What Do You Expect.....

[magnumo]

.....from the Pirates for the remainder of the season?

They now sit at 54-56 (.491). Obviously, if they play .500 ball for the remainder of the season, they'll finish at 80-82. Just as obviously, they'll need to go 28-24 (.538) to finish at 82-80 and stop the losing streak.

It appears certain that they will show a significant improvement over last year's 57-105 (.352). And it also appears certain that they will finish ahead of the Astros.

But just for kicks, what do you think their final record will be?

(My guess is 75-87.)

 

[Darkstone42]

My prediction before the season was an optimistic 72-90. Now I'm going to predict 81-81 even.

 

[evolver115]

84-78

It's gonna happen, and it's gonna happen this season. Yeah, they've hit a rough patch, here. But, they can just as easily rattle off 7 wins in a row, as well.

The 18 straight losing seasons streak will end in 2011.

 

[magnumo]

Sheesh..... I'm beginning to wonder whether they'll ever win another game. This is getting ridiculous..... giving up 13 runs to the Padres? Wow!

Maybe Lyle Overbay was the veteran glue who was holding everything together.

 

[Darkstone42]

Heh. Lyle Overbay. Glue.


He moved like it.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

When I saw the final score I thought it was a misprint. How the hell did MY PADRES as Ted Leitner would say score 15 runs in 1 game?

 

[magnumo]

When I saw the final score I thought it was a misprint. How the hell did MY PADRES as Ted Leitner would say score 15 runs in 1 game?

Well, it got up to 15 runs. That rates another "Wow!" With no disrespect intended, the Padres had been the lowest scoring team in the National League prior to last night's game. With that 15-run outburst against Pirate pitching, the Padres now have scored 403 runs. That took them past the Giants (395) and only 4 runs behind the Dodgers (407).

Those 3 NL West teams, plus Houston (420), are the only NL teams who have scored fewer runs than the Pirates (426). The good news for the Pirates is that our pitching staff HAD BEEN doing quite well in the "runs against" category..... enough to have a positive run differential and spend a couple days in first place in the NL Central. However, that run differential now stands at -23 and is falling fast.

The Reds run differential of +41 suggests that they should drop the Pirates into 4th place during the next few days.

 

[thecrow124]

I predicted a 77-85 record before the season and see no reason to change it.

 

[magnumo]

OK guys..... here's a tabulation of current expectations so far:

84-78 evolver115
81-81 Darkstone42
77-85 thecrow124 (Good for you, crow. I HOPE they do at least that well.)
75-87 magnumo (Previously, I was expecting another 100-loss season.)

I guess that makes me the pessimist, and evolver clearly is optimistic. I hope we get a few more guesses over the next couple of days.

 

[thedddd]

I can't remember what my original guess was but it was in the 60's for wins.

With their current record, boy would I like the above .500 record but I think they will end up 79 - 83. Meaning the rest of the way their record will be 25-26.

 

[Darkstone42]

Well.



Rats.

 

[magnumo]

OK, thedddd. I've added you to the short list:

84-78 evolver115
81-81 Darkstone42
79-83 thedddd
77-85 thecrow124
75-87 magnumo

 

[element1286]

They have been sickening to watch recently, but I still believe they get .500 this year; 83-79.

 

[magnumo]

They have been sickening to watch recently, but I still believe they get .500 this year; 83-79.

Another optimist heard from.....

84-78 evolver115
83-79 element1286
81-81 Darkstone42
79-83 thedddd
77-85 thecrow124
75-87 magnumo

 

[smokeyburgess]

Amazing. How can a team that played so well before the All-Star break do so poorly after it? It seems that everything that worked before doesn't work now. The starting pitching has caved almost completely, the bullpen finally wore out, the defense is now making untimely errors, the baserunning has become almost comical (but I'm not laughing), and the hitting pathetic (are the Pirates in the running for setting a new record for strikeouts?).

All very painful indeed, but I'm trying to keep my sense of humor and my spirits up. I'm hoping for at least a .500 finish, but at the rate the Pirates are going at present, I still have a chance to win the unofficial prediction contest on the ESPN board. Beaten down by 18 straight losing seasons, I predicted the Pirates would win 58 games this year. They've won 54 so far, but they seem absolutely helpless at the moment, so I'm beginning to wonder if I've still got a chance -- kind of like Lloyd in "Dumb and Dumber" -- one of the greatest movies of all time!

At any rate, that's one contest I don't want to win. GO BUCS!!!

 

[magnumo]

Hey smokey,

I didn't post a pre-season prediction at ESPN this season. If I had, it would have been 59-103..... so we were pretty close together at that time.

However, the Pirates' first 100 games encouraged me..... and my current guess is 16 games better than my original thought. So, smokey..... what's your current guess?

 

[smokeyburgess]

Mags: I'm not feeling very optimistic about the rest of the season, so I'm guessing my beloved Pirates will win only 19 of their last 49 games for a final record of 73-89. A marked improvement from last year but still a major disappointment after the wonderful start they had this year -- and still a long way from .500.

 

[WVUinVegas]

54-108

That way every win is a pleasant surprise

 

[magnumo]

Thanks to smokey and WVUinVegas for participating. I'm no longer the most pessimistic Pirate fan on the list.

WVUinVegas, thanks for the chuckle..... there haven't been many of those lately. Since I assume you're a betting man, I suspect your guess isn't serious. (It's not really possible for a team to lose 59 games in a row..... is it?) At any rate, I plan to bring this thread back at season's end. So, please post a change in your guess if you wish.

84-78 evolver115
83-79 element1286
81-81 Darkstone42
79-83 thedddd
77-85 thecrow124
75-87 magnumo
73-89 smokeyburgess
54-108 WVUinVegas

 

[evolver115]

39-74 at this point last season, compared to 54-59 this season. I'm trying to keep it in perspective during this collapse of everything that made this team competitive in the first half of the season.


The pitching is obviously ailing, while the hitting has continued to be weak on power, high on strikeouts and untimely. Other than Maholm, I believe all four remaining starters are either on career-high projections for innings pitched, or have already broken them. In the pen, Veras, McCutchen and Resop have all looked over-worked, as well.

Tabata and Presley are in rehab stints, so that is one welcoming thought.