It's only September 12, but the leaves and seasons have long since begun to change for certain Major League Baseball fans. For them, any meaningful cracks of the bat or plays at the plate are distant memories. The increasing number of empty seats in their stadiums serve as a constant reminder that yet another spring and summer of hope and optimism has been dashed with a sobering dose of reality.
For these fans, the seemingly inevitable has happened. It really is "deja vu all over again." Another season of baseball has come and gone for the ardent, yet tortured supporters of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. For them, talk of youth and potential and renewed energy will again commence in February and March. But, for today, they find themselves in all-too-familiar spots.
In Kansas City, the Royals sit at the bottom of the AL Central, 18.5 behind division-leading Chicago and 7.5 behind the fourth-place Tigers. With former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and first-year Royals skipper Trey Hillman at the helm, KC is poised to finish right about where they did last year. Dead last, with about 69 wins - give or take. New. Blue. Tradition? Uhhh, not so much. Instead, 2008 continues a tradition Royals fans have grown accustomed to in the 90s and 2000s -- losing.
Should the Royals finish up the season in last place (all but a certainty), it will be for the fifth straight season. It would be the 10th time they've finished last in the Central in the past 18 campaigns. During that time, only thrice have the Royals finished with a winning record. Ironically, their best in-division finish during that stretch was 2nd back in 1995 when they ended the year four games under at 70-74. When they won 84 and 83 games in 1993 and 2003, they finished third. Go figure.
If Royals fans think they have it bad, what about the Bucos backers in the Steel City? Let's put it this way. You're a 15 year-old living in Pittsburgh. Sophomore in high school. Born into Pirates fandom. You've yet to see a winning season in your lifetime. Read that again. Not one winning season. That should be a good reminder for fans of the Mets and Yanks to just shut up and realize how relatively good we have it.
Since three consecutive division titles under Jimmy Leyland in '90, '91 and '92, the Bucs have not given Pittsburgh much cause to celebrate any goings-on from the diamond. In that 15-season span, they've finished sixth four times; fifth place has been a familiar position, having snagged that distinction on six occasions; the Pirates have also finished fourth twice, third twice and second (at 79-83) once. Ugh.
So, who has it worse? From an outsider (or insider) point-of-view, which franchise's fans have been more perpetually punished in their recent franchise's history. I'll leave it to you to decide. Either way, another baseball season has ostensibly come and gone for fans in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. If nothing else, we salute the faithful and welcome all weary Royals and Bucos fans to find solace and vent your anger or frustrations with the Legend. Let the Devil Rays be your reason to believe.
For these fans, the seemingly inevitable has happened. It really is "deja vu all over again." Another season of baseball has come and gone for the ardent, yet tortured supporters of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. For them, talk of youth and potential and renewed energy will again commence in February and March. But, for today, they find themselves in all-too-familiar spots.
In Kansas City, the Royals sit at the bottom of the AL Central, 18.5 behind division-leading Chicago and 7.5 behind the fourth-place Tigers. With former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and first-year Royals skipper Trey Hillman at the helm, KC is poised to finish right about where they did last year. Dead last, with about 69 wins - give or take. New. Blue. Tradition? Uhhh, not so much. Instead, 2008 continues a tradition Royals fans have grown accustomed to in the 90s and 2000s -- losing.
Should the Royals finish up the season in last place (all but a certainty), it will be for the fifth straight season. It would be the 10th time they've finished last in the Central in the past 18 campaigns. During that time, only thrice have the Royals finished with a winning record. Ironically, their best in-division finish during that stretch was 2nd back in 1995 when they ended the year four games under at 70-74. When they won 84 and 83 games in 1993 and 2003, they finished third. Go figure.
If Royals fans think they have it bad, what about the Bucos backers in the Steel City? Let's put it this way. You're a 15 year-old living in Pittsburgh. Sophomore in high school. Born into Pirates fandom. You've yet to see a winning season in your lifetime. Read that again. Not one winning season. That should be a good reminder for fans of the Mets and Yanks to just shut up and realize how relatively good we have it.
Since three consecutive division titles under Jimmy Leyland in '90, '91 and '92, the Bucs have not given Pittsburgh much cause to celebrate any goings-on from the diamond. In that 15-season span, they've finished sixth four times; fifth place has been a familiar position, having snagged that distinction on six occasions; the Pirates have also finished fourth twice, third twice and second (at 79-83) once. Ugh.
So, who has it worse? From an outsider (or insider) point-of-view, which franchise's fans have been more perpetually punished in their recent franchise's history. I'll leave it to you to decide. Either way, another baseball season has ostensibly come and gone for fans in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. If nothing else, we salute the faithful and welcome all weary Royals and Bucos fans to find solace and vent your anger or frustrations with the Legend. Let the Devil Rays be your reason to believe.
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