Quote:
Originally Posted by Frazod
Hard to believe we're just a couple of years past three of these squads having 100 win seasons.
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The Pirates are just such a bummer of a story for their fans. That was a genuinely good team but at the time, the Cardinals were just a little bit better. And then, as the Cardinals started to age out, the Cubs overtook the Pirates.
The Pirates window ended up getting blocked at both ends. It was just miserable timing on their part. Had they been a little quicker and struck in that 2006-2010 window, they might have found a nice soft landing. Or had they been able to keep the wheels on another season or two, they might be ready to make a move this year.
But in the end, that run is almost certainly fizzled out and they're going to have to hope the farm is as good as advertised and that Polanco/Marte take another step in their development. Polanco has to be especially frustrating because this looked like a year where he became the .800+ OPS, 20/20, 5-tool player that many believed he could be but instead it looks like it may be a year lost.
And Marte's probably the player he's going to be at this point; at 28 it's probably past time to expect that power surge. Finally, McCutchen just cratered 2-3 years sooner than any normal growth curve would've predicted.
Yeah, it would suck to be a Pirates fan right now. The Cards at least got a pennant in the last 5 years before they spun off the rails but the Pirates didn't even win a playoff series, IIRC.