Pittsburgh Pirate fans are sick of hearing about Francisco Cabrera. They are tired of being reminded that their team has not put a winning product on the field since Sid Bream slid past Mike LaValliere’s tag to end the 1992 National League Championship Series. And they do not need to be reminded of the awful trades and blown draft picks that led to decades of futility.
Pirate fans can look up and see Kyle Drabek and Scott Van Slyke in the major leagues. The children of the 1992 Pirates made the majors before they could put a winning product on the field.
That can all end this year. A culmination of good picks, a smart trade or two and the emergence of the team’s first legitimate superstar since Barry Bonds might put a winner in PNC Park for the first time.
Last night, the Pirates trailed the Cardinals early and then stormed back for an impressive 14-5 win against the defending World Champs. They did it with the long ball. They did it with four runs batted in from Pedro Alvarez. And, of course, they did it with another offensive outburst from the amazing Andrew McCutchen.
This win was significant for a specific reason: It was win No. 41. They are officially halfway to 82 wins, which has been the Everest the team could not scale since 1992.
The Pirates are a mere game out of first place and are on pace to win 87 games. And they have recently raised their run differential to plus-3 after being in the negative column for much of the year.
They have 86 games to win 41 more games. In other words, they need only go 41-45 to forever put the last two decades in their rear-view mirror.
Now, of course, they were in a similar situation last year. In 2011, as with this year, the Pirates entered July with a winning record. And for a few days in late July, they were in first place by themselves. But a disastrous August started them on a 21-46 finish to the season and another 90-loss campaign.
But this team feels different. The Pirates suddenly contending was a shock to the 2011 club. They were sub-.500 heading into June and then slumped at the end of July.
The 2012 team has been more consistent and so far seems to have learned from what happened last year. There is a swagger on the team led by McCutchen‘s MVP-caliber performance.
And do not discount the arrival of a relaxed A.J. Burnett. Remember, before Burnett’s subpar 2010 and 2011 campaigns in the Bronx, he was credited with relaxing a very tense clubhouse and being a positive figure. Maybe that influence is benefiting the Pirates.
Either way, a great relief might soon be felt in Pittsburgh. They are halfway there already with more than half the season left to play.
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