09/22/2006 Padres 6 - Pirates 2

Well, I was looking forward to watching this game tonight. Since we're falling apart on the mound and getting no-hit, I will talk about something other than what is currently occurring.

Since this blog is in its infant stage, I will briefly tell a bit about myself. I am a lifelong fan of the Pirates, and here is a short history of what I remember (This might be a bit boring for many of you, I apologize in advance):

• My earliest memory is sitting in the upperdeck of Three Rivers Stadium in 1988 at four years old and watching Sid Bream hit a walkoff homerun on Richard Caliguiri day (checked retrosheet.org, it was May 6, 1988).
• In 1990, my dad got tickets so we could attend an NLCS game against the Reds. That morning I woke up sick, vomited in the school library, felt better, then vomited again during the car ride home and was told I would not be going to the game. Bogus.
• You might think the next thing I am going to say is how I shed tears after that fateful game in October 1992. I did not. I sat in silence with my dad and uncle in our basement where we watched the game. We were completely stunned, unable to speak for what felt like hours after what we had just witnessed. And that's enough about that.
• Since I started typing, Joe Randa broke up the no-hitter with a two-run shot. We lost 6-2. Sigh.
• We lost for some years, starting and restarting a few 5-year plans in the process. 1997 was pretty exciting, as a team in a complete rebuilding year fought for a playoff berth until the final few weeks. There were some fun games that year (no-hitter with a walkoff homerun, striking out overpaid Albert Belle 4 times in one game, the July 4th game in St. Louis, Joe Randa and Mark Smith back-to-back 9th inning homeruns to win against the Dodgers, etc.), but that was the closest we would come to the postseason.

That's about all I can think of to put in my brief personal Pirates history. I should note that I am a steadfast optimist and generally will give players and management the benefit of the doubt. (You will never read anything on this site about how Mark Cuban should buy the Pirates and lead them back to glory. Frankly I am tired of hearing that crap.) This point of view will make it difficult for me to be objective, but I will attempt to avoid being delusional about the Pirates chances for success (see yesterday's post where I basically guarantee that the Pirates will win the 2007 World Series). If you ever feel that I am failing in that attempt, feel free to call me on it. In fact, feel free to comment on anything if you agree or disagree with me. I would love to hear your opinion and discuss a bit.

Discussing the 1997 season has me again thinking about some of the most enjoyable Pirates games that I have attended in my life. Maybe I will put together a top ten list or something in the next week or so.