Pittsburgh

Alright, kicking off my 30-team preview, we're starting in the wonderful city of Sixsburgh. A city of rich sports tradition, and champions all around.

Whether you're on the frozen pond, or on the gridiron, Pittsburgh knows what it takes to win championships. Even the dismal Pirates were once synonymous with success back in the early 1900s as well as the entire 1970s.

As my previous article about the Oakland A’s described the recent activity of these traditionally small-market and to some extent '80s-competitive “super” power teams, because I discussed the A’s in that article I will omit them from this one, their moves notwithstanding.

I am writing this post as I am watching She’s Out of My League. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting much, but I find it surprisingly funny. There are definitely some good parts in there that have made me laugh.

Now on to another laughing matter. That’s the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Even though he's a Pirate, Andy McCutchen is a well above league average player.

Newbies such as Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and Neil Walker were all more or less league average in 2010, their rookie year (above average on offense, below average on defense).

Garrett Jones was moderately below average in 2010 after an above average half-year in 2009; a time-weighted performance suggests that he could be average.

As expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates showed manager John Russell the door late Monday morning.

No matter the reasons or excuses, you just cannot lose 300 games in three seasons and expect to keep your dugout job in any level of baseball.

General manager Neil Huntington says that the search for a replacement for Russell has already begun in organizational meetings in Bradenton, Florida.

The Pirates are concluding yet another terrible season with only two games left in the 2010 schedule. They are going to pick first overall in next year's draft and have over 100 losses.

This seems pretty dim and honestly it is hard to get excited over much, but the Pirates have their young core finally and have reinforcements on the way.

With any luck they will be just a little bit better in 2011 and will make huge strides in 2012. No need to look that far ahead as you will need a reason to get tickets for next year.

I was sorry to see Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez traded away last year and not just because they were good players and all around great guys. It's because they were Pirate loyalists who would have been willing to play on the team for less than they appeared to be worth on the open market.

An important consideration for the low-budget Pirates.

Pop quiz: Who is the worst starting pitcher in Major League Baseball over the last four seasons?

If you said Zach Duke, then you nailed it.

The Pirates lefty has flat-out not been very good for a span that's lasted four seasons. In that time he has compiled a 26-51 record and a 4.99 ERA and more than once has led MLB in hits allowed.

In the midst of another miserable season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's often tough to find real bright spots to talk about, but the Pirates have one in outfielder Jose Tabata.

Neil Walker gets the press, being the hometown kid, and he's deserved it. Walker is having a tremendous rookie campaign and has cemented himself as part of the future core of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will not have a winning record this season.

And water is still wet. The sun still rises from the east. Telemarketers still call at the dinner hour. Wile E. Coyote still hasn’t caught the Road Runner.

You know how whenever you watch a boxing match, no matter how little-known the fighters are, they always have winning records? This defies logic, because somewhere out there must be a fighter with a record of like 5-45. A tomato can with gloves.