Should've Gone!!!

Wandy was locked in -- goose egg against the National League's best offense.  "El Toro" Pedro Alvarez crushing balls out of the park.  Just killing it.  Garret Jones continues to light up opposing pitchers, as he's done all month.  Damnit, I shouldn't have sold, I should've gone to the last two games!  Here's the thing with baseball.  You could lose 4 games out of every 10 and still be the best team in the league.  There isn't a single team in the American League right now with a better winning percentage than .600.  There isn't a single team in the AL that has won 6 out of every 10 games.  None!  Two teams in the NL have ~.605 winning percentages.  That's it.  That means, and this is no exaggeration, it literally means that if you went 6 wins and 4 losses out of every 10 games, you would be the third best team in all of major league baseball right now.  That's the thing about baseball -- with 162 games, 9 hitters in a lineup, a stable full of arms for pitching -- the best teams just aren't that much better than the worst.

It's not the NFL.  No one is going 13-3 or 12-4 (in baseball terms that would be 131-31 or 121-41, you know, it just doesn't happen).  There are no 11-5 teams.  Right now in all of major league baseball there isn't even the equivalent of a 10-6 team.  None, there are none!  The best records in all of baseball, the absolute best records, are equivalent to a football team winning about nine and a half games.  The absolute best team in baseball right now would not even be equal to a 10-6 record in football.

In baseball you can have 5 mediocre months and 1 great one and have a high seed in the playoffs.  You can go 13 and 12 five times over five months, then go 20-10 and you're in a position to win the division.  The NFL is "all about parity" but that's a parody.  If you want parity, play a 162-game season.

It's all doom and gloom for a month, but if you catch fire again, if you get hot, it can all start coming back together for you.  Now, I'm not saying that's happening yet with the Pirates.  No, I would say they're still smack dab in the middle of the worst stretch this year, but here's what I am saying.  It's not even September yet.  It's not at all in any way about scoreboard watching.  It's not, in the least, about what St. Louis or LA is doing.  Not yet anyway.  It's all about one thing.  It's all about you, getting where you need to be, playing how you need to play, putting up as many wins as possible.  It's not about the Reds, Braves, and Nationals.  It's all about the Pirates, day to day, winning more than they lose.

All you have to do is win more than you lose in baseball and, come September, you're a 5-game winning streak away from playoff contention.  You're right there.

That's why I bought the tickets.  That's why I'm supposed to go to game after game, night after night.  You're not going to see magical moments every evening.  Andrew McCutchen is not going to collect 3 hits, a walk, and 2 RBIs every game.  But if you go every night, if you go to 40 or 50 games over a season, you're going to see some magic.  You're going to see a Drew Sutton walk off homerun, a Clint Barmes grand slam, a James McDonald shut-out.  But that's why you have to go in bulk.  That's a lesson I am still learning.

We need to see the blue line go above the green line (and the yellow to go as high as possible).

Sales Update

After selling all 3 Cardinals games this week the sale scale has tipped well over 50% -- I've made back well over 50% of my initial cost.  I've attended 13 games, sold 13 games, and still have 13 games left. So things are in perfect balance as the Pirates head out on the road after tomorrow's series finale.  I've recovered 60% of that initial cost, having sold only 32% of my games.  

*It's not exactly a third, or 33%, as the 13-13-13 would indicate, because I have attended 1 free bonus game.

How Far WILL They Fall?

The Pirates need to finish 14-20 down the stretch to have a winning season.  I can definitely find 14 more wins on the schedule, but still, it's not an absolute lock at this point.  I have about a third of my games still left, and I've made back more than half the money I initially spent, so things are looking good from that perspective.

Sold Tickets to Cardinals Fans!

I am a bad fan.  I just sold my tickets for Wednesday nights game against the Cardinals... to Cardinals fans!  I got the text, and I'm like, 417 what's 417... uh-oh!  The thing is, right after they texted me, a 412 number also responded about the tickets.  I could have easily told the 417 that they were gone -- I hadn't responded yet.  But that's a different ethical problem -- you can't just skip the first person who responds and pick somebody else.  But of course you're not supposed to sell your tickets to fans of the opposing team.  An ethical dilemma....

Worst Stretch of Season Continues

The Pirates August woes continued this weekend at PNC Park against Milwaukee.  I sold Friday for 60$, went Saturday, which was great, including fireworks, and also today (Pirates gym bag give away).  Now they face the Cardinals -- one of the best teams in the National League.  Here's where they could fall completely out of contention -- possibly even before September first.

Worst stretch of the season continues...