The Streak Continues

On August 8th the Pittsburgh Pirates owned a record of 63-47. 16 games over .500. Second place in the National League Central, only 2 ½ games back from the Cincinnati Reds. Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen was leading the league in the race for the batting title and Most Valuable Player. Pirates fans couldn't help but begin to believe that the electricity surrounding their beloved team would finally break the dastardly curse of 19 straight losing seasons and book a trip to the postseason. How greedy of us.

The Pirates needed only to win 19 more games to achieve a winning record. Instead, they reverted to the pathetic losers of yesteryear and proceeded to lose 36 games. On September 28th the Pirates were mathematically eliminated from climbing the Great Wall of Winners by losing 1-0 to none other than the Reds. They finished the season a disappointingly close 79-83, their best record since 1992. If only that record could reflect how well the team played for three-quarters of the season.

The team treated its fans to a roller coaster ride of a season. The months of April and May started out slow. The Bucs were up and down throughout most of the spring but finished out the month of May with a 25-25 record. Fans remained skeptical. June and July sent Pirates faithful into hysteria. Players began harnessing the power of Zoltan. Drawing inspiration from the cult film Dude, Where’s My Car? the team began making a “Z” with their hands when they got a hit to imitate an iconic scene from the movie Gradually fans embraced the Zoltan too, even designing shirts and posters that displayed the “Z.” The whirlwind of hype and hope that surrounded the team gave the baseball world a feeling that the woeful Pittsburgh team would finally do something special.

Pirates catcher Rod Barajas popularizing the Zoltan

And then August decided to rear its ugly head. Though the pitching rotation had slowed substantially (James McDonald in particular), the Pirates had managed to string together enough wins to compete for one of the NL Wild Card spots. Yet suddenly, as mysteriously as their meteoric rise through the baseball ranks had begun, it deteriorated. Strikeouts, strikeouts everywhere. ERAs that ballooned out of control. Relievers that offered as much relief as Tylenol would for a root canal. Did I mention that they were losing?

Not only was the team doing poorly, Andrew McCutchen, their hero, their savior, slipped into a terrible slump. On August 17 his batting average hit .360. It would not eclipse that mark the rest of the season. Though he still maintained his position of one of the MLB’s best players, his average steadily declined as Cutch struck out more and more. Pirates fans whose hopes of a winning season were dwindling now saw their aspirations of an MVP candidate going down the drain as well. McCutchen would finish out the season with a .327 average, nine points behind Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants.

Even Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen was unable to escape his
team's late season slump.

The Pirates’ collapse begs inquiry. How could one of the hottest teams in professional baseball, on the verge of salvaging 19 years of losing, possibly take such a titanic plunge into the depths of failure? Many of the most renowned baseball analysts will cut to the root of the matter by supplying facts and statistics. “McCutchen’s swing is off,” one might suggest. “The right guys aren't in the rotation right now,” says another. “Alvarez should have batted fifth, not sixth.”

The critics can make those types of arguments all day, and maybe some of them were right, but put simply, the Pirates remembered that they were the Pirates. The team wasn't used to winning seven to ten games in a row like the Yankees or the Rangers. What they were used to was losing. Late in the season when they succumbed to five or six game losing streaks more frequently, they fell into the trap of not believing in themselves. Whether or not the solid coaching or the faith of the players faltered, the results on the field did not mirror their successful playing style earlier in the season, and analysts and fans everywhere took notice.

Personally, I turn to social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook for information about popular baseball opinions amongst fans. When the Pirates were winning, fans came out of the woodwork, praising their team for accomplishing what most thought impossible. Some of the more optimistic ones even championed them as “World Series bound.” Naivety at its finest. Yet when August came around, these fans were nowhere to be heard, didn’t even show up at their hearings to eat crow. First things first, Pirates fans: we don’t have to right to talk smack until our team actually finishes over .500 by for the first time in almost as many years as I’ve been on this earth.

If any bright spot can be found in the nightmarish conclusion to the Pirates' season, it comes in the form of the talent that is currently on the team. As of now, the Bucs haven’t lost any major players to other teams. McCutchen will of course still headline the ball club as the juggernaut all-star. Other notable returning offensive players include Neil Walker, Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, and Michael McKenry. The pitching staff will also return ace A.J. Burnett, closer Joel Hanrahan, and other contributors James McDonald and Wandy Rodriguez. With the core of the team returning, they have the advantage of understanding what winning feels like and can take the necessary steps to improve in order to sustain that winning deep into September.

From left to right: Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, and Garrett Jones

For the more symbolic optimists out there, they can turn to the number of consecutive losing seasons suffered by the Pirates: 20.  If they lost one more, it would bring their grand total to (you guessed it, mathletes) 21, which is coincidentally the number worn by arguably the greatest Pirate ever, Roberto Clemente. A member of the 3000 Hit Club, Clemente was killed flying a relief mission to Nicaragua in 1972, but managed to achieve exactly 3000 hits before doing so. I don’t usually look to “signs” to indicate how a situation will play out, but if there was any season where the possibility of breaking the curse would seem the strongest, 2013 is a strong candidate. To associate the number 21 with the longest losing streak in professional sports would quite simply sully the legacy Clemente cemented in Pittsburgh.

So next year around this time, take a look at the National League standings on ESPN.com. Note the small “z” next to the Pirates that indicates “Clinched Playoff Berth.” Observe how many points over .500 the team is. October baseball will return, Pirates fans. Sooner, rather than later.

In Cutch We Trust

Pittsburgh Pirates fans know that Andrew McCutchen can play baseball. For the past few years, their star center fielder has dazzled them with circus catches, sprayed big hits to practically every spot in the ballpark, and come through in crunch-time situations game after game. It's no wonder they claim that "Cutch" is clutch.

Yet as talented as McCutchen is, his coming out party to the rest of the baseball world has only recently taken place. Being a member of the Pirates tends to have that unfortunate effect as of late. As perennial bottom-dwellers in the National League Central, the Pirates haven't finished with a winning record record in 19 years, a dubious honor to say the least. The Buccos almost broke that curse last year, in large part due to McCutchen, but following the All-Star break their pitching wasn't able to hold up, and the hitters simply weren't producing.

At long last it seems that 2012 is shaping up to be "the year" for the Pirates, knock on wood. And if that prediction does end up coming to fruition, Andrew McCutchen has most certainly led the charge. At the All-Star break, McCutchen's name appears in the top five of nearly every statistical category in the N.L. Allow me to take a minute to rattle off just a few: 1st in batting average, 1st in slugging %, second in hits, third in RBIs, third in OBP, third in runs, and fourth in home runs. Did I mention he's also stolen 14 bases? And that batting average? It doesn't just top the N.L. It leads all of Major League Baseball. Is there really a better candidate for Most Valuable Player?

Sure, there are obviously other worthy contenders like Joey Votto of the Reds or David Wright of the Mets, but if we really break down what the MVP award is all about, then McCutchen stands head and shoulders above everyone else as of now. He's simply more valuable to his team than any other player. Take, for instance, the amount of runs the Pirates have scored this year: 345. McCutchen is directly responsible for 118 of those runs, via RBIs and runs scored. One man is the driving force behind 34% of his entire team's offensive production, and that stat doesn't even factor in the hits or walks that move runners into scoring position, to be later driven into home by other players. If you can't hear the myriad of the Pirates' fan base screaming "M-V-P!" then that statistic should broadcast  that message loud and clear.

So the next time you see a Pirates highlight on ESPN, keep an eye out for Andrew McCutchen lurking in outfield. His trademark dredlocks make him an easy target to spot. That, or you could simply check out the box score. Whether he's getting hits, RBIs, home runs, or stolen bases, you can make a safe bet that his name will appear on that stat sheet. Long story short, without McCutchen the Pittsburgh Pirates wouldn't be playoff contenders, and they wouldn't be in line to eclipse a .500 record for the first time in nearly two decades. But, most importantly, they wouldn't be giving their fans and their organization a reason to believe that their team is capable of success.

Star-Studded Affair

As the month of July begins and temperatures skyrocket throughout the majority of the nation, we can finally get excited for Major League Baseball's 83rd annual All-Star Game. This year's Midsummer Classic is setting up to be a thrilling affair that will take place in Kansas City on July 10. More importantly, two players from the Pittsburgh Pirates were lucky enough to be voted onto the National League team this year. Andrew McCutchen, a likely Most Valuable Player candidate, and shutdown closer Joel "The Hammer" Hanrahan are each making their second All-Star appearance, and Bucs fans are itching for the rest of the nation to see their team's talent in action.

Fueled by an aggressive campaign by the Pirates, Bucco faithful urged their fellow fans to "#VOTECUTCH." The aforementioned hashtag spread like wildfire throughout my own Twitter and actually motivated me to vote a few extra times for Pittsburgh's star player. Most MLB analysts and experts will admit that McCutchen is easily one of the most versatile and talented players in the league. He's got speed, cat-like reflexes, power, intelligence, and a winning personality to boot. With a baseball arsenal like that, how can you NOT like this guy? He ranks in the top five in practically every statistical category in the National League, including Batting Average, Slugging, On Base Percentage, and Hits (he's tied for sixth in Runs Batted In). Moreover, he's stolen 14 bases and made a handful of highlight-reel catches out there in center field, casually playing the role of Superman for his team day-in and day-out. Long story short: Cutch is a stud.

Hanrahan may not garner as much of a following as McCutchen, but there is no denying the fact that the man can throw one mean fastball. Known as "The Hammer" because of his ability to shutdown opposing teams' batters in the ninth inning, Hanrahan is one of the best closers in the league. Easily recognized by his tell-tale chin beard, Hanrahan has notched 20 saves for the Pirates, a record that is third overall in the N.L. With the power and strength harbored by Hanrahan, it seems like this guy is going to be a successful closer for quite some time.

Two players might not seem like a major accomplishment, but when one considers the fact that the fans control a large number of the players who are voted into the All-Star Game, the results make more sense. I don't mean to suggest that they don't vote the most deserving players into the game because I think, for the most part, that they do. But for teams like the Pirates, who aren't the most popular or most successful franchise out there right now, some of the players who are most deserving of the selection get overlooked for more big-name talent. James McDonald and Jason Grilli I'm looking at you. I do realize that players and managers have some pull when it comes to voting, even further justifying why these guys should have made it. McDonald ranks sixth in the N.L. with an Earned Run Average of 2.44 and has won seven games for the Pirates. Grilli has quietly earned 18 holds. Why is that important? Well, 18 is the most in the N.L. He's also struck out 48 batters. Clearly he stands as one of the best set-up men in the league, and yet neither he nor McDonald have received an All-Star nod. Hopefully these guys will continue to work hard and produce despite that adversity and someday receive the honor they deserve.

All-in-all though, the All-Star Game should be entertaining. It actually means something, unlike the other all-star games of the NFL, NHL, and NBA. Whichever league wins the game receives home-field advantage in the World Series in October, an important prize to say the least. And given that McCutchen has been my favorite player for a few years now, I'll definitely have a blast rooting him on. And hopefully Hanrahan can showcase that fastball of his too. And don't forget about the Home Run Derby. Nothing quite like watching the best sluggers in the league pound the ball out of the park.