The Pirates could maintain settled for being a midmarket team content not to lose but instead they had to raise their fans’ hopesWell,now you’ve done it, Pirates. You’ve ruined everything.
Not so long ago, and your fans were totally happy with a simple .500 season. After a American professional sports record 20 consecutive losing seasons from 1993 through 2012 – with epic collapses ending the 2011 and 2012 campaigns – simply breaking through with a winning record in 2013 was reason for celebration. The wildcard victory and spot in the divisional round that came with it were icing on the fairly palatable cake of mathematical non-failure. Another wildcard spot last year,which lasted a few innings before being mowed down by Madison Bumgarner and the Giants, was more of the same: evidence that the demons of the ‘90s and ‘00s were exorcised and that the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club had achieved semi-relevance. Huzzah! Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com