The Pirates’ 2011 season may go down in history as The Big Tease.

After 18 consecutive losing seasons, the Bucs were 51-44 on July 19 and stood a half-game out of first place in the National League Central. They eventually moved into first place.

PNC Park was selling out and Pirate fans were actually checking the standings and watching the scoreboard on a daily basis.

It was downright magical, a true fairy tale.

Then the clock struck midnight.

The Pirates went 21-46 the rest of the way, finishing with at least 90 losses for the seventh straight year.

Here’s a few thoughts on the state of the Bucs:

The good• Joel Hanrahan saved 40 games and was on pace to break the club record of 46 (Mike Williams, 2002) before the club’s second-half swoon.• Alex Presley hit .298 and gave the club a solid leadoff hitter. He had 178 hits between Class AAA and the big leagues this year.• Neil Walker finished the year with a 56-game errorless streak at second base and his .992 fielding percentage there fell just short of Johnny Ray’s club record of .993, set in 1986. Walker’s 83 RBI are second most by a Pirate second baseman in club history, trailing only George Grantham.• The Pirates were 36-45 on the road, more than doubling last year’s road win total of 17.• The pitching staff lowered its earned run average from 5.00 last year to 4.04 this year, second biggest improvement in the big leagues, trailing only the Arizona Diamondbacks.• The Pirates stole 107 bases, going over the 100-mark for the first time since 1999.

The bad• Third baseman Pedro Alvarez had a lost season, hitting just .191 with four homers.• Evan Meek, the Bucs’ 2010 All-Star representative, missed most of this year with injury.• Andrew McCutchen faded badly down the stretch and wound up hitting .259. He hit .286 in each of his first two big league seasons.• First baseman Lyle Overbay hit just .227 before being released as a free agent bust. Fellow free agent Matt Diaz failed to hit a home run before being dealt back to Atlanta.• The club lost its two starting catchers — Chris Snyder and Ryan Doumit — to injury for much of the year.

The future• Who’s on first? Derrek Lee hit .337 with seven homers in 101 at bats for the Pirates. Is that enough of a sample to offer him a few million bucks to return?• Who’s gonna catch? Snyder and Doumit are likely free agents and Michael McKenry and Jason Jaramillo are quality backups, not starters.• Presley, McCutchen and Jose Tabata. Left to right, that must be the outfield.• Starting pitching must produce innings. Charlie Morton, James McDonald and Jeff Karstens need to pitch longer.