The Sports Monitor

A couple months ago, I was sitting at work basking in the Pirates' first-place standing in the NL Central. "They'll collapse. They always do," a co-worker said. I knew it was true, but I wanted to enjoy the moment. How often can you celebrate something with the Pirates? Since that day, the Pirates have erased anything good from those fun months of the summer. Since that day, the Bucs have utterly collapsed, shamelessly raised ticket prices and inexplicably extended general manager Neal Huntington's contract. Talk about promoting goodwill. But, hey, that's how these Pirates operate. Yet on the heels of all that good news, the Pirates continued their track record by extending their own mark of failure on Wednesday. The Battling Buccos clinched their 19th straight losing season. It's been well documented, but just typing those two numbers is unbelievable. 19. I had to type it again just to get used to that number, because you know we'l...

I was caught up in the football frenzy yesterday and missed this on SI.com. Jon Heyman is reporting that the Pirates are considering extending GM Neal Huntington. I'd really like to see a real GM in Pittsburgh. I guess that might happen when they get a real team. I've been thoroughly unimpressed by Huntington's evaluation of major league players. But, when you're a cheap franchise, you get what you pay for.

It was fun while it lasted. Playoff fever, however slight, was enjoyable for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oh, I'm sure there are those that still see the Pirates as on the fringe, or even still in contention. But, where I sit, the Pirates entered play Saturday night eight games out of first place. Coincidentally, they have lost eight straight games. Here's a rundown: 10-3 7-4 6-5 5-3 11-6 1-0 7-6 15-5 That last loss, to the Padres on Friday, was tough. So was the sweep by the Cubs, a team the Pirates have owned of late. Thinking of a wild-card berth? Think again. The Bucs are 10 games out. And they're five games behind second-place St. Louis. So, for me, after a week of vacation, comes is the realization that the Bucs' playoff dream is over. I enjoyed those two weeks in July. It was fun thinking about the Pirates as buyers at the trade deadline. Heck, I was impressed the Pirates made a trade for Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick. They made an attempt; I...

The next 10 days will go a long way to determine the Pirates' fate this season. Today, the Bucs start a three-game series against the Cardinals at PNC Park. After that, it's a brutal, seven-game trip on the road against NL East powers Atlanta (four games) and Philadelphia (three games). The Pirates begin play today percentage points ahead of the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. The Cardinals are only one game back while the Reds are four. The Braves and Phillies, for now, look like two playoff teams, with the loser of their NL East race likely the wild-card winner. If the Pirates can survive these 10 days, then they head into August a contender. If they stumble, especially in the first half of this stretch, I can easily see management holding off on any big moves before the July 31 trade deadline. Hopefully, the Pirates can continue their strong play, find some key hitting and get some big wins. Then it's up to general manager Neal Huntington to show us ...

I want to buy into the hype that the Pirates are contenders. The crowds and excitement generated last weekend were unbelievable. They're playing good baseball, to boot. But I'm still not convinced. Maybe it has something to do with 18 straight losing seasons. That's a long history that's hard to erase. So I'm still on the fence. But I know what will get me to buy into this season. The Pirates need to be buyers at the trading deadline. If the organization believes in this team and is willing to spend money, then I'm on board. The Bucs begin the second half only one game out of first place. This division is up for grabs. The Cardinals and Brewers don't have the look of inevitability this season, even with the Brewers acquiring Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. The Bucs need to take their shot. You never know when that chance might come around again. Teams are looking to shed payroll -- like the Pirates used to -- and key hitters could be acqui...

No surprise yesterday as UCLA's Gerrit Cole was selected No. 1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the baseball draft. The big surprise to me is the statistics put up by a supposed elite college pitcher: six wins, eight losses and a 3.31 ERA. I'd expect him to lead his team or conference in strikeouts and reach double-digits in wins. Oh, that's right, Cole's teammate did all that. Trevor Bauer went 13-2 and set a Pac-10 record with 203 strikeouts. His ERA was 1.25. And this stat really stood out: he ended the season with nine straight complete games. But back to Cole. My big question: If he's struggling to get college hitters out with a fastball that can hit 100 mph, how is he supposed to get major leaguers out? The Pirates feel pretty confident he will. "We felt he'd have the biggest potential impact for us of anybody on the board," general manager Neal Huntington said. The Pirates obviously project him to be an outstanding pitcher. And...

Gerrit Cole looks like the No. 1 pick overall in tonight's baseball draft. Ordinarily, I'd say that might be a good choice. However, that first overall pick belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, so I'm skeptical that they'll make the right choice. The Pirates have a long and storied history of losing for nearly 20 years. Along those same lines, they have a long and storied history of making bad selections in the first round of the draft. Remember Bryan Bullington at No. 1 overall? How about the great John VanBenschoten? He's the guy that led college baseball in home runs and the Pirates thought he'd be better as a pitcher. Then there's J.J. Davis, Bobby Bradley and Sean Burnett. Ugh. That's why I'll watch with trepidation tonight to see who the Pirates select. Normally, I'd be all for drafting a pitcher who has a fastball that can hit 100 mph. But Cole's dominance just isn't there for a first-round pick. He's not even the bes...

Nothing like a Pirates controversy to bring me out of my slumber. Apparently, the Stroll Inn had a special that if the Pirates lose -- and, frankly, when don't they lose -- patrons could get a nickel off a pitcher of beer. That didn't sit well with two employees of the Pirates . They called for a boycott of the bar. Frank Coonelly, according to WTAE, supports his employees actions. So, naturally, the bar caved. You'd think the Pirates' employees, along with Coonelly, would focus instead on improving the team. Instead, they go after a business. I'd like to see more bars offer a similar deal, not to increase the number of drunk Pirates fans out there, but to stand up against the Pirates. At least the bar is getting some free publicity out of all this. The Pirates, however, take another PR hit. Maybe the franchise was jealous they couldn't think up of a creative promotion and they missed out on cashing in on such an idea. Or just maybe the organiz...

I had a nice streak going on opening day in Pittsburgh. It ended last year. The new streak is two years and counting without watching the first pitch of the home season in person. You know what? I haven't missed it. The Nutting ownership has done that to me. I still follow the Bucs but I know it's a hopeless cause with the Nuttings in charge. A co-worker asked if I saw the Pirates win Wednesday. "Nope. I've detached myself from the Pirates," I said. If I have something else going on, it's not a priority. I turned them on today to watch the ceremonies and first pitch on TV, so I'm not completely ignoring all things Pirates. I've just found better use for my money than to line the Nuttings' pockets while they field inferior teams. Hopefully my attitude changes and so does theirs.

It's Opening Day and I had the misfortune of turning on the Pirates. It's early in the game as I write this, but it's hard to get excited about a team that features Lyle Overbay as its cleanup hitter. So even if he does come through with a game-winning homer, I won't change my mind. I know the Pirates are trying to justify his offseason acquisition, but batting him fourth? The last time I checked, teams put their biggest home-run threat fourth. Overbay is coming off seasons of 20, 16, 15 and 10 homers. And it's not like Overbay had limited action in those seasons. His at-bat totals were: 607, 500, 627 and 476. I know new manager Clint Hurdle is full of energy and is ultra-positive, but this move reeks of something John Russell would do.

Sad news for Pirates fans: Chuck Tanner, the team's manager for their 1979 Word Series championship, died Friday. He was 81. Can't go into much detail right now, but I remember sitting behind home plate for several seasons at PNC Park and Tanner would be several rows in front of me on many occasions. Every game I saw him, there would be at least one fan walking down to Tanner's seat. Not once did I see Tanner turn away a fan for an autograph. He will be missed.

Meet your new first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates: Lyle Overbay. The Bucs continued their overspending spree on mediocre or washed up players Tuesday by signing Overbay to a one-year, $5 million contract. Overbay, 33, hit .243 last season with the Blue Jays with 20 home runs. The last time he hit 20 homers was 2006 when he hit 22. He's solid defensively, but lacks the skills to make contact. He certainly doesn't have the profile of your prototypical first baseman, which is probably why he was available for the Pirates. The Bucs' new plan is to have Overbay play first base with Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz splitting time in right field. At $5 million, it's a bad plan. I can't imagine fans going out to buy season tickets as Christmas gifts because of this signing.

My wife made the mistake of telling my son he had some extra cash left from his birthday a couple of months ago. The money likely was misplaced, but my wife, being the dutiful mother that she is, quickly told our son of his new wealth. I, however, thought that would be a mistake. "He'll want to spend it as soon as he can," I said. I was right. As soon as he found out, he wanted to buy something. It didn't matter what, he wanted something. He could have saved the money for a bigger purchase. He could have saved it for something nice. Nope. He had to spend it. Which is kind of how the Pittsburgh Pirates approach free agency. They have a certain amount of money and they'll be sure to spend it. Instead of getting a quality player, the Pirates sign the same type of player each year. Matt Diaz is that player this season. The Bucs and Diaz reached a preliminary two-year, $4.25 contract Wednesday. That comes on the heels of the team getting pitcher...

We're putting the finishing touches on our Christmas tree. Inside a big box of ornaments I found a couple ones with a Pittsburgh Pirates theme. "Nah, we're not putting those up this year," I told my kids. "They stink." I think I turned into a Scrooge when it comes to the Pirates these days.

The New York Yankees didn't win enough last season. Apparently, the Yankees didn't make enough money, either. The team announced it will raise ticket prices on some of its top seats. To determine the amount, the team studied the resale prices on StubHub.com. My guess is the team needs more money to sign Cliff Lee. If the Pirates used this approach, my guess is they'd lower prices each season. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/green_rick .

I'm often perplexed by the moves made by the Pittsburgh Pirates. I didn't like the hiring of John Russell a couple of seasons ago. It didn't make sense to me for an organization to hire a manager that wasn't good enough to stay on the coaching staff. With the slow-as-molasses approach to hiring a new manager, it appears Clint Hurdle is the front-runner. My guess is the Bucs wait until there are no other managerial vacancies. They can offer Hurdle a take-it or leave-it deal and get a manager on the cheap. In other words, they can get someone no one else wants. Another thing I find troubling: Hurdle makes Jim Tracy look like a genius. Hurdle was fired from the Rockies and Tracy took an underachieving team and made it a winner. Tracy wasn't good enough for the Pirates. Why should we expect Clint Hurdle to be an improvement? Hopefully, Hurdle isn't hired.

No. 39. Dave Parker, one of my favorite Pirates growing up, wore No. 39. Willie Parker, a favorite of mine from the Steelers, wore No. 39. I like the number. Unfortunately, 39 doesn't suit this year's Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have been stuck on 39 wins for a few days now. That wouldn't be too bad if it were June. It's mid-August and they have the worst record in baseball. How bad is it? A quick look at minor league baseball tells the story. In the Pacific Coast League and International League in Triple-A, no team has fewer than 46 wins. That's 30 teams total. If you go to Double-A and examine the Eastern League, Southern League and Texas League, the lowest total is 34 by the New Britain Rock Cats. Everyone else has at least 43 wins. That's another 30 teams covered. Add it all up, and there are 88 of 90 teams with more wins than the Pirates. These Bucs are so bad, they could challenge the worst record of all time. Normally, fans could...

The Boss is dead, and by Boss, I don't mean Bruce Springsteen. Many people are lavishing praises of George Steinbrenner after his death Tuesday. The ones that aren't are holding him up as Exhibit A of what's wrong with baseball. Jay Mariotti over at FanHouse calls the Boss the "best of owners." Over at the New York Post, a column there isn't very friendly . I disliked what Steinbrenner did to baseball. He bought the best players at the highest prices. If it was a failed free-agent acquisition, well, there was enough Yankee money to go around to cover the mistake. Just replace the underachieving player with another -- either by another free-agent move or a trade with a bottom-feeder like the Pirates. He took advantage of the system. It doesn't take a smart person to buy the best players. It takes deep pockets. For that, Steinbrenner should be lauded, not his greatness as an owner. He wasn't great in the sense that he knew about baseball or ma...

Thank goodness for the Cubs. The Pirates have a 9-3 record against the Cubbies this season after Wednesday's 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, the Bucs are 18-48 if you take away their record the Cubs. That's bad. That's a .273 winning percentage. That's a 50-win season. So, again, a big round of applause for the Cubs. Without them, this season would be one for the record books -- for all the wrong reasons. It's too bad there are only three games left against the Cubs.

It's been two months since I've posted last. To those that check out this blog with any regularity, I apologize. A lot has happened in the sports world since. The Penguins lost in the playoffs much earlier than anyone had hoped, the Pirates continued to lose at alarmingly frequency and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the NFL. I'm recently coming off a vacation to Cape May, N.J., that included a stop at Six Flags to ride Kingda Ka, among others. Maybe I'll have a post in the coming days on that trip, which was pretty cool. I also took some time to move my kids into another bedroom to make way for a new son or daughter coming in a couple months. The kids have their "new" room, and now we need to get their "old" room baby ready. And right after our Cape May trip, I threw out the first pitch at an Altoona Curve game. That was tremendous. I'm sure I'll post a video soon an add some additional thoughts. Again, thanks for rea...