 15 consecutive losing seasons.

As for active streaks, no other team comes close: The NFL's Arizona Cardinals are at eight consecutive losing seasons, the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets at six, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks at eight.

 

That seems somewhat disingenuous. Technically it's true, because Milwaukee finished 81-81 in '05, but the Brewers haven't had a winning season since 1992 (that looks to change this year, obviously). Plus this will be the Orioles' tenth consecutive losing season with no end in sight. In baseball more than any other sport, teams can go through extending losing periods for various reasons, and as much as it sucks during that time, I don't think you can invalidate the previous success of those teams. I'd rather be a team that had World Series glory in its past than one who might occasionally be mediocre but never great.

 

That one is even worse. It's not like the Orioles haven't spent the money. No matter what direction they choose to take (develop the farm system or hire gunslingers) that can't get it right.

 

Yeah, I'm an Orioles fan.

 

Can I count on it yet?

At 49-67 with 46 to go they better go on a wicked run.