Thursday, August 23, 2012

Pirates Swept By Padres = Big Trouble for Buccos

Doug Drabek - On the '92 Team (Last
Time the Pirates Were in the Playoffs)
Nice Hair Huh?!
Not too long ago I wrote after the Pirates won the 19-inning fiasco in St. Louis that this could be a sign of things to come.  The "Battlin' Buccos" were back at it.  I even predicted that if they could sweep the Padres and win the next 2 series against the Brewers and Cardinals they would not only be sitting pretty in the Wild Card, but possibly gain some ground in the division.  The Pirates must have misread the post, because instead of sweeping the Padres, they were swept yesterday as they lost their 3rd straight game (and 10th of the last 14) 4-2. 

Enough of all the speculation and the numbers and analysis of how poorly the Pirates are playing.  As some would say "Lets get down to brass tax"...meaning, will the Pirates reach the playoffs?  Well, I'm not going to say that it is impossible for them to win the Central, but it is highly unlikely.  The Pirates have now dropped from 2nd in the division to third as they are a .5 game behind the Cardinals in 3rd place, and 8.5 games behind the Reds in 1st.  The Reds have shown no sign of slowing down and the Cardinals just won't go away.

With that doom and gloom out of the way, lets look at the easiest way for the Buccos to sniff the postseason air for the first time since 1992...the Wild Card.  What makes things even more exciting is the changes in MLB that allow 2 Wild Card teams into the playoffs by having a play-in game as the 2 wild card teams face off before the 7-game series are set.  Even with the Pirates sucking it up the past month, they are only .5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card spot which is held by the Cardinals.  The nice thing about the Cardinals being ahead of them is the Pirates can control their own fate as the 'Red Birds' come to Pittsburgh for a 3 game set next week.  However, the team that should scare the Pirates the most is the LA Dodgers.  They are only a .5 game behind the Pirates and 1 game behind the Cardinals.

All these numbers aside, things can change dramatically in the next month or so.  The division race could get tighter if the Reds slip (doubtful) or the Pirates could keep losing and drop completely out of the race.  The surprising thing is that even with how poorly they are playing, they can still get that second wild card spot if they remove their craniums from their rear-ends.  The Pirates have a travel day off as they return Friday to PNC Park to play the Brewers in a 3 game set before St. Louis comes to town.  The Pirates needed a day off, and I needed a day off from the disappointment they provide on a nightly basis for me.  Unbelievably there is still hope in the Steel City for the Buccos...

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