The year 1992 seems so far away.

In the 14 seasons of losing that have haunted the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise since then, players of high quality have been hard to come by.

If I had at my disposal every Pirate who has played for the team during that time frame — based on his performance in a Pirates uniform — here is the team I'd put on the field:

• Leading off, second baseman Tony Womack. I'd give up some defense here for the stolen base threat at the top of the lineup. The Pirates haven't had a leadoff hitter that effective since.

• Batting second, shortstop Jay Bell. He's as natural a No. 2 hitter as the team's had in years and he remained productive in Pittsburgh after the playoff years went away.

• Batting third, left fielder Jason Bay. He's out there every day and puts up solid numbers in all areas.

• Batting fourth, center fielder Brian Giles. I'm moving him to center because he can play there and he was one of team's few offensive juggernauts at PNCPark.

• Batting fifth, third baseman Aramis Ramirez. It still pains me to see him in a Cubs uniform. Bobby Hill never did pan out in Pittsburgh, did he?

• Batting sixth, first baseman Kevin Young. He faded badly late in his career, but he had some solid seasons here and was the heart of the 1997 team that almost won the division.

• Batting seventh, right fielder Jose Guillen. Another guy I hated to see leave town at such a young age. He had a couple of solid seasons in Pittsburgh and has a cannon for an arm.

• Batting eighth, catcher Jason Kendall. Rip his lack of power and overpriced contract if you like, but he was behind the plate, year after year, day after day, for some horrible teams and always played the game hard.

• Pitching rotation of Jason Schmidt, Jon Lieber, Kris Benson, Francisco Cordova and Zane Smith. Let's see — Armando Rios, Ty Wigginton, etc., the Pirates didn't get much for any of these pitchers when they left.

• Set-up man, Salomon Torres. Yeah, he was a little rocky as the closer, but he's been a dependable eighth-inning guy and needs for very little rest.

• Closer, Mike Williams. He made things exciting, but he recorded more than 40 saves twice for teams that didn't win twice that many games either time.

• Bench, Don Slaught, Carlos Garcia, Jack Wilson, Craig Wilson, Al Martin and Reggie Sanders. Craig Wilson, Martin and Sanders provide power as pinch-hitters and Martin and Sanders can steal a base. Garcia did make the All-Star Game somehow, Jack Wilson is a defensive replacement in late innings and Slaught is a solid backup catcher.

Could this all-star cast of 14 years of losing Pirates baseball consistently contend in the National League Central? This team would score runs, but the pitching might not hold up.

To even question whether it would win the division gives a pretty good indication of where the Pirates have been over the past 14 years.

And, at least so far, the 15th year isn't looking any better.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.