All things being equal, I would have been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan

I've been a Red Sox fan has long as I could remember.

I remained loyal even when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Los Angeles.
My Red Sox fan credentials are solid. Don't believe me? Turn on HBO.

But I wonder what my fandom would have been if I didn't grow up in New England.
What team would I have picked if geography didn't play such a factor?

Simple. I would have been a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.
And anyone who reads this blog regularly would see why.

My theory that you truly start following a team when you are 7 or 8 years old have the Pirates playing a huge part of my baseball life.

The 1979 World Series was the first one I remember watching, and I can remember it like it was yesterday. The Orioles were terrific but the Pirates were just cool. Their players seemed to be more fun, their uniforms were bonkers and the players were dancing to disco in the dugout.

I've written a lot about the 1979 Pirates, including this post which is my personal favorite one.

Willie Stargell remains one of my favorite players ever. I banged the drum loudly for Bert Blyleven's Hall of Fame candidacy and for Dave Parker as well. And to this day, I get goose bumps when I hear Sister Sledge's We Are Family and can close my eyes and see Pops take McGregor deep.

Years later, I got emotionally attached to another Pirates team. I rooted for the 1990 and 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates to win their Division and in the NLCS. They lost a pair of heart breakers.

But it was the 1992 team that I really loved.

I was first and foremost a Red Sox fan in 1992, but that edition was a truly boring team.

Boggs and Burks were finishing out their time with the Sox. Veterans like Greenwell and Jack Clark were hurt and Tom Brunansky led the team with 15 homers. Clemens was still great but the team was a non contender. (Back then the Red Sox and Yankees were boring, losing non contenders. Go figure.)

I found myself following the Pirates, who were supposed to finish behind the Mets after Bobby Bonilla defected to Queens (along with new comer Bret Saberhagen.)

Instead the Pirates got off to a 12-2 start. The fought with the Cardinals, Mets and Expos until mid season they blew the competition away. An 11 game winning streak in late July and early August made a joke of the race. And there was a sense of urgency with the team.

They knew that Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek were going to be free agents and this would be their best shot to win a pennant. And if you saw me during the 1992 NLCS, you would have thought I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. And after the Francisco Cabrera hit stabbed Pittsburgh in the throat, I was crushed more than any baseball event since 1986.

On the blog, I've constantly got on the Pirates for their awful drafts, their lousy trades and I was so excited for them last summer when for a few months they looked like contenders.

But I also find myself being drawn to the Pirates of the past.

I have an obsession with 1925 World Series hero Red Oldham.

I wrote about the alternate history of a potentially integrated Pirates team in 1938.

I watched the MLB Network rebroadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.

I am currently reading a book about the 1971 Pirates and have a Roberto Clemente book next on my shelf.

I have a Pirates fascination.
It is easier to root and follow a team now with MLB.com, XMRadio, etc. If I had all of that back in 1979, maybe I wouldn't be a Sox fan. Maybe I would have been a die hard Pirates fan.

Then again, if that were the case I would have missed out on 2004 and 2007 and I'd have had no winning season since that 1992 season.

Maybe it is best.

But let the record show, I am rooting for the Pirates. The NL Central is winnable. The 7 year old version of me is cheering you on.

And one final Pirates obsession... I LOVE this video about Dock Ellis and his no hitter.
Enjoy.

The 20 biggest games for the Pirates in 19 years

During the All Star break it was standard to look at the Pirates and say "they are a nice story but they will fade in the second half."

Well as we wake up this Friday, the second to last weekend of July and with August just around the corner, the Pirates are still tied for first place.

They played the Astros and won the series.
They had a harder task with the Reds and won the series.
Now they host the Cardinals.

Cincinnati takes on the Braves while the Brewers head off to San Francisco.

All three series are competitive but the Pirates being at home and throwing Maholm, Correia and Morton means they have a good shot at winning this series.

If they can survive this weekend and stay at least tied for first, then things will REALLY get interesting.

They head to Atlanta and Philadelphia and play 2 of the three teams that I think have the best shot of winning the World Series and they'll do it on their turf.

The other of the three potential World Series teams are the Giants. They play them the second week of August.

It's a gauntlet and the next few weeks they won't have a day off until August 11th.
That's a 20 game stretch.

If they can hold their own and go 10-10 or better in that time frame, then this might indeed be a contender.

If not, well then go for the 83 wins and go for the winning season.
Pirates had the day off yesterday. The 20 game stretch to redeem 18 years of losing begins.... NOW!

Tim Wakefield and Miguel Batista... last relics of Pittsburgh glory

Tim Wakefield is back in camp with the Red Sox. This will be his 19th big league season (he spent 1994 in the minors) and potentially his 17th with the Boston Red Sox. He is only 13 wins behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens for the all time Red Sox team mark.

Miguel Batista is still hanging in there as a big league pitcher. He had a solid season as a reliever for the Washington Nationals in 2010 and is trying to make it with the St. Louis Cardinals. They have another slot open on their staff with the injury to Adam Wainwright. And with Dave Duncan as the pitching coach, the former Diamondback starter could wind up winning 15 games this year.

Wakes and Batista are linked in a unique way.
Unless my research is faulty, they could be the only current players in 2011 who can say that that they played for a Pirates team that had a winning season.

Of course the Pirates have not reached the Himalaya known as .500 since Sid Bream scored on Francisco Cabrera's single in 1992.

And the link to any winning baseball on the field is getting more and more faint.
Of course Tim Wakefield was a rookie on the 1992 NL East Champion Pirates. He threw 2 complete game victories in the NLCS and would probably have been the MVP of the series had Cabrera popped up.

Batista? He was a Rule 5 draftee from the Montreal Expos in 1992. He appeared in a grand total of one game for the Defending Division Champion Pirates. On April 11, he came in to relieve Doug Drabek in the 7th inning. He let up a home run to Ruben Amaro.

He was returned to the Expos organization. The Pirates would go on to win the Division.

How long has it been? He let up a homer to Amaro, who is now the general manager of the Phillies. Who did Amaro trade a few years ago? KYLE Drabek, the son of the pitcher Batista relieved. So literally an entire generation has come and gone since the Pirates reached the heights of mediocrity.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Pirates. I would love to see them be winners.
The players who have experienced that sensation? Down to a precious few.

Teams that avoided the big collapse

One of two things are going to happen today at the Trop:

The Rays will complete a remarkable comeback in a series where they were 5 outs from elimination and looked dead from the neck up.

Or

The Rangers will have fought off a gigantic scare and win their first ever post season series.

Both are pretty dramatic.

We hear a lot about the teams that have come back from deep holes to win the final 3 games of a post season series.

Teams down 2-0 in a best of 5 series or down 3-1 in a best of 7 series who storm back and win. (Only one team pulled it off being down 3-0… I don’t remember which one.)

With all the big comebacks, doesn’t it always seem like the team that ties the series has the momentum and winds up winning it?

But what about the near misses?

What about the teams down 2-0 in a best of 5 or down 3-1 in a best of 7 and force a deciding game… only to lose it?

The comebacks that fall just short. Or for the other team, narrowly avoiding a gigantic choke.

If the Rangers win tonight, they will have dodged a massive bullet.

What other teams avoided an epic collapse when they let their opponent off the matt to force a deciding game, only to compose themselves and win the do or die finale?

The 1972 A's did it in BOTH the ALCS and World Series... not a bad showing.

We here at Sully Baseball don’t just ponder questions like that?
We list them:

THE TEAMS THAT AVOIDED A MASSIVE COLLAPSE

1912 BOSTON RED SOX
Red Sox had a 3-1-1 lead over New York Giants in the World Series. (One tie due to darkness.)
Giants won 2 in a row to force deciding 8th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 8: RED SOX win 3-2 in 10 innings.
2 outs away from losing the series, the Red Sox score 2 aided my Fred Snodgrass dropping a fly ball and win the World Series.

1967 ST LOUIS CARDINALS
Cardinals had a 3-1 lead over Boston Red Sox in the World Seres
Red Sox won 2 in a row to force deciding 7th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 7: CARDINALS win 7-2.
Bob Gibson is unstoppable and throws a complete game victory and hits a home run for good measure. Jim Lonborg is no match for him on only 2 days rest.

1972 OAKLAND A'S
A's had a 2-0 lead over Detroit Tigers in the ALCS.
Tigers won 2 in a row to force deciding 5th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 5: A'S win 2-1
Reggie Jackson steals home to tie the game in the second but tears his hamstring. Gene Tenace drives home the go ahead run in the 4th. Vida Blue throws 4 innings for the save, getting Tony Taylor, the potential pennant winning run, to fly out.

A's had a 3-1 lead over Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
Reds won 2 in a row to force deciding 7th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 7: A'S win 3-2
The A's took the lead in the 6th while the Reds threatened with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 8th. They had the tying run on base and the World Series winning run at the plate in the 9th, but Rollie Fingers got Pete Rose to pop up to win the Series.

1981 MONTREAL EXPOS
Expos had a 2-0 lead over Philadelphia Phillies in the Divisional Playoff.
Phillies won 2 in a row to force deciding 5th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 5: EXPOS win 3-0
Steve Rogers out dueled Steve Carlton and the defending World Champion Phillies in Philadelpha with a 6 hit shut out. Rogers drove in 2 runs himself with an RBI single in the 5th.

1981 NEW YORK YANKEES
Yankees had a 2-0 lead over Milwaukee Brewers in the Divisional Playoff.
Tigers won 2 in a row to force deciding 5th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 5: YANKEES win 7-3
The Brewers took an early 2-0 lead on Ron Guidry who only lasted 4 innings. But Reggie Jackson and Oscar Gamble hit back to back homers to give the Yankees the lead for good.

1992 ATLANTA BRAVES
Braves had a 3-1 lead over Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS.
Pirates won 2 in a row to force deciding 7th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 7: BRAVES win 3-2.
Pirates ace Doug Drabek took a shutout into the 9th inning. But a Pendleton double and an error by Jose Lind knocked him out. With two outs, seldom used catcher Francisco Cabrera hit a two run pinch hit single to win the game and the series for Atlanta.

2008 TAMPA BAY RAYS
Rays had a 3-1 lead over Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.
Red Sox won 2 in a row to force deciding 7th game.

FINAL GAME:
GAME 7: RAYS win 3-1.
The Red Sox took an early 1-0 lead and carried that into the 4th. The Rays got to Jon Lester and Matt Garza shut down the potent Red Sox lineup. But when Boston loaded the bases in the 8th, it looked like they were going to pull ahead. Rookie David Price came out of the bullpen and struck out J. D. Drew and pitched the 9th for the save.



So there you have it...
7 teams avoided the ignominious fate of blowing a big post season lead.
Will the Rangers join them? Or will they be the latest team to shake their heads and say "We HAD this!"?

The Pirates should TRY to sign Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is going to be a free agent at the end of this year and it is a foregone conclusion that he will resign with the Yankees.

He's given the Yankees 16 seasons and is only 102 hits away from being the first Yankee to reach 3,000.

And of course he is the most beloved New York sports star in the last quarter century. (Seriously, who has come close?)

All of that being said... this should not be a free agency where he gets no other bids.

The Pirates need to throw in a bid.

Yup. I am dead serious.

So all of you Pirate fans who think I am picking on you guys... I am not. There is some logic to my insanity.

The Pirates have been bad for so long that there are Pirate fans who can legally buy a drink and have no memory of their team winning 82 games in a season... and not because they are drunk.

And guess what? That is now the identity of the team. In Buster Olney's great book The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, he wrote about Luis Sojo's brief time in Pittsburgh. Sojo was stunned how there was complacency in the clubhouse that they are simply not going to contend.

That was 10 seasons ago. They haven't come close to relevance since and are currently the worst team in baseball.

But as I wrote before, there is some hope for the 2011 team. They are cobbling together some nice talent, including Pedro Alvarez at third and an outfield of Jose Tabata, Andrew McCutchen and the grizzled 25 year old veteran Lastings Milledge. Plus there are some decent arms that are going through some growing pains.

I was thinking about teams that made and unexpected turn arounds over the years.
I can think of teams like the 1986 Red Sox... 1988 Dodgers... the 1991 Twins and Braves... the 2006 Tigers... the 2008 Rays.

Each of those teams had a new comer who had post season experience and simply wouldn't tolerate losing. And it rubbed off.

Don Baylor came into the Red Sox clubhouse and helped turn a fractured team into almost a World Series winner.

Kirk Gibson stormed out of the Dodgers spring training when he felt there was too much joking. He led by example and even homered when he couldn't walk.

The 1991 World Series was between teams that were in last place the year before. Charlie Liebrandt helped anchor Atlanta's rotation and Terry Pendleton had an MVP season sparking the line up. Meanwhile the Twins imported Jack Morris to the rotation and 10 innings in Game 7 later, the Twins were champs.

Jim Leyland turned the 2006 Tigers around with some help from Pudge Rodriguez, who started the change in the culture a few years prior.

And importing some veterans like Cliff Floyd transformed Tampa from the laughing stock of baseball to a pennant winner.

Now of course each of these teams won because their talent clicked... but you can point to those veterans who helped turn the proverbial rag tag bunch of also rans into contenders.

Which brings us to the Pirates.
They desperately need someone to help change the culture and stop the "They haven't been above .500 since 1992" clock.

They need someone to tell Milledge and Alvarez how to play the game and not let the Pirates be content with losing.

And we're not even pining for a World Series winner. An 82-80 record will get the monkey off their back.

Who commands more respect than Jeter?
Who do you think would be LESS tolerant of a clubhouse that has all the peppiness of a Droopy cartoon?

The players would play UP to his level... or at least try to the same way any of us try to do a good job when someone we respect is watching us.

The Pirates NEED to go into this free agency period and put in an offer for him and do it publicly.

Now do the Pirates have a shot?
Of course not. Jeter is a Yankee for life. We all know it. And the Yankees will out bid the Pirates in a matter of nanoseconds.

And in the end the Pirates won't have to spend the money they bid.
But at least it would be a positive gesture.

And telling their fans "We see what part of the problem is" is a start.

(But man, wouldn't it be cool to see him in Gold and black?)

Hey Media! Stick around Washington... there's ANOTHER pitcher making debut!

Seriously, as long as you reporters and TV crews and columnists are in Washington covering Strasburg's jaw dropping debut, why not stick around and see if former Pirates first round pick Brad Lincoln make HIS big league debut!

It's actually a nice story. The former Conference USA player of the year was drafted #4 overall by the Pirates in 2006... and as I wrote in a previous post, the Pirates recent history with the draft hasn't been bad, it's been inexcusable.

Brad Lincoln looked like one of those miserable draft picks after signing for $2.75 million. He was the only player in the top 8 selections to have not made their big league debut up until this point.

Oh yeah, pick #10 who was passed over by Pittsburgh? Tim Lincecum.

Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Daniel Bard, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain were all available.

As was Kyle Drabek, the son of former Pirates star Doug Drabek who started Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS... the last moment the Pirates were a relevant ball club.

(This goes to my theory that the Pirates rebuilding since 1992 is so ineffective that they should have just put their star players out to stud.)

Lincoln joined the Pirates and developed oblique problems, arm problems, had Tommy John surgery, missed the 2007 season and looked like yet another bust.

While Lincecum was winning his first of two Cy Young awards in 2008, Lincoln was putting together a 6-10 season in A Ball.

But things turned around for Lincoln in 2009 when he finally made it to AAA Indianapolis. And this year, with a 6-2 record, he is making it to the show... just a day after Stephen Strasburg did it.

At age 25, he's not as young as Strasburg and doesn't have Strasburg's dynamic stuff. It may have taken him 4 1/2 more years and 50 more minor league starts than Strasburg to make it to the show.

But stick around and watch him. He's earned his way up and who knows? He might surprise you with HIS debut!

Hey Pirates management... do the right thing

It's a school day... and the Pirates are playing a sloppy day game in the rain.
They are getting walloped.

And there are a few people (including some kids) sitting in the rain watching this.

And here's something to think about kids in Pittsburgh.

Any kid who was born the same year that Sid Bream slid across home plate, ending the Pirates pennant hopes in 1992 will turn 18 years old in 2010.

So unless you are a senior in high school, you can not be a kid in Pittsburgh and have a memory of the Pirates putting a .500 team on the field.

If you made it through all 9 innings of that GOD AWFUL display of baseball this afternoon, the Pirates management should make out a special pass for you.

The pass will have a specific bar code and require an ID when you use it again.

That pass will allow anyone who made it all the way through free access to any game at PNC Park in 2010.

Seriously... you made it through this one, the ticket takers will let you in.

Doesn't matter who it is or if it is sold out (which it won't be.)

Seriously, why shouldn't the Pirates do that? It's not like there was more than a few hundred people left over at the end. It's not like they got a decent product to watch.

And we're not talking about the Red Sox having a sell out streak and there's no seats available.

You should be able to sit in any empty seat... yes, even one RIGHT UP FRONT. If an usher gives you a hard time, just show the pass.

I'm not saying free beer or popcorn. The Pirates can make a few bucks that way.

But I'm serious... you deserve a pass for the season after today.
Who knows? The Pirates might develop a young fan or two along the way.

Why else would a young fan follow the Pirates?

10 reasons why the Pirates should sign Jermaine Dye

Seriously... it makes all the sense in the world for both Dye and the Pirates.

Don't believe me? Let me list the reasons...


1. It's good for Dye because it is employment!

The options for Dye are drying up pretty fast.

The White Sox said good bye.
The crosstown Cubs went with Xavier Nady and Marlon Nyrd.
The Red Sox brought in Mike Cameron.
The Rangers signed Vlad Guerrero.
The Giants oddly avoided Johnny Damon and brought in Ryan Garko.
The Mariners traded for Milton Bradley for unknown reasons.

Spring training is starting in a few weeks... and technically the Pirates are still a big league club.



2. It's good for the Pirates because he won't be THAT expensive.

Over the past 17 seasons, the Pirates have operated with three constants:

They will draft poorly...they will trade away all their good players for little returm... and they will ALWAYS slash the payroll.

In an age where the low budget Twins have a $90 million payroll and the Marlins locked up Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez to deals, the Pirates remain special with their miserly way. What other team can see a $48 million payroll in 2009 and think "SLASH IT!"?

With a projected $34 million payroll going into 2010 (which is less than the combined annual salaries of Barry Zito, Vernon Wells and Luis Castillo) the Pirates can afford to offer Dye $5 million and still have a sub $40 million payroll.

Maybe don't pocket ALL the revenue sharing!!!


3. It's good for Dye because he won't be on the bench in Pittsburgh

Most of the teams still looking for outfield help are basically looking for depth and a potential DH.

The Pirates have room in the starting line up... and what better way to show your way to a better contract than proving you can start for a big league club.

(Technically, the Pirates are a big league team.)


4. It's good for the Pirates because they'll have a little bit of depth

Yeah the Garrett Jones story last year was great... but are you really expecting a career minor leaguer to keep up his torrent second half pace?

And if he does continue to hit, he could move to first... or give the Pirates depth.

Now Pirate fans younger than 25 have no idea what "depth" means. Look it up.



5. It's good for Dye because he'll probably make the All Star team.

Or at least he will have a better shot with the Pirates.

Once again coming off an All Star season, even one worthy of the Mike Sharperson Award, is good for contract negotiations.



6. It's good for the Pirates because they might have an All Star people have heard of!

One glance at the current roster doesn't bode well for picking a legit All Star.

Zach Duke is a former All Star from last year... but in the last two seasons they have jettisoned off former All Stars Freddie Sanchez, Nate McLouth, Jason Bay and Jack Wilson.

And those guys weren't exactly household names then either.




7. It's good for Dye because he gets to be the respected veteran who has walked the walk

Remember when Terry Pendleton joined a last place Braves team after the 1990 season?

The club had a lot of young players and very few experienced veterans. And they were a loser year in and year out (including 97 losses in 1990.)

Pendleton came in and was the guy who had been a winner and led by example. The other players looked up to him and followed his lead (which included a batting title.)

Stats wise, Barry Bonds had a better year statistically... but Pendelton's prescience made him the MVP.

In 1996, Pendleton's final year with the Braves, Dye made his big league debut with Atlanta.

Now I am not saying Dye will lead the Pirates to the World Series. But the Braves were an embarrassing and irrelevant team... kind of like the Pirates are now.

And I am guessing it would be cool to have an entire team looking up to you... kind of like that scene in Bull Durham when Crash Davis was describing his cup of coffee in the show.



8. It's good for the Pirates because Dye could be Crash Davis to Lastings Milledge's Nuke LaLoosh

Sorry to throw two Bull Durham references into this post, but it makes sense.

This signing would have as much to do with Milledge as it does Dye. Think of it as a chance to turn around the mindset of an immensely talented player that the Mets and Nationals gave up on... and those two teams aren't exactly brimming with young talent.

Take the multi million dollar talent with the 10 cent head Milledge and have him follow Dye 24/7.

If Milledge do what Dye says and fulfill his talent, maybe he can play for 15 seasons, make some All Star teams, get some MVP votes, win a World Series MVP and make tens of millions of dollars in the process.

And it will make Milledge even more valuable when the Pirates trade him just before he becomes a free agent.


9. It's good for Dye because he will be traded to a contender at the deadline.

It's what the Pirates do... anyone of worth has their bags packed by the end of July.






10. It's good for the Pirates because they can shed his salary in July

And as we know, shedding payroll is what the Pirates do best!

Hey Pirates... Why Even Bother?

And so it continues for the Pirates...

June has barely begun and the flag being raised isn't the Jolly Roger but the white flag of surrender.

Even though the Pirates are only 4 games under .500, the management has declared 1/3 of the season is enough... start dumping bodies.

And they did it the best way they know how:

Trade young players (like Nate McLouth) with affordable long term contracts for a bunch of young guys you've never heard of.

OK, fine I've heard of Gorkys Hernandez because he was a big prospect for the Tigers and the Braves... and no doubt in a few years he'll be a star and the Pirates will trade him for some prospects.

So it is 17 years and counting since the Pirates put even a .500 team on the field.

And I have written about how there is no excuse for this nearly 2 decade long slump.

Don't talk to me about payroll.

Teams like the A's, Twins, Marlins and last year's Rays have made the post season with rock bottom payrolls.

And none of those teams did that in a tax payer subsidized ballpark. They did it in parks either designed for football or in the case of Tampa, a Mad Max movie.

The Marlins had a winning season with a $25 million payroll!

I'm not talking about putting a World Series winner on the field... just a team that would be interesting!

And the biggest reason for this disgraceful 17 year drought has nothing to do with free agency.

It has to do with the organization and the draft.

Since Sid Bream slid across the plate to end the 1992 NLCS the Pirates have had one of the top 11 picks in the draft 13 times.

Let's look at those top 11 picks:

In 1994 they picked shortstop Mark Farris, who never made it past AA ball.

Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Troy Glaus and Aaron Boone were available.

In 1995 they picked Chad Hermansen, who played 3 1/2 uneventful seasons with the Pirates.

Matt Morris, Roy Halladay and Sean Casey were available.

In 1996, they used the #1 pick over all on Kris Benson, who is best known for having a hot but crazy wife.

Granted it was a weak draft, but Braden Looper, Gil Meche and Jimmy Rollins were all drafted that year.

In 1997, they picked J. J. Davis, who fizzled after three uneventful seasons in Pittsburgh.

Jon Garland, Lance Berkman and Chase Utley were all there for the picking.

In 1999, they picked Bobby Bradley, a pitcher who never made it to the big leagues.

Barry Zito, Ben Sheets, Brett Myers, Alex Rios and Carl Crawford were all available.

In 2001 they picked John Van Benschoten, who has been an ineffective pitcher for the past three seasons.

David Wright, Casey Kotchman and Danny Haren were picked later.

In 2002 they had the #1 pick again and drafted Bryan Bullington, who pitched 6 games in a Pirates uniform.

B. J. Upton, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Cole Hamels, Matt Cain and Scott Kazmir were all drafted later.

In 2003, they drafted Paul Maholm (Hey! A Decent pick!)

Maybe even better than Carlos Quentin, Chad Billingsley and Chad Cordero.

In 2004, they drafted catcher Neil Walker who never made it.

Jered Weaver went next... Stephen Drew, Dustin Pedroia, Yovani Gallardo and Huston Street went later.

In 2005, they drafted Andrew McCutchen, who makes his big league debut today.

Meanwhile Jay Bruce, Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Garza have already contributed on the big league level.

In 2006, the Pirates drafted Brad Lincon... the only one of the top 7 picks to not appear in a big league game as of this writing.

Meanwhile Tim Lincecum was available. He already has a Cy Young to polish.

It's a little too early to judge 2007 and 2008... but do you see a pattern developing here?

Either the scouts are drafting lousy players or the farm system is devoid of any decent coaches.

No matter what the answer is, it is a disgrace!

Yes Pittsburgh fans can be subdued with the fact that the Steelers are the World Champions and the Penguins are in the Finals.

But guess what? Using my "You don't start following a team day to day until you are 8 years old, then there are 25 year old Pittsburgh fans who have never seen the Pirates play .500 ball.

Some of them are having kids. You think they have ANY memories to share with their kids about Pirates ball?

What is the greatest moment in PNC Park?

I read that there is a soccer league in Italy that makes the bottom three teams go to the minor leagues and promotes the top three minor league teams to the majors.

That's a novel concept for the Pirates.

You treat the time like a minor league team? Then get you'll get sent to the farm!

An Open Letter To Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tommy Glavine

Hey Curt, Pedro, Greg, John and Tommy,

It’s your pal Sully.
I think each and every one of you needs to take a good long look into the mirror and realize it’s over.
You need to pull a Mike Mussina and know your limitations.

In your day you were the best.

Curt, you won 20+ games three out of four years in the height of the steroid era and finished with a 10-2 record in 19 post season starts with a 2.23 ERA, 4 complete games and 2 shut outs. And you have 3 World Series rings.

Pedro, you have no bigger fan than me. Considering the era you pitched in, you had some of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball. In 1999 you went 23-4, striking out 313 in 213 1/3 innings all the while posting a 2.07 ERA… nearly 3 runs lower than the league average. And when you won the Cy Young the next season, your ERA was 1.74 while the league average was over 5! You were in the top 4 of Cy Young 7 out of 8 years. And you have a World Series ring.

Greg, you were the greatest pitcher of your era. You are the only person to win 4 straight Cy Young Awards. You are the only pitcher in baseball history to at least 15 games in 17 straight seasons. The only pitcher since the end of the “deadball era” to win more games than you is Warren Spahn. And you have a World Series ring.

John, you are one of the best big game pitcher of the last 2 decades. Only two people in history have a 20 win season and a 50 save season… you and Dennis Eckersley. You’ve recorded 3,000 strikeouts and won the 1992 NLCS MVP. And you have a World Series ring.

Tommy, you are a 2 time Cy Young winner, a World Series MVP, a five time 20 game winner and one of only 5 left handers in history to win 300 games. And you have a World Series ring.

But you are all DONE!
Curt, you couldn’t even pitch this year!
Pedro, when you DID pitch, you were lit up to a 5.61 ERA!
Greg, you were a shell of your former self in Los Angeles.
John you had season ending shoulder surgery in June. How many 40 year olds come back from shoulder surgery?
Tommy, you pitched once after June last year and you were rocked.

Now look at Mussina.
He won his 20th game and walked away.

He was 2 good seasons from 300 wins.
He looked like regained his form after a horrific 2007 season where I said he was toast.

He is leaving at least $10 million on the table.

And he never got his World Series ring.

And he’s walking away.

Do the same.
You are all free agents.
You have all earned millions of dollars.

Don’t get rocked anymore. Let the legacy of big numbers, big wins and big games in an era of inflated hitters be how people remember you.

And imagine Cooperstown six years from now (assuming Schilling doesn’t get on in the first ballot because his last game was in 2007.)

On the podium will be Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Tommy Glavine, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina.

That’s right… all six of you in.
All six of you holding their plaques as if to say “Hey, it may have been a juiced era, but some pitchers made their mark too.”

It will be a great day as Red Sox fans, Braves fans, Yankees fans (and some Diamondbacks, Cubs and Orioles fans) make the trek to see the guys who wanted the ball when the balance of the game was taken out of the pitchers hand and into the batters box.

It can happen…
Just follow Mussina…

And walk away.

Yours truly,
Sully

PS – Can each of you just throw $250,000 my way?