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Beloved teams that fell short

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Aug 2, 2013.

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  1. SoCalDude

    SoCalDude Active Member

    The second-round victory over defending national champion Michigan at the Long Beach Arena was the greatest game I have ever seen.
     
  2. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Has Pitt ever had a decent NCAA tourney? They are great in the Big East, but you could have typed any year dating back to Boo Boo Kirby with that post.
     
  3. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Beloved Individual Division: Dan Jansen, '88 Olympics.
     
  4. MileHigh

    MileHigh Moderator Staff Member

    Um, no. That was smoke and mirrors. They won 21 of 22 to make the World Series, the hottest streak in their 20-year history. They've done nothing before that ... and nothing since.
     
  5. To me, you knew the 1990 and 91 teams - while good - were not good enough to win the NL, muchless the series.
    '92 was it. It was ... it.
    As you said, we knew if was going to be the last gasp for a some time and God Damn coming back to almost win the NLCS ... I didn't care about the series, but to come back and then lose like that .. damn.

    To me that team was beloved .,. Van Slyke, Spanky, even Jose Fucking Lind. When he booted that ball it was over. I knew it was over.
     
  6. +1

    Esp. given the fact he didn't start playing like Barry Bonds in the postseason until wait Game 3 of the 92 NLCS?
    So he had like five decent playoff games for the Pirates.


    If Bream gets tagged out and the Pirates go on to win, I think Bonds reputation in Pittsburgh would be viewed much differently.
     
  7. Great call.
    Easily MY favorite Non-76ers team of the NBA.
     
  8. NDJournalist

    NDJournalist Active Member

    Easy.

    2003-04 Carolina Panthers
     
  9. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    73-74 Maryland Terps
     
  10. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Trust me. I remember well. And for everything that went wrong in that Game 7, Lind making an error may have been the most frustrating because he was so amazing in the field that year. For a brief time, he was the best defensive second baseman in the game and that year he made only six errors all season.

    One thing I'll disagree with was the quality of the team. I thought they were better in '91. By '92, the financial challenges of keeping so much talent together was already showing. Bonilla left as a free agent after the '91 season, and as badly as that contract worked out for the Mets, his departure was still a blow to the Pirates. They also traded John Smiley for prospects after the '91 season, during which had won 20 games. Of course, he ran out of gas in the playoffs and Jim Leyland stubbornly tossed him out there to get lit up in Game 7 anyway, but he was a damn good pitcher at that point.

    The '92 team got to the playoffs for two reasons. Sure they had other talent, but having Tim Wakefield emerge as a compliment to Drabek was huge. But really, Bonds carried them down the stretch. In the final 31 games, he batted .392 with 11 home runs, 27 RBI, nine stolen bases and an OPS of 1.370.
     
  11. sportsnut2002

    sportsnut2002 Member

    +1
    Just think of the battle in the paint that could've been fought between Hank Gathers and Larry Johnson.
    And had Loyola beat Vegas, nobody would've touched then in Denver.
     
  12. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    I remember early in that season when I followed the rankings closely that they were rated No. 2 in the country with a 2-1 record. I was thinking "how can a team be that high with a lost already?" Then I checked and their loss was by one point to UCLA, which later that season had its 88-game winning streak snapped at Notre Dame.

    Also, if my memory serves correctly, the game was played at UCLA.
     
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