1992

Remember 1992?  Bill Clinton was elected president in November and hadn't met Monica.  Boyz II Men was on top of the Billboard 100 and ...well, they were still around.  Jordan's Bulls beat the Portland Trailblazers for their first repeat.  Flannel and/or overalls were the fashion for both genders.  Oh, and the Pittsburgh Pirates enjoyed a winning season. Their LAST winning season to date.

Where were you in 1992?  I was a Freshman in high school.  I was hanging out with my buddies, Chris, Ray, and Daniel.  I was just discovering the Derrick Thomas and the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Pirates, after losing Bobby Bonilla (and the contract the Mets are still paying on) still had a quick footed left fielder, a skinny guy named Bonds.  They had a rookie knuckleballer who would crack the rotation in the next season, a guy named Wakefield (Yankee fans can now un-clench their jaws).  These pirates won 96 games.  The next season, the remaining Pirates would win 75 and start 18 years of losing seasons.

These Pirates, Bonds, Drabek, Neagle, Lind, couldn't have known the fate of the team for nearly the next two decades.  Now, the current Pirates--how many can you name?  Go on, I'll wait.  No Googling, ESPNing, or Sports Almanacing--Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?--The current Pirates have won 51 games.  They are a game and a half behind the Brewers for the NL Central Division.  They are a game behind Pujols and the Cards.  How are they this close in the division?  It isn't a crappy division.  They aren't playing in the NFC West or AL West.  They're just behind a perennial playoff team.

How are they doing this?  They are 25th in runs, 22nd in batting average, 21st in OBP, and 24th in Slugging.  Here it is.  They are 7th in ERA.  Five pitchers you've never heard of are holding their own in the NL.  Do you know who Kevin Correia is?  He's got 11 wins and 65 strike-outs.  How about Paul Maholm?  The #2 starter has 80 strike-outs and a 1.24 WHIP (know what WHIP means?  PUT THE LEATHER AWAY, NOT THAT WHIP!)  Charlie Morton has only been in the Bigs for three years.  He has 60 strikeouts and a, 8-5 record.  James McDonald is another third year man who has 85 K's.  Jeff Karstens is a fifth year man with a WHIP of 1.04 and an ERA of 2.28, good enough for second in the NL.  Second in the NL means he is doing better than all of Philadelphia's feared rotation in ERA.  Second in the NL means he is better than everyone but San Fran's Vogelsong.

Only one Pittsburgh player was elected to the All Star Game, closer Joel Hanrahan.  For those of you who don't know, MLB requires every team to be represented, so every team has to have at least one all-star.  Three Pittsburgh players participated in the All-Star game, the other two coming as replacements, Andrew McCutchen, and Kevin Correia.

We don't know this upstart, feel-good team.  They still have to win 31 more games just to guarantee a winning season this time around.  Am I jinxing them by already talking like they've done it?  Maybe, but if you believe in jinxes in talking about things on a blog that none of these players are ever going to read, then maybe you should have your head checked, or at the very least stop reading this until after the season and we all know for sure what happened.  I'll admit believing in jinxes when the conversation involves someone actually working on the accomplishment.  You never ever talk to a pitcher about a perfect game or no-hitter while he's actually doing it.  That isn't so much a jinx as piling on pressure and making sure he's thinking about it, which he already is and is trying not to think about it.

Will the Pirates finally have a winning season?  I think they will.  They've got talent this year, and I think with the right moves, they'll get better.  Will they make the playoffs?  That, I doubt.  Their division is just too tough for them to win outright and they'll have to contend with the likes of Atlanta, along with at least one other team from the NL Central (either Milwaukee if STL goes on a tear, or STL if Milwaukee can stave them off).  Who knows, maybe the Pirates will turn the clock back to 92 and give us a winning season AND make the playoffs.  If they do, I'll sure be rooting for them.