Pirates of '97 retrospective

You know your franchise is shit when the local paper does a series on the "dream season" when you won 79 games.

http://postgazette.com/pg/07190/800338-63.stm

 

Wow....now doing one story, I can understand. It was really the only season since 1992 that the Pirates have been really fun to watch. I was in the stands the day Mark Smith hit a 3-run, walk-off home run in extra innings to make a combined no-hitter by Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon official. It was probably the least-dominant no-hitter in history, but it was a hell of an atmosphere for a baseball game in Pittsburgh.

But a full series? They have to be kidding.

 

To be fair, "the first in a series on the improbable Pirates of 1997" focuses on a team whose payroll was slashed from $21 million in 1996 to $9 million. And it has been 10 years, so it's a good time to look back at that team.

EDIT -- On a side note, I will read anything with Joe Randa in it. Always loved to watch The Joker play.

 

i was living in Pgh in 1997 and can remember how excited the fans were, how likeable the team was, etc--when you take everything into account, I think it's completly acceptable to have a retrospective on that team.

 

10 years later, it still isn't ending well for the Pirates.

 

Considering that was the first team that McClatchy really had his hands on for a full season, and given the fact that the Kevin McClatchy era is drawing to a close at the end of this season, I don't have a problem with it. And I was in Pittsburgh in 97 too and this was a fun team to watch. It captivated baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike. One of my closest friends, who doesnt know the difference between a double and a walk, called me one day that summer and said, "dude, we gotta' go to a Pirates game. They're the real 'Major League.'" And they were.

 

I don't think the idea of a series is bad, it just shows how shitty the franchise is.

 

Anybody think this may be a takeoff/parody on "The Bronx is Burning?"

 

That was an interesting team. Jason Kendall should have been NL Rookie of the Year the previous year.

They did get that new stadium a few years later, and broke the trend of teams with new yards always being pretty good. As I recall, they were the first where people said "Oh, I guess a new yard isn't a cure-all."

This is the saddest line for Pirates fans:

"They would take money from payroll and spend it on strengthening the amateur draft, increasing their presence in Latin America and improving the minor-league option."

Yeah, how's that working out?

 

Exactly, Norrin. They really beefed up their minor league system and the draft and presence in Latin America, but still won't draft players they can't sign. ... Was it Wieters who went fifth this year that they passed on?

What a joke.

 

What's with the fucking orange uniforms? The Pirates are Black and Gold.

 

Aramis Ramirez is playing a hell of the third base for the Cubs. That's how it is working out.