Pirates & Penguins - Unresolved Issues Leave Alot To Be Desired

The Sun Sets on Another Pirates Losing Season

As I write this post the Pittsburgh Pirates are losing 4-0 and it looks like they are going to send out the season the way they did the 2nd half of the season.  Horrible base running blunders, inability to stop opposing baserunners from stealing, and just poor offensive performances seem to be the trend.  I'm sure they lost the game, and even with all the frustration that the Pirates bring to me (and to the rest of the Bucco Nation) it is going to be sad to see this season end.  Surely, people like me saw this collapse coming, but it doesn't quite prepare you for the fact that the Pirates just weren't good enough to make that next step and not only end the dreaded streak, but make the postseason that at one point looked like a shoe-in.  The "I wonder what would have happened..." will be a common thread amongst fans and players alike as they head for another offseason where disappointment outweighed the excitement of a marathon baseball season.

On the other side of the city sits Consol Energy Center.  It sits vacant, desperately looking for someone to step on the ice and play the rugged game of ice hockey on it.  The lockout continues, and there isn't much hope in the near future.  The Penguins are sitting in a holding pattern, just like the rest of the NHL organizations, as they await the fate of the 2012-2013 season.  I don't see the NHL being stupid enough that they would lose an entire season, but then again, I didn't think they would do it in 2004 either.  Unlike the Pirates, the Penguins are brimming with offensive talent and are ready to show the NHL landscape that they aren't the team that got manhandled by the Flyers in the playoffs, but the preseason Eastern Conference favorites that has been predicted. 

With both the Pirates and the Penguins, there is alot of unresolved issues surrounding their individual seasons.  The Pirates face the indecision of the offseason and who might return, and who might be let go.  The Penguins face the indecision of whether they will get a chance to lace up the skates and prove to the fans and the NHL their worth as a franchise.  Its both of these situations that leaves the fans out to dry the most.  PNC Park was packed more this year than any year in the past, and their average attendance was over 26,000 and the 2nd most in franchise history.  The fans are showing up...thats for sure!  The Penguins consistently sell out the Consol Energy Center and the brand new facility is the crown jewel of the NHL, as they held the Draft there this year.  It just goes to show that in both cases the fans are the ones that suffer in the long run.  Pirates fans bleed with the team from April till October, and the Penguins fans are just waiting to see someone drop the gloves and draw someone else's blood.  Either way, something needs to change in both scenarios so that the fans can get what they want...a winner.