2011 Pittsburgh Pirates preview

The Pirates are our baseball team – win, lose and lose, again.

But, having lost for 18 consecutive seasons, it is a marvel the club still has a following.

However, the team’s support is wavering, buckling under the pressure of a fan base hungry for a winning team.

Fan support for the Pirates peaked ten years ago when Pittsburgh demolished Three Rivers Stadium and erected PNC Park.

Despite enduring eight straight years of losing entering the 2001 season, fans poured into the new stadium and set Pirates’ attendance records to admire its beauty and to hope for a winning baseball team to complement its overwhelming aura.

However, the franchise’s major league ball club has steadily declined over the next decade, eventually hitting what Pirates’ fans can only hope is rock bottom with 105 losses last season, third most in the team’s 119-year history.

Looking forward, the 2011 Pirates will not lose 105 games, but they are not favorites to break the most insufferable losing tradition in sports.

Andrew McCutchen and Ross Ohlendorf figure to lead the team followed by a young core of Jose Tabata, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and James McDonald.

After those six, there is not much buzz to this team unless you consider Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan, relievers, stimulating.

Newcomers Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen, starting pitchers, are coming off difficult 2010 campaigns in which injuries and personal issues took prominence over their on-field performance.

Other additions like Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz, solid platoon fielders at right field and first base, were brought in to fill roster spots and occasionally the line-up.

There is hope a silver lining may appear on the horizon soon.

McCutchen is arguably the best center fielder in baseball, and the young core behind him has a treasure chest’s load of potential.

Still, barring every player having a career year, Pittsburgh will likely bear another losing season.