The season started in Wrigley Field for the Pirates as they played their opening series against the Cubs. With bases loaded in the 5th inning, Neil Walker hit a grand slam that bounced clear out of the stadium. They went on to win that series and win their next series against the Cardinals as well. A week later, they took 2 out of 3 games against the Reds.
That's the way the beginning of the season went for the Pirates. Their pitchers were pitching at a whole different level, the players showed some offensive life, and the team won games. Series wins over the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Astros, Orioles, Red Sox, and Blue Jays in June as well as several sold-out games only helped the young ball-club keep rolling along.
On July 16th, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in first place in the NL Central with a record of 48-43. This was the climax of a cinderella story for a team which hasn't finished a season above .500 since 1992.
Since then, however, the Pirates have been a different story. Their current record sits at 62-73 and they are all but eliminated from the playoffs. Their record during the month of August has been terrible: 7 wins and 21 losses.
How could a team fall so far, so fast?
One reason is injuries. The Pirates have been one of the most injury-plagued teams this season, highlighted by the injuries of their top 3 catchers (Ryan Doumit, Chris Snyder, and Jason Jaramillo). Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, Evan Meek, Ross Ohlendorf, Ryan Ludwick, Derek Lee, Steve Pearce, Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm, Alex Presley, Chase d'Arnaud, and Kevin Hart all spent at least 15 days on the DL this season.
Another reason for the swift decline of the Pirates was the break down of their pitching. The pitching stats for the first half of the season were very impressive: Jeff Karstens' ERA was 2.55, Paul Maholm's was 2.96, and Kevin Correia's was 4.01.
Since the All-Star break, however, Jeff Karsten's ERA has been 4.73, Paul Maholm's has been 5.75, and Kevin Correia's has been 7.23. Kevin Correia looked to be on pace for close to 20 wins after earning 11 wins at the time of the All-Star break, however, he's only won one game since, while losing four.
Even Joel Hanrahan, who didn't blow a save in the entire first half of the season, has blown three since.
It's a familiar story for Pirates fans, a never-ending cycle of hope and disappointment.
As the Pirates play the final game of a series versus the Astros, there remains an air of a "could-have-been" season. A season where they could have been in the playoffs. A season where they could have been a .500 team.
As the saying goes for the fans of many poor performing teams: "There's always next year". Well, at least they put up a good fight.
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