Pirates 2011 Report Card

This article was orignally posted by Mr. Bill Ivie on Baseball Digest until the website closed.

The Pirates ended 2010 practically on rock bottom with a 57-105 record. It was their worst season over the course of their 18 season losing streak. Management made a couple promising moves over the offseason, then entered 2011 hoping to rebound from an atrocious season. They started unusually strong and ended July not only above .500, but also in contention to claim the NL Central division. Optimism would be replaced by excitement when they acquired Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick before the trade deadline. Excitement quickly turned into the same despair which Pirates fans have experienced over the last two decades as they suffered from multiple injuries and fell to end the season 72-90. Although the Buccos clinched their 19th consecutive losing season, we saw a ray of hope which caused many fans to hop back on the bandwagon.

Rotation: C-
The opening day rotation consisted of Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, and James McDonald. Ohlendorf strained his shoulder in April which moved Jeff Karstens up from the bullpen. Injuries in August to Correia and Maholm allowed Brad Lincoln and Jeff Locke to each make a few starts.

Correia was acquired over the offseason and signed to a two year deal. He did extremely well in the first half which earned him a questionable spot on the All-Star team, but was miserable after the break and while pitching at home. Maholm actually had one of his best seasons, though you wouldn’t realize it by looking at any conventional statistics. Karstens, Morton, and McDonald each had reasonable seasons, but they were unable to pitch deep into many games. Only McDonald managed a K/9 rate above the league average, but he was also inaccurate with a high BB/9 rate. These pitchers could blame the offense for their lack of run support, but I blame their lack of efficiency.

Bullpen: B+
Joel Hanrahan was the designated closer entering 2011 and he took over the role quite well. He earned his first All-Star selection and ended the season with 40 saves. Evan Meek was weighed down by shoulder tendinitis throughout the season. Jose Veras, Chris Resop, Daniel McCutchen, Tony Watson, and Jason Grilli (obtained from Philadelphia) gobbled the most innings among the Buccos relief pitchers. Each of them posted a K/9 above 8 except Daniel. Amazingly, Resop, Grilli, and Veras were among the top 30 relievers in regards to their K/9 rates at 10.21, 10.19, and 10.01, respectively. Joe Beimel, Daniel Moskos, and Chris Leroux also made their share of appearances throughout the season, though Beimel was not very effective.

Insufficient outings by the Pirates' starting pitchers inevitably overworked their young bullpen and caused the team to falter toward the end of the season.

Catchers: D+
The Pirates' backstop position was plagued by injuries this season as they cycled through the use of Ryan Doumit, Chris Snyder, and Michael McKenry. McKenry was acquired from Boston in June and received the majority of the innings behind homeplate, which was disappointing considering Doumit and Snyder combined for a salary over $11 million, about 20% of the team’s payroll. Doumit provided the best offense among the three, which is typical for him, but he just can not stay healthy over long periods of time while playing as the catcher anymore.

Infield: C-
The Buccos were either injury prone or inconsistent across the infield for the majority of the season. Their only cornerstone was second basemen, Neil Walker, who had a decent all-around season. Ronny Cedeno had an average season at the plate by his standards, which is still quite bad, though his defense at shortstop did improve. Both players received nominations for a Gold Glove, though neither won.

Pedro Alvarez was dubbed the starting third basemen on opening day, but he just could not find his swing and spent the majority of the season struggling, hurt, or in the minors. In his absence, Brandon Wood and Josh Harrison each had equal opportunity in the hot corner. Wood provided better defense, while Harrison was a more consistent hitter. Chase d'Arnaud also logged some time to back them up as well as Cedeno, but he was equally disappointing both on and off the field.

Lyle Overbay and Garrett Jones platooned at first. Jones had a decent season and recorded the second most homers for the team. Overbay did a great job fielding at first, but had a poor year at the plate. He was released soon after Derrek Lee was acquired from the Orioles. Lee would have been the offensive power the Pirates were after, but he hit the DL and only played 28 games. His WAR was equal to Jones (0.9) even though he played a fraction of his season with the Pirates.

Outfield: B+
The situations in left and center field were originally handled by Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen, respectively, but Tabata spent nearly two months nursing an injured quad. Right field consisted of another platoon with Jones and Matt Diaz. McCutchen had another great season, even though his batting average did sink a little; Jones did fine filling in roles at first and right; Tabata did well while he was healthy; and Diaz left much desired offensively and on the field. He was eventually traded after acquiring Ryan Ludwick.

Ludwick hit the DL shortly after he was obtained and did not make the same impact as Lee. Xavier Paul and Alex Presley did their share of playing the corner outfield once it was realized Diaz could not play and Tabata was injured. Both played the field well, but Presley trumped Paul with better offense.


Top Offensive Player
Andrew McCutchen easily led the Pirates offensively with a WAR of 5.7. He ended the season as the team leader in practically every offensive category: home runs, runs, RBIs, and stolen bases. Although his batting average was down and his strikeout rate was up compared to previous years, his on base percentage stayed about the same due to an increased walk rate. An increased slugging percentage and isolated power rating may indicate we could expect more homers from him in seasons to come.

Top Pitcher
This may be arguable, but I believe Joel Hanrahan had the greatest impact on the mound this year for the Pirates. Not only do the conventional statistics support his performance (40 saves, 1.83 ERA, 1.05 WHIP), but so do the advanced metrics (8.0 K/9, 3.81 K/BB, .282 BABIP, 2.18 FIP, 2.73 SIERA, 2.98 xFIP). His 2.0 WAR ranked 7th among qualified relief pitchers, 4th among team closers behind only Craig Kimbrel, Jonathan Papelbon, and Mariano Rivera.

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Pittsburgh Pirates 2011 Report Card
Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 Offseason Outlook
Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 Season Preview

Pirates Payroll Speculation

The Pittsburgh Pirates have less than four hours before the surge of free agent signings should begin. MLB Trade Rumors covered the Pirates possibilities on October 19th, so the information is now slightly dated. The team has a few holes to fill and many areas which they could improve upon after declining club options for Chris Snyder, Paul Maholm, Ryan Doumit, and Ronny Cedeno.

Pirates Attendance vs. Payroll, 2007-2011

I gathered the attendance and payroll data from Baseball Reference and Cot's Baseball Contracts, respectively. The Buccos attracted more fans this year than they have in the last five years and are reportedly expected to enter 2012 with a payroll above $50 million. This is moderately encouraging as this would be the most they have dedicated to their players' payroll since 2003. I would be more excited if there were more options available on the upcoming free agent market or trading table.

Pirates Current 25-man Roster Projection for 2012, MLB Depth Charts

MLB Depth Charts reports the Pirates should be looking for a catcher, first baseman, shortstop, corner outfielder, and starting pitcher. I mostly agree with them, but think we have enough depth in the outfield. I would prefer a backup third baseman in case Alvarez does not recover from his sophomore slump. The amount of money the Pirates have to throw around this offseason depends upon where you read. Bucs Dugout predicts a minimum of $33.4 million is already allotted to the current roster, Pirates Prospects suggests $30.16 million, and Raise the Jolly Roger estimates $25 million. If I look at the payroll information available on Cot's Baseball Contracts and use MLBTR's projected arbitration salaries, then I come up with $31.99 million.

This means the Pirates management has a little bit of wiggle room to upgrade at least two positions, hopefully four. If the Buccos maintain a payroll above $50 million, then that leaves $18 million or more for the offseason. Let's see what's available and what they can do.

Free Agent Targets: Catcher

Free Agent Targets: First Base

Free Agent Targets: Shortstop

Free Agent Targets: Starting Pitcher

First and foremost, the likelihood of the Pirates signing a caliber player like Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, or C.J. Wilson is extremely unlikely unless they accepted payment in Heinz ketchup or Yuengling. It is also fairly unlikely they will surrender a first round draft pick for a type A free agent.

Doumit could be offered arbitration, though any of my other three suggestions would be a nice change. Sure, his offensive numbers may have been more impressive overall, but he has not been a full-time catcher since 2008 and his eyes creep me out. Any one of these options could cost somewhere around $3 to $8 million.

The Pirates acknowledged their lineup was power deficient in 2011, so it would be wise to select a big bat to play first base. Prince Fielder, Michael Cuddyer, and Pujols are all type A free agents, which should make the other three choices more available. The Chicago Cubs may not let Carlos Pena go if they are unable to sign a replacement for themselves. I would expect the Pirates to devote $6 to 9 million to first base.

Cedeno is gone. If the Pirates offer him arbitration, then it will probably cost them more than his original $3 million club option. If you disregard Jimmy Rollins and Reyes, then everyone but Nick Punto are type B free agents and should cost anywhere from $3 to $10 million.

The Buccos currently have a starting rotation full of right handers with the loss of Maholm, so picking up a lefty for next year is vital. Signing Wilson is extremely unlikely, but one can dream. Mark Buehrle or Edwin Jackson would be great additions to an otherwise inexperienced staff, but both are type B free agents and will probably be on the expensive side, possibly $8 to $15 million. Chris Capuano and Jeff Francis would be interesting options, hopefully on the more affordable side, maybe $4 to $8 million.

Pirates 2012 Payroll Estimate

In my fantasy world, the Pirates would acquire Kelly Shoppach, Punto, and Capuano while resigning Lee. The signings would cost the organization $20 million next year, disregarding the possibility of multi-year contracts, for a total payroll of approximately $52 million.

Hibernation

Autumn has its stranglehold upon the trees, the temperature is dropping, and my muscles feel stiff. Baseball season is officially over.

I feel a little sad today, which is depressing because it is actually my birthday. Perhaps my subconscious finally realizes it can no longer experience the intensities of a September playoff race, nor hear Written in the Stars advertising the Postseason, nor ride emotional roller coasters while I watch a baseball game, nor enjoy the delicious ballpark franks and nachos.

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 90 games this season and fans may have been disappointed, but they showed great strides of improvement, which was not difficult after such a poor season in 2010. Their performance up to July was almost as amazing as their second half was devastating. Still, management proved last year they can come up with creative solutions that fit their budget. Some worked, most did not, but you may have to take some risks when you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The most exciting part of the Pirates' season was when they acquired Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee before the trade deadline, which proved to me management is not afraid to make a move. They announced their priorities will be at catcher and first base.

This is my first year with the St. Louis Cardinals in their hometown and they did not disappoint me. The ultimate baseball high is followed by rock bottom, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa announcing his retirement. Luckily the Cards have Lance Berkman locked in for next year, which would allow him to shift from right field to first base, just in case the worst case scenario occurs. Management tied up most of their major loose ends aside from Pujols, shortstop, and now the manager position.

In my past offseasons as solely a Buccos fan, this would have marked the beginning of my hibernation from baseball. This changed after the 2011 season and with a projected payroll increase to over $50 million next season. If you couple that with the anticipation of the moves the Cards will surely make, then I should be quite active this offseason.

Why so glum?

Offseason Entertainment:
 MLBTR has a free agent prediction contest here.
 Their predictions can be found here for comparison.
 ESPN "predicts" the next 25 World Series champions here.
 Two Out Rally, Baseball MMORPG: here.
 World Series Superstars on Facebook: here.
 Baseball Mogul 2012: here.

Personal Offseason Projects:
 Pirates Payroll Speculation
 Cardinals Payroll Speculation
 Payroll Win Efficiency
 Analyzing my Fantasy Baseball Teams
 Preparing for the Next Fantasy Baseball Season
 League Realignment Proposal
 League Expansion Proposal
 Playoff Expansion Proposal

Correction:
 The math on my World Series Probability post was corrected. There are 70 possible outcomes, not 72.

Should the Pirates Keep Maholm

I have been talking a lot about the Postseason, simply because it's more exciting, but there has been a lot of talk about Paul Maholm lately. In case you have been too caught up with the Playoffs, living under a rock or are simply not a Pittsburgh resident, Maholm has a team option in his current contract worth $9.75 million.

Is he worth that much?
Many fans say, "No." Analysts say, "Probably." The Pirates are a hanging chad so far.

Maholm earned $6.25 million in 2011 or $5.75M, depending on where you look. He posted a respectable ERA of 3.66 and WHIP of 1.29; both of which were better than the league, team, and his career averages; but he has not posted a winning percentage on the positive side (in true Pirate fashion) since becoming a full-time starter in 2006.

His record in 2011 was a dismal 6-14. Many analysts have attributed his high loss count to poor run support. It's true the Pirates offense is lacking, to say the least, but how true is this assumption? The Pirates offense only scored an average of 3.77 runs per game (27th in the MLB), so it certainly seems likely.

Worst RS/9 for Starting Pitchers with 150 Innings Pitched or more, Fangraphs

There were 105 starting pitchers who accumulated 150 innings pitched or more, Maholm had the sixth worst run support over nine innings (RS/9) among them all. Ouch.

The 2011 RS/9 average was 4.59, which left three of the Pirates regular starters below the threshold, one near average, and one slightly above average. It was quite surprising to see Tim Lincecum beating everyone out for the top slot. If an amazing pitcher like Lincecum was on this list, then perhaps Maholm's pitching woes is driven by poor offense as well.

I am not a believer, so let's look over the data.

Maholm's total games started and innings pitched were both below average, but he went on the disabled list on August 19th. Otherwise he would have reached the league averages quite easily. His ERA and WHIP may have been better than average, but those are primitive statistics that rely too much on factors outside of what a pitcher can control. His BABIP and FIP were both slightly better than the norm, which would account for a little bit of defensive luck and explain his good ERA and WHIP scores. His SIERA score is slightly worse than average due to his poor strikeout count and rate.


The five pitchers who had worse run support than Maholm all accumulated a higher Wins Above Replacement value than him, as well as the rest of the Pirates starting rotation. They all recorded better values than him in regard to FIP, SIERA, K/9, and K/BB. The only statistic Maholm really has going for him is K/BB, which was better than average and the top five.

The average 2011 starting pitcher recorded 149 strikeouts at a rate of 6.75 K/9. Maholm was far below those averages with 97 strikeouts and 5.38 K/9. In fact the only Pirates starter who recorded an above average strikeout rate was James McDonald, which explains why he is the only pitcher I enjoy watching and hope the Pirates retain for a while.

Paul Maholm is a pitcher who relies too heavily on luck. He walks batters almost as rarely as he strikes them out, thus he has to rely on ground balls, fly balls, the defense behind him, and praying the ball stays inside the park. All that said, he is still an average pitcher with a WAR of 2.1. If a team values a win somewhere between $4 and 5 million, then he should collect a contract in the range of $8.4 and $10.5 million.

Should the Pirates keep Maholm? That's the 9.75 million dollar question.

Glossary
BABIP - Batting Average on Balls In Play
FIP - Fielding Independent Pitching
SIERA - Skill-Interactive Earned Runned Average

Irony

The St. Louis Cardinals will be facing the Texas Rangers in the World Series on Wednesday with home field advantage. The announcers for last night's NLCS game made a few interesting points regarding how the Cardinals got where they are today.

The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Atlanta Braves twice in September and ended the season with a series record of 12-6. If the Phillies would have opted to lose the final game of the regular season against the Braves, then it would have forced a one game playoff for the National League Wild Card. The Phillies could have faced the Brewers in the NLDS with whom they had a 4-3 record in the regular season, which would have been slightly favorable compared to their record against the Cards, 5-9. Knowing this, losing to the Cardinals in the NLDS was avoidable.

Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer in this year's All-Star game in Arizona and won the All-Star game MVP award. His home run provided the National League with home field advantage at the World Series. Funny how he inevitably helped the Cardinals, the team the Brewers were trying to beat in the NLCS, and gave them home field advantage.

My friend also suggested I should point out how long I waited for my childhood hometown team to make a run for the playoffs. I will continue waiting for the Pittsburgh Pirates to at least cross the .500 hump before I hope for a postseason run. Then I move to St. Louis and the Cards make it to the World Series during my first year with my new hometown team.

Oh, the irony.

Pirates Helped Rays

I realized something amusing last night: The Red Sox were knocked out from the AL Wild Card by the Pirates.

Bear with me and I'll explain my reasoning. Remember when the Red Sox rolled into Pittsburgh in late June earlier this year? Boston owned a record of 44-30, while tied for first with the New York Yankees in the AL East. Everyone expected them to roll over the Pirates in their three game series, but it didn't go as expected.

The Pirates managed to win the series 2-1, which gave them a winning record and caused Boston to slide into second place. Pittsburgh used the series against Boston to create momentum for the team. They eventually rose to first place in the NL Central and maintained a record above .500 until August.

Two games were all that stood between the Boston Red Sox and winning the American League Wild Card, so it only makes sense the Tampa Bay Rays should thank the Pirates for their postseason appearance.

Granted, the Red Sox lost two or more games to many other teams who were worse than the Pirates. The Rays could thank the Orioles who handed Boston their final loss of the season and inevitably shut their season down, but I choose to be charitable and thank the Pirates.

Pirates 2011 Final Record

72-90

I predicted 73-89, but the Brewers are just relentless against the Pirates. Prince Fielder hit three home runs in yesterday's game. Absurd.

Contrary to what others may tell you, this was a giant leap in the right direction for the Pirates organization.

Great season.

Salt in the Wound for the Pirates

Bucco blogs are all writing about how the Pirates clinched their 19th consecutive losing season when they lost to the Cardinals last night, 6-4. They also earned their 82nd loss earlier this afternoon before this article was finished. This felt like the season to finally end this embarrassing ongoing record of losing, but it wasn't meant to be.

Information from coolstandings.

The Pirates entered the 2011 season with low expectations after one of their worst seasons in recent memory and a series of low-end market moves over the off season did not help their case. Coolstandings projected their expected winning percentage to be only .379 at the start of the season. Their expectations did not catch up with their actual performance until the end of May, which is when the Pirates only started getting hot.

The Buccos flirted with .500 at points throughout the season, but they seemed like they were there to stay once they crossed the mark on June 24th. Their performance peaked on the 19th of July when they were seven games over .500 and coolstandings projected they would finish the season with a record of 86.5 wins and 75.5 losses, a winning percentage of .534. Their hot streak fell apart approximately one month after it began on July 29th when they started their free fall, fell below .500 on August 2nd and never reached the surface since.

Further analysis shows the Pirates were above .500 a total of only 45 games this season, which means they were .500 or worse in the other 103 games thus far (117 if you include the remainder of the season). The 10 game losing streak in July and August was not completely to blame either considering they were below .500 a total of 62 times before the streak began.

Maybe the Pirates lost this season because of injuries, inexperienced pitchers, inept offense, some combination of the three or they were simply outplayed by their opponents. Whatever it was, 2011 was much more exciting than 2010. Seriously, look at this graph.

I don't expect them to acquire any big names like Albert Pujols and they may not even be able to retain Derrek Lee or Ryan Ludwick, but I am looking forward to whatever moves management will make over this winter. Acquiring Clint Hurdle was their best move by far in 2011. Now they just need an experienced team leader to guide them to a victory.

After all, it would be nice to see the Buccos win a season before the world ends in 2012. (lol)

Nail Biters

July 26, 2011: The night of one of the longest Pirates games in franchise history which ended in tragedy, frustration, robbery. (Technically the game ended on the 27th at 1:50 am.) You can call it whatever you like, but in the end it was the night the Pirate ship sank.

The Buccos record on July 25th was 53-47. One hundred games played, tied for first place in the division with the Cardinals, and, most importantly, six games over .500. They were on pace to pick up a well-deserved winning season. Today they are 65-77 with a winning percentage of .458. Basic math shows the Pirates have only 12 wins and 30 losses with a mere .285 winning percentage since July 26th.

How did we get here since the meltdown? Is there anything they could have done to avoid it? Looking back at our schedule during the collapse, I see 10 games were decided by extra innings or one run. Their results are a depressing one win and nine losses.

At a glance one might think this is expected, but of course I have to disprove the naysayers. The Pirates had 26 nail biters over the course of their first 100 games this season. They managed 15 wins and 11 losses, which seems like a respectable result to me.

Perhaps we could go back in time to the 26th of July and convince Hurdle to avoid a sacrifice bunt, which would result in a pitchout and eventually end the ninth inning. We could suggest the home plate umpire, Jerry Meals, have a sip of coffee before the 19th inning in case he had to make an important call. Maybe some positive momentum would have avoided a 10-game losing streak that followed soon after this devastating loss and this snowball effect of suck.

What would have happened if the Pirates won all their close games since July 25th? They could have swept the Braves in July, won a series against the Brewers, avoided being swept by the Cubs and Phillies, and reduced their longest losing streak of the season from 10 in July/August to six, which occurred in May. They could have accumulated 21 wins, 21 losses, and raised their current record to 74-68.

I can further analyze this new record in relation to yesterday’s topic, Pirates Possible Outcomes.

94-68

An epic winning streak would result in the best possible record for a thrilling season. This would have been their best record since 1992 when Barry Bonds roamed in left field. Though it still may not be enough to win the division against the Brewers, they definitely would have been in the race for the Wild Card. Imagine the irony if the season ended with the Pirates tied with the Braves. What a delicious way to end the regular season.

74-88

Losing streaks are not uncommon with our modern era Pirates, though I do find it mildly interesting that a tragic losing streak would result in a record one game better than my current prediction of 73-89.

82-80

My prediction in this scenario depresses me. When I compare the Pirates’ supposed winning percentage (.5211) to their opponents’ cumulative winning percentage (.5205) and take into consideration their season series records against each upcoming opponent, I reach this outcome.

One run could have spoiled this year’s opportunity of a winning season.

Pirates Possible Outcomes

The Pirates current record is 65-76. So what can happen between now and October?

86-76

An epic winning streak over the final 21 games would result in our now best possible record. The teams’ longest winning streak in franchise history was 16 games in 1909 when the Pirates finished the season 110-42 and won the World Series. This was arguably the 4th best team in MLB history if you reference their winning percentages. Our longest streak this season is four games. Wake up from your dream world. Let’s continue.

82-80

This, of course, would break our 18 year long curse. That means we can only afford to lose no more than four more games, win at least 17 of our next 21 games, and have a winning percentage of at least .810. Comparatively, the Phillies have a winning percentage of .650 and are already guaranteed a winning season. We have to play nearly perfect against upcoming teams such as the Marlins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Brewers. That's easier said than done since the Buccos seem to always choke on potential sweeps. If you glance at the past schedule, you can see we had a total of 11 opportunities to sweep, but only capitalized twice all season long.

80-82

This would mark our best record since 1999 when we had Brian Giles and the team went 78-83. The 1997 Pirates actually had a better opportunity of winning as they were 79-83 and only 5 games behind the Astros for first place. That was a sad season for the entire NL Central division.

76-86

Sadly, this would become our best record since moving into PNC Park on March 31, 2001. The Pirates ended their first season in their pretty new stadium at 62-100. Their best record currently stands at 75-87 from the 2003 season.

73-89

This was the prediction I made on August 30th based upon their current performance and their upcoming opponents in the remainder of the season.

65-97

An epic losing streak is, thankfully, improbable. Their longest losing skid this season was that appalling 10 games from July/August. The Pirates’ longest modern era streak is 12 games from 1914 and 1939. The franchise record is 23 games from 1889 when the team was known as the Alleghenies.

57-105

Does this look familiar? If you only hopped on the bandwagon this year when the Pirates started playing well, then this may not ring any bells. This was last season's record. We've already won more games than last season and there are still 21 games left. That's pretty cool, right?

Salutations!

Hello, and welcome to Analysis around the Horn. I hope to use this blog as a means to purvey my thoughts in relation to the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and baseball analysis.

My father raised me as an avid baseball fan. We attended more baseball games than I could possibly count, including memorable and life-changing games such as the 1994 All Star Game; the final game at Three Rivers Stadium before it was demolished to make way for PNC Park in 2000; and attending games in Florida, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, and San Francisco.

I only played three years of baseball during my childhood, and I was terrible at it. I always embraced the statistical nature of the sport, even creating my own fantasy baseball league when I was only ten years old before I knew fantasy baseball existed. It was exciting once I finally discovered it in magazines and online. I graduated with a bachelors of science degree in business from Penn State Fayette in 2007 and from Frazier High School in 2002.

My love of baseball took a hit during the Pirates losing skid after their first place finish in 1992, their last winning season to date. It was frustrating to see them acquire young talent during this timeframe, and then trade them away. We lost (semi) memorable players likes Barry Bonds, Esteban Loaiza, Jason Schmidt, Aramis Ramirez, Brian Giles, Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, and Jose Bautista. Sadly, I could make this list longer. It seemed management had no intention or ambition to create a winning team.

During this 18-year span, the Steelers made 12 playoff appearances and won the Super Bowl twice. The Penguins were division champions four times, conference champions twice, and won the Stanley Cup once. Many of my friends have given up on the Pirates and baseball due to the lack of a salary cap.

I agree it seems unfair in a world where the Yankees maintain a payroll of $196 million, while the Pirates only pay $45 million. But consider the following, the Rays have the second lowest payroll ($41 million) and owns the 9th best record in the majors. Meanwhile the Cubs have the 6th highest payroll ($126 million) and is tied for the 6th worse record in the majors. It goes to show that money isn’t everything.

The 2010 season seemed to prove my theory regarding Pirates’ management and marked the third most losses in Pirates franchise history, which made my move to St. Louis in November all the more easier. I joked to friends and family the Pirates would start winning and Albert Pujols would be traded once I made the transition into Cardinals nation. It seemed so farfetched.

The 2011 season has been full of excitement and heartaches. Trade rumors have been swirling around Albert since spring training. The Cards lost their ace, Adam Wainwright, to surgery before the season began and their closer, Ryan Franklin, imploded to cost the team at least four losses to start the season. Players across both leagues were taking trips to the disabled list like it was the new Disney World.

Meanwhile, the Pirates actually started winning games. Their season peaked on July 19th where they were 7 games over .500 and first in the division, then actually made some positive moves before the trade deadline. It felt like I was going to be metaphorically eating my hat by the end of the season, and then the Pirates were robbed due to the infamous botched call by Jerry Meals. Something must have snapped in the Pirates clubhouse because the wheels stopped turning after that night and they started to free fall.

Many of my Facebook rants went unnoticed, thus a more public domain became a personal necessity and here we are today. Thanks for visiting!