25-year old righty swinging 3B Andy LaRoche has to pick up the pace. He has played in 138 games for the Dodgers this season and he is 118 for 477 (.247 avg, .695 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 9 homers, 52 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. LaRoche was supposed to be the key player the Pirates acquired for Jason Bay and he’s not showing anything. Bay by the way has played in 140 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 133 for 494 (.269 avg, .943 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 36 homers, 113 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

27-year old righty reliever Joel Hanrahan has been pretty good since coming over to the Pirates. He has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he is 0-1 with a 1.84 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He does need to tighten up his control as he has walked 20 batters in only 29 1/3 innings for the Pirates but he has whiffed 36 batters which shows what kind of stuff he has. He could close down the road for the Pirates if he starts throwing more strikes.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Ronny Cedeno has done well for the Pirates since coming over from the Mariners in the Jack Wilson trade. Cedeno has played in 39 games for the Pirates and he is 37 for 129 (.287 avg, .775 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Cedeno is making a good argument for being the starting shortstop next season for the Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have now secured their 17th straight season with sub .500 record.  They have now surpassed the Philadelphia Phillies 1933-1948 teams for the most consecutive losing seasons.  It is the longest losing streak of the four major sports in America.  The last time the Pirates had a season with a winning record it was 1992 and the first Bush was still in office.  Boys II Men had the top song on the music charts.  I was velcroing up my Nike’s and heading off to the first grade while Barry Bonds was still under 200 lbs and his hat size (a Pirates hat at that time) was about five sizes smaller.

It’s sad to see such a great sports town have such a pathetic team each year. Even a brand new stadium could not help them.  I was able to catch a game at PNC Park in 2007 and a local Pittsburgh fan sitting by me summed up the Pirates perfectly, “We have got ourselves a major league ball park, major league fans, and a minor league team.”  Hopefully the Pirates can start to see some of the successes the Steelers and Penguins have had over the years, but its not looking good.