Oh yeah...the Pirates

Now that the Greek flag is not flying prominently over the blog anymore, it's probably a good idea to get back to the topic of baseball.

A lot has changed in one month. Back on July 31st, the Pirates were still above .500, but at the start of their death spiral by preparing to get swept by the Phillies. That lead into the season-killing 0-7 homestand about the bottom feeding Cubs and Padres.

The month of August has not been kind to the Pirates, as they are 7-18 and any dreams of slaying the .500 Monster have evaporated. What happened?

Is it the injuries, especially to the starting pitching? The season long anemic offense finally rearing its ugly head? Regression to the mean?

Yes, yes, and yes.

The Pirates gave us long-suffering fans a lot to be proud of and cheer for through the end of July, which is much longer than we usually get. It's like people in Wisconsin getting one less month of brutal winter.

I don't regret advocating picking up players at the July 31st trade deadline, even though Lee and Ludwick were uninspiring to me at the time, and not "trading high" on Maholm and Hanrahan. Contending teams don't do that and at the time the Pirates were contenders, at least on paper.

Last season, I wrote about how the 2010 offseason would be "an inflection point" on the course of the Pirates. Maybe I was just a year ahead of myself, because I think the expectations have been raised now and the front office needs to capitalize on the goodwill garnered this season. I still don't think free agents are the answer, but in the offseason I will once again advocate for making trades for players with multiple years of control.

At least it beats 105 losses.