Waving Good-bye to the Respite from Reality Month of August

On the final day of August, it was a most appropriate time for the normal--e.g. like-every-other-month-except-August--Pirates to return. Allow me to count the ways normality has come back with a vengeance.

--Tony Armas, somehow, miraculously, only gave up 3 runs. However, he gave up a home run to a pitcher. I mean, seriously, only 3 runs is most definitely progress. But really, the opposing pitcher hitting home runs? Yes, really.

--The Pirates chip away at the Brewers' lead but leave the bases loaded. I don't bother to hear Mr. Tracy bemoan what he's bemoaned for the past two seasons: an inability to get the "clutch" or "key" hit. Reality: Despite a ridiculous mashing August offense, the Buccos returned to their usual offensive ways--not hitting a pitcher that other teams have managed to light up for several runs. Yes, the Brewers' pitcher was talented (and not just at hitting home runs), but if you want to win games, you need to manufacture more than 2 runs against an inexperienced pitcher.

--And, of course, the Pirates are back at home, alone, in the cellar of the NL Central, which is perhaps the most ugly, but necessary, reality check imaginable.
The standings of the current NL Central are laughable, and it's looking more and more likely that someone can win this sad division with a record just below, just at, or barely above .500. The division isn't even mediocre; it's horrible, and yet the reality is that the Pirates can't even compete in a terrible division.

--Speaking of being unable to compete, for whatever the reason, the Pirates are completely unable of dealing with "pressure." Not that there ever was any real pressure, but as soon as the players start looking at the standings and noticing their still-alive mathematical chance, it just seems like they can't cope--by which I mean they're unable to produce. Sure, that's absolutely a reflection of lack of quality MLB talent, but it's also a reflection on the organization as a whole, and it's a poor reflection at that.

--If anyone (Mr. Nutting) needs to be convinced this organization is screaming for wholesale change, look at the stark mathematical facts. Closer to twenty games under .500 than .500. Seven more losses from assuring a fifteenth consecutive losing season. And, perhaps most pathetically, an inability to escape the cellar in an incredibly poor (performance-wise) division.

--That being said, I still dream that sometime in my lifetime I'll one day get to hear Lanny or Greg or somebody screaming, "The Pirates win the pennant!" rather than the current alliterative phrase I hear in my mind on a continuous loop. That alliterative phrase? The Pittsburgh Pirates are a piss-poor, pathetic team.

--That being said, I'm probably more pathetic than the team. I still want the team to win games, and I still want the young players (e.g. the still-learning pitchers) to show progress and growth. Which is just how it goes when it comes to being a fan of the currently and still, but hopefully someday no longer, pathetic Pirates.