Lookin’ Up at the…Pirates?

For the last 20 years or so the Pirates have been the perennial losers of the NL. The last time the Pirates were good was at the tail end of the Bonds’ years when he took them to the NLCS from ’90-’92. From 1990-2010 the Pirates went to the playoffs 3 times and finished above .500 3 out of 21 seasons (14%).

(Of course they also developed a questionable reputation as they consistently sold off anyone that was worth a flip. It brought about a pretty intriguing conspiracy theory that they were basically losing to make more money. It will be curious to see how much weight that theory has if they start unloading at the trade deadline as they traditionally have. Considering they are a game and a half out of first in the central right now, it would be very curious.)

During the same time frame the Astros have been quite good.  6 playoff appearances and 1 world series appearance. Believe it or not the Astros finished above .500 15 of 21 of those seasons (71%). We were over .500 14 of 15 consecutive years (that stupid Y2K Crawford Boxes shock season screwing things up).

What I found interesting is that the last time the Astros were as bad as they are now, was the last time the Pirates were good: ’90-’92. That was also our last rebuilding years when the teams that were so strong in the 90′s and 00′s were being built. Comparing the records of these two teams all the way back to the 70′s you see a fairly consistent pattern: when the Astros are winning the Pirates are losing and vice versa.  (’83 was the last time they were pretty much even.)

So this year history repeats itself. We’ve got the worst team in baseball and the Pirates are 1.5 out of first in the division. The question at this point is will we maintain our current situations? Will the Pirates become one of the big players in the 10′s like they were in the 70′s? Will the Astros become the perennial losers again like they were in the 70′s?

Personally I think the Pirates might be around for a little while. I’m taking the conspiracy theory route that they were losing on purpose to make more money and kind of got caught so now they are going to allow the team to stay together and win. The “tell” will be if they are buyers or sellers at the deadline. If they start selling in a tight race, the fans and media in Pitt are going to start demanding some answers. Especially with that shiny new stadium up there.

The Astros though…I’m not sure. It’s all dependent on Crane. I have this sinking feeling deep in my gut that we may end up becoming a team much like the Pirates have been by constantly cutting payroll and trading off anyone who would earn big contracts. I really hope I’m wrong, but with the debt burden that the new ownership is taking on, I can see things going that way very easily.

For now we just have to wonder what next season and new ownership will bring.

Hopefully we won’t be down in the cellar long enough to start the thought of redecorating. Though all this old black and gold Pirate junk down here is really annoying.

Gold shag carpeting? Really?