Unsatisfied
PITTSBURGH — The Streak, the one that loomed over the Pittsburgh Pirates for two ignominious decades, is dead. Over. Done. Discarded. Smashed by an improbable summer and a thrilling fall.
Now what?
Unburdened from the yoke of failure that loomed for 20 years as an ominous cloud over the franchise, the Pirates can point to the future with eyes wide open.
What exactly the future holds, however, remains unclear.
In a way, the man who shrewdly guided the franchise from 105-loss laughingstock three years ago to a 94-game winner that pushed the St. Louis Cardinals to the brink in the NL division series knows the easy part is over.
“The sustainability is what separates great organizations,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We were able to take a huge step forward this year in restoring the pride and the passion of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization, and rebonding our city with a ball team.”
The evidence lay in the signature Jolly Roger flags that came out of hiding across the city after spending a generation tucked away like an abandoned family heirloom. It could be seen at packed PNC Park, where record crowds — most of them wearing black — poured through the turnstiles in the playoffs and made baseball matter again in a city where it has long played distant third fiddle behind football and hockey.
It could be felt in a clubhouse comprised of young talent and established veterans unbowed by the club’s miserable recent past. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen cemented his status as a star with an MVP-worthy season. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez tied for the NL lead in home runs with 36. Rookie pitcher Gerrit Cole illustrated his electric 100 mph fastball. Catcher Russell Martin helped turn a pitching staff that looked like a question mark in March into a dominant force in September. Jason Grilli, aging reliever thrust into the closing role for the first time, became an All Star and the emotional center of one of baseball’s best bullpens.
The goal of a sixth World Series title, the one controlling owner Bob Nutting talked about at length during spring training, never materialized. The fact a world championship evolved from something preposterous to something very tangible will only fuel an offseason designed to prove the last six months were no fluke.
“I think it’s one thing to be happy and one thing to realize how far along we come and how much we can improve,” Alvarez said. “It’s been a realization of all the hard work we’ve put in but at the end of the day we still have a lot of work to do.”
Figuring out how to go about it, however, will be tricky. Though Pittsburgh’s $73 million payroll was the highest in club history, it also ranked just 26th in baseball.
