I promise this will be my last column on the Pittsburgh Pirates for the time being — at least until they start doing something spectacular.

Given their recent history, who knows how long that will be?

Perhaps because baseball comes every spring it engenders hope, no matter how illogical it may be. A sign of spring isn't just when robins are flying or trees begin to bloom. Unofficially, it's when catchers and pitchers report to spring training in mid-February.

Even baseball in Pittsburgh. No matter how much in disarray the starting pitching will be or the lack of experience — again — in the field, each year we believe this could be the year everything comes together.

In football, hockey and basketball, you know if you have a legitimate chance to make the post-season. In baseball, the season is a grind.

One hundred and sixty-two games, about double what the NHL and NBA play and 10 times what the NFL has to offer.

Yes, in baseball, no matter how poor a team can appear on paper, there's always that chance.

Hope does spring eternal.

Then, there's the Pirates.

Each year, I do believe that this will be the one when everything begins to click. No major injuries. Prospects finally will develop. Free agents will make a huge contribution and will help the team thrive.

Each year, I come away disappointed.

The National League Central has been a mediocre division, at best. Sure, the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series two years ago, but they were only 83-78. They did win 100 or more games the previous two seasons, but the wild card spot has always given another team a chance.

The Houston Astros reached the World Series the year before (they were a wild-card winner with an 83-79 record), but were swept by the Chicago White Sox.

This is a division without a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox battle. There are no juggernauts in sight — although the Chicago Cubs have had their chances and bombed out.

Being a .500 team in this division will keep you in the chase until the final week of the season. That hasn't happened in Pittsburgh since the 1997 season and that team finished 79-83 under Gene Lamont and was 78-83 two years later.

Those are the team's best records since the last winning season of 1992, which also was the Pirates' last trip to the playoffs.

Last season's hope rested on a young pitching staff of Zack Duke, Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell with a year's worth of experience, plus National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and newcomer Adam LaRoche, the team's first power-hitting threat at first base since Kevin Young.

The team went south early and never recovered. Mediocre teams can't afford to do that. Six-month seasons can drag along even further.

The team made no significant upgrades this year, so the Pirates believe what they had last year will be fine.

I know this year, they really, really mean it was they feel they will be competitive.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 15 times, shame on me.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.