First Pitch: What Led to Last Year's Collapse and Why This Year Is Different

The Pirates have lost four of their last six games, losing a series each to the Phillies and Cubs. That sent the team plummeting to having the best record in baseball still, even after those losses. Yet, as with any loss, the word “collapse” gets thrown around, as if losing a series is something that could only mean a collapse, rather than just something that happens to every team.


The “collapse” term gets thrown around so much that I thought I’d take a look at what actually led to the collapse last year. The losing was just the result. There were many factors that led to that losing down the stretch, and a lot of those factors don’t exist this year...

Read more: http://www.piratesprospects.com/2013...different.html

Well Tim, all I'll simply say is that I hope you're right. I could not take another collapse.

I haven't watched a Pirate game since 1992. I remember back in 1979 when there was talk of back to back World Series, but the extracurricular activities in the clubhouse snorted those ambitions away.

I believe!!

This was a really good article, thanks for posting it XT. He definitely made some great points.