The Battle for NL Central B

The NL Central is the only division with six teams. This does not make it unfair for these teams, because two or three of these teams are always among the worst in the league.

Each year there are 1-3 teams competing for a playoff spot and the other 3-5 teams compete to be the best of the bad.

That's why I have created the NL Central B-division. Since the Pirates will never win the NL Central again, we can at least be the best of the teams that are eliminated by July.

If we take a look retroactively, the Pirates haven't even won the B-division for a few years:

In 2007, the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals all had at least 78 wins, while the Astros won the B-Division over the Reds and Pirates with 73 wins (Pirates: 68 wins).

In 2006 the Cardinals, Astros and Reds all had at least 80 wins while the Brewers won the B-Division with 75 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2005 the Cardinals and Astros had at least 89 wins, while the Brewers won the B-League with 81 (Pirates: 67 wins).

In 2004 the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 86 wins, while the Reds won the B-Division with 76 wins (Pirates: 72 wins).

And in 2003, the Cardinals, Astros and Cubs all had at least 85 wins while the Pittsburgh Pirates won the B-Division with 75!! Oh yeah. This was of course a Lloyd McClendon-managed year of craziness, including Randall Simon hitting a certain sausage over the head with a baseball bat.

So it's been 5 years since our last B-League championship. How are things shaping up this season?

Well, the two divisions are clearly set already: The Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers are competing for playoff spots (50-55 wins), while the Pirates, Astros and Reds are in the B-Division (42-43 wins).

Currently, Cinci and Pitt are tied for the lead while Houston is a game back. I'll be chronicalling our quest for a B-Division championship the rest of the season.

Go Bucs!

(Hey, when you've been losing for this long, you'll take what you can get.)

Nonsense

Trying to follow the Pirates can be confusing. They can be 11 games under .500 and yet you are reading an article in the newspaper with a quote like this

Will Dave Littlefield be a buyer for the first time in his tenure?

He threw strong hints about being a seller again when the Pirates were swept June 24 in Anaheim, Calif., but they have played their best baseball of the season since then. It is possible the stance could change, if it has not already.

Um... What? No further comment.

Also, the Pittsburgh media is always saying things like, "Well, sure, we could trade/release/bench Wilson/Castillo/Paulino/Armas, but who will take his place??" The answer: it doesn't matter. These players are not good enough to be every day players, so as long as they are, we will keep losing. Therefore, replacing them with someone who is a big question mark or who isn't proven at least gives potential, however small the chance. If we can lose with them, we can lose without them.

Also, the Pittsburgh paper, after the Pirates second loss in a three game sweep at the hands of the Braves, headlined the wrap like so: "Pirates count their curses after 5-4 loss."

Uh... If our main problem is being cursed, this is the worst curse ever. No, I'm afraid our problem is in bad baseball players.

Oh well.