Yesterday, I wrote that I felt bad that the current Pirates were going to take the brunt of the blame for this 17-year skid because they really don’t have a lot to do with it. Of course, they deserve some of the blame, but then, a lot of guys do. And so I fired up […]

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. -F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby I know I said back in late March or early April that I wanted to keep this series going during throughout the regular season, but that’s obviously something that I haven’t done very well. The […]

When the Penguins beat the Red Wings on Friday, there was one moment in the game that was particularly gratifying for me as a Penguin fan. It wasn’t just beating the Red Wings at the Joe or seeing Sidney Crosby hoist the Stanley Cup and Evgeni Malkin holding the Conn Smythe or Marian Hossa’s tears […]

For a very long time, I’ve remembered October 12, 1992. Game 4 of the 1992 NLCS. The only Pittsburgh Pirates playoff game that I’ve ever attended. In fact, it was the only playoff game of any sort that I’d attended until Saturday, when I went to see the Penguins play the Hurricanes in Game 3 […]

But, oh God, sometimes the Green Mile seems so long. For a long time, I was the kid that used to tell everyone every spring that this year was the year that the Pirates would break their losing streak. I gave up on that a few years ago, when I finally realized each spring that […]

Last week, my dad sent me an e-mail telling me that he’d picked up three old issues of Sports Illustrated with the Pirates on the cover, as well as some old programs and scorebooks from Pirates games. He said that while they weren’t in great shape, he assumed I’d be interested in them anyways and […]

We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from the another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take our breath away. -Watchmen, Chapter IX It is March 31st, 2008. In twelve seconds, a fly ball will drop harmlessly between Nate McLouth and Jason Bay, allowing the […]

People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby I suppose we can start this post with a bit of an announcement. The Road to 17 cannot end with a rundown of 2008, because […]

The Road to 17 is a look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has their […]

The Road to 17 is a look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has their […]

The Road to 17 is a look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has their […]

The Road to 17 is a look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has their […]

The Road to 17 is a look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has their […]

The Road to 17 is a longer-form look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has […]

The Road to 17 is a longer-form look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has […]

The Road to 17 is a longer look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has […]

The Road to 17 is a longer look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has […]

The Road to 17 is a longer-form look at each losing season that the Pirates have had since their last playoff appearance in 1992. The object is not to wallow in the misery of the Pirates, but instead remember just what it is that makes us Pirate fans in the first place. Every team has […]