Pittsburgh Pirates tie record! (1 Viewer)

[Bill Young]

ALERT!!!

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Pirates!!!

They have tied the record for the most consecutive losing seasons by a North American team. 16 straight!!! Matching the Philadelphia Phillies from 1933 - 1948.

I CANNOT WAIT until next year, when the Pittsburgh Pirates will own this record all by themselves!!!

Let's all hope that the Pittsburgh Pirates get to 17 losing seasons in a row in 2009!!!

END ALERT!!!

 

[Bill Young]

16 and counting

The Pirates' 16 consecutive losing seasons, by record and place in the division:

Year Record Place

1993 75-87 5th

1994 53-61 3rd

1995 58-86 5th

1996 73-89 5th

1997 79-83 2nd

1998 69-93 5th

1999 78-83 3rd

2000 69-93 5th

2001 62-100 6th

2002 72-89 4th

2003 75-87 4th

2004 72-89 5th

2005 67-95 6th

2006 67-95 5th

2007 68-94 6th

2008 60-82 6th

 

[Capella]

Wow that's incredible. That's the longest in any sport?

Only close to .500 a few times too.

 

[Knightro]

The curse of Barry Bonds

or Syd Thrift

or Kevin McClatchey

When was the last Pirates top draft pick that worked out? Tons of injuries and then this Alvarez debacle.

 

[Bill Young]

Wow that's incredible. That's the longest in any sport?

In North America? In any sport world-wide? The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies currently share this record. After next year, the Pittsburgh Pirates will own it all by themselves. At least, that is my prediction.

 

[azcrook58]

they are the detroit lions of baseball

 

[Bill Young]

When was the last Pirates top draft pick that worked out?

At this point, I would say...2003 Paul Maholm LHP Mississippi State U. Pick #8

1996 Kris Benson RHP Clemson U. Pick #1

1992 Jason Kendall C Torrance, CA Pick #23

The complete list can be seen at this website: ESPN Draft History Website

 

[RoarinSonoran]

16 and counting

The Pirates' 16 consecutive losing seasons, by record and place in the division:

Year Record Place

1993 75-87 5th

1994 53-61 3rd

1995 58-86 5th

1996 73-89 5th

1997 79-83 2nd

1998 69-93 5th

1999 78-83 3rd

2000 69-93 5th

2001 62-100 6th

2002 72-89 4th

2003 75-87 4th

2004 72-89 5th

2005 67-95 6th

2006 67-95 5th

2007 68-94 6th

2008 60-82 6th

Ouch.

 

[fred_1_15301]

16 and counting

The Pirates' 16 consecutive losing seasons, by record and place in the division:

Year Record Place

1993 75-87 5th

1994 53-61 3rd

1995 58-86 5th

1996 73-89 5th

1997 79-83 2nd

1998 69-93 5th

1999 78-83 3rd

2000 69-93 5th

2001 62-100 6th

2002 72-89 4th

2003 75-87 4th

2004 72-89 5th

2005 67-95 6th

2006 67-95 5th

2007 68-94 6th

2008 60-82 6th

Ouch.

I remember 1997. That was an exciting year when we were in the race until the last couple weeks...........

 

[monessen]

I've come to the conclusion that, while the Steelers and Penguins have more local fanatics, Pittsburgh is a decent baseball town. My reasoning:

Fans are still attending the games though the novelty of the "new" stadium should have worn off by now. The Bucs draw just fine despite the chronic losing. The Rays and Marlins are much better than the Pirates, but both struggle to attract fans. So, why would people go to see a last place team? It can't be because of a popular promotion like Ronny Paulino Bobblehead night, or fireworks after the game. Maybe the locals come to see stars from other, actual contending teams. If so, there are good fans there. Most cities would never put up with that losing streak and would have boycotted the games.

While blame can be placed in many areas, money is the biggest issue. The team won't spend it on scouting, development, acquiring, or retaining players of value. Nor will the owners open their financial books for review. Nor will the owners sell to a Mark Cuban----a guy who'd do the 4 things mentioned in sentence 2 of this paragraph.

Sadly, there is no hope on the horizon. They will not contend for years to come.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

I've come to the conclusion that, while the Steelers and Penguins have more local fanatics, Pittsburgh is a decent baseball town. My reasoning:Fans are still attending the games though the novelty of the "new" stadium should have worn off by now. The Bucs draw just fine despite the chronic losing. The Rays and Marlins are much better than the Pirates, but both struggle to attract fans. So, why would people go to see a last place team? It can't be because of a popular promotion like Ronny Paulino Bobblehead night, or fireworks after the game. Maybe the locals come to see stars from other, actual contending teams. If so, there are good fans there. Most cities would never put up with that losing streak and would have boycotted the games.While blame can be placed in many areas, money is the biggest issue. The team won't spend it on scouting, development, acquiring, or retaining players of value. Nor will the owners open their financial books for review. Nor will the owners sell to a Mark Cuban----a guy who'd do the 4 things mentioned in sentence 2 of this paragraph.Sadly, there is no hope on the horizon. They will not contend for years to come.

There is some hope. They have people who know what they are doing in charge now.

 

[Tom Servo]

I've come to the conclusion that, while the Steelers and Penguins have more local fanatics, Pittsburgh is a decent baseball town. My reasoning:

Fans are still attending the games though the novelty of the "new" stadium should have worn off by now. The Bucs draw just fine despite the chronic losing. The Rays and Marlins are much better than the Pirates, but both struggle to attract fans. So, why would people go to see a last place team? It can't be because of a popular promotion like Ronny Paulino Bobblehead night, or fireworks after the game. Maybe the locals come to see stars from other, actual contending teams. If so, there are good fans there. Most cities would never put up with that losing streak and would have boycotted the games.

While blame can be placed in many areas, money is the biggest issue. The team won't spend it on scouting, development, acquiring, or retaining players of value. Nor will the owners open their financial books for review. Nor will the owners sell to a Mark Cuban----a guy who'd do the 4 things mentioned in sentence 2 of this paragraph.

Sadly, there is no hope on the horizon. They will not contend for years to come.

Highly unlikely given that the NL doesn't have a fan-in-every-town team like the Yanks or Red Sox. The Dodgers are close, but they haven't been anywhere close to the sexy, must-see team they were in the 70s.I think it has to do with those 40 Bobblehead nights they have...

 

[monessen]

Tom Servo cracks me up. Love those posts, man.

Somewhere in China as I write this, a girl of 15, earning a small weekly wage, has been told to stop painting (and we hope the paint isn't lead-based) the face of Bryan Bullington on a bobblehead doll and, instead, alter the features to make the doll appear more to resemble Luis Rivas.

I am sure the folks in charge now know what they are doing. For example, they knew that without Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox would need Jason Bay. The Pirates wouldn't require Bay's services. After all, they would lose with or without Bay. Besides, Jeff Karstens was available.

 

[Bill Young]

I updated this for the end of season.

16 and counting

The Pirates' 16 consecutive losing seasons, by record and place in the division:

Year Record Place

1993 75-87 5th

1994 53-61 3rd

1995 58-86 5th

1996 73-89 5th

1997 79-83 2nd

1998 69-93 5th

1999 78-83 3rd

2000 69-93 5th

2001 62-100 6th

2002 72-89 4th

2003 75-87 4th

2004 72-89 5th

2005 67-95 6th

2006 67-95 5th

2007 68-94 6th

2008 67-95 6th

2009 ??-?? ???

Oh, and good bye Jeff Andrews. Maybe, just maybe, a decent pitching coach will be found to replace him.

Let the cleansing of the coaching staff begin. Maybe with that and the new players acquired this year, Year 17 will once again show they will lose 100!!!

Pittsburgh Pirates: Not only Losers of the Old Millenium, but also Losers of the New Millenium!!!

 

[Bill Young]

And the re-organization of the Pirates coaching continues...

1st base coach Lou Frazier has been fired.

That makes...

1. Pitching Coach Jeff Andrews

2. 1st Base Coach Lou Frazier

Who's next?!?!

 

[monessen]

I can understand scapegoating the pitching coach, but not the first-base coach. That would imply the Pirates would manage to get runners on first-base to begin with.