Phil's Birthday? Pirates in FIRST PLACE?! Woah!

The Pittsburgh Pirates are only one half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for top spot in the National League Central Division. What is more astounding is the Pirates were never as close to the division crown since 1992, and while the Pirates finished second place in the "Carpet" division in 1997 with a losing record, they were never this competitive at any time during the post-Internet age of professional baseball. Also, not since 1992 had a Pirates team held an above-500 record going into the All-Star break.



Yes, there are sixty-nine games remaining in the 2011 Major League regular season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the memory of the 1992 team and their last postseason run is not far from the memory banks. The new buttoned-up uniforms, the cursive Pittsburgh on the road greys, and of course left-fielder Barry Bonds before he became BIG are images long forgotten thanks to the Strike of '94. The Pirates finished 1992 with a 96-66 record for top spot in the then-National League East Division, but the season came down to a seventh game against the West Division champions, the Atlanta Braves.



Some questions about the last inning include:

1. Why was Doug Drabek still in the game in the ninth inning with left-handed batters coming up to the plate? He already lost two games in the series, and hit 0-for-6 with one walk in the postseason?
2. Why did Doug Drabek pitch to Dave Justice?
3. Why didn't Barry Bonds move in on the right-handed, pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera? Cabrera was the Braves' last available non-pitcher to send to the plate, and fielding a short outfield prevents Sid Bream from taking extra bases (Blogger Dustin Parkes does a better job explaining this angle than I could: Check out his blog post in The Score.

Doug Drabek won 15 games for the Pirates that year, but by the start of the 1993 season was pitching in a Houston Astros uniform; he would never come close to having the same season as he had in 1992. Sid Bream was a Pirate until 1990, and he represented the game winning run on the final play. Barry Bonds, who made the desperate, one-hop throw from left field, would become a Giant and the focal point in one of the biggest and darkest chapters in baseball history. The overhaul and the Strike stunted the development of the team, whereas baseball clubs such as the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees rebuilt with good management, great farm systems, and capital from forward-thinking and multimedia-based ownership. The Pittsburgh Pirates would never reclaim the magic of that 1992, and would remain a sub-500 team for eighteen years.

The 2011 Pirates have big shoes to fill, but are they the real deal or just the next team around in the National League Carpet?