Not Much, but It's All We Have

Could it be? A two-game winning streak for the Pirates? Yes, the Pirates of Penance is happy to note another dominating performance by the Buccos over the reeling Reds of Cincinnati, 7-2. As Tuesday night's victory provided a Jeromy (hate that spelling!) Burnitz sighting, tonight featured a rare strong performance by the enigmatic Oliver Perez (six innings, two runs), who garnered his second victory of the year while bringing his ERA below the Jose Lima Line, to 6.98. Freddie (I'm not Joe Randa, thank you) Sanchez, now filling it at shortstop, collected three hits to raise his average to .333.

Given these two performances by the Reds, the reader will fairly ask why the Pirates of Penance and its faithful correspondent, the Buccin' Ear, spent yesterday's post on a comparison of the Buccos with the squad from Cincinnati, seemingly destined to return to the mediocrity from which it has briefly risen. Precisely because the Reds are mediocre is the reason. One would never accuse us of choosing a big-spending, big-market, highly successful team to measure against our hapless Buccos. The disparity between the two teams that we claim to have shown is made all the more stark when we realize how modest is the standard against which our team is measured.

The tiredness of the small-market argument as an explanation for the Pirates' continuing lack of success is best illustrated by looking to the example of the Cleveland Indians. In 1992, the last winning season for the Pirates, the Indians were a woebegone franchise that finished 10 games under .500 and had had precisely one winning season (1986) in the previous 11. They had not won a title of any kind since 1954. Yet this perennial failure and nonentity was quietly compiling a roster of talent that would soon count among the best in the game. The 1992 team included the likes of Albert Belle, Sandy Alomar, Paul Sorrento, Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Charles Nagy and Jose Mesa. In 1993 they added Manny Ramirez. In 1994 Omar Vizquel joined the team, which was 19 games above .500 when the strike ruined the season. The Indians claimed American League pennants in 1995 and 1997, when they barely missed winning the World Series. They remained very competitive until 2002, when trades and various defections to free agency sent them into a rebuilding period.

Now, the Pirates, as we have seen, languished through the '90s as the Indians, flush with success built by the stars they had developed and kept, built a new stadium and fan base. What really distinguishes the two franchises, however, is what the Indians did after the great run of success they had had ended. While the Pirates proclaimed one five-year plan after another, none of which showed even a glimmering of success, the Indians quietly put together a real rebuilding plan. While the Pirates have attempted to build artificial success by recycling past-their-prime veterans like Matt Stairs, Derek Bell, Joe Randa, and Jeromy Burnitz in (failed) hopes of quick-fix success, the Indians have recruited a new roster of stars and created a genuinely competitive team. Goodbye, Sandy Alomar, hello, Victor Martinez. Goodbye, Omar Vizquel, hello, Jhonny Peralta. Goodbye, Kenny Lofton, hello, Grady Sizemore. Goodbye, Eddie Murray, hello, Travis Hafner. Goodbye, Charles Nagy, hello, C.C. Sabathia. And so on...

A tale of two cities, indeed. One might be tempted to say that the Pirates play the Browns to the Indians' Steelers. To what can this startling success gap be attributed except to a failure on the part of Pirates' management to recruit, develop and retain good young talent? And yet that only explains part of the story. There is also the Pirates' nearly unparalleled success in getting mediocre results from the talent that they do get to the Major Leagues or acquire from other teams. One by one, promising pitchers such as Jason Schmidt, Jon Lieber, Esteban Loiaza, Kris Benson and Bronson Arroyo have achieved little with the Pirates and go on to greener pastures with other teams.

It says here that the failure of the Pirates lies at the door of management teams seemingly incapable of building a plan for the future. Barring a miracle recovery in '06, it is time for the house to be cleaned.