The More They Remain The Same

By Kevin Aherne (@kaherne17)

September 9th 1992; Boyz II Men were atop all of the music charts, Wayne's World was a box office smash, and something that happened in baseball that hasn't occured again since... until last night.

An accomplishment 7,665 days in the making, the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates clinched a winning season last night with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. That is a span of 3,580 games, played over twenty-plus arduous and long seasons. The loyal Buc fans have been through the wringer... From the "Sid Bream Game" to now, they have seen the departures of future super-stars Barry Bonds, Tim Wakefield, Jason Schmidt, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Guillen, Bronson Arroyo, Ryan Vogelsong, Jason Bay, and Jose Bautista.

These fans have endurred years with lineups centered around Jack Wilson, and rotations anchored by Josh Fogg. The only bright spot for this franchise in the last twenty years was the destruction of decrepit Three Rivers Stadium for their current home field at PNC Park; one of the best in baseball.

However, with patience comes reward.  The 2013 version of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks as formidable as it has at any point since the Jim Leyland-Bonds era.  Not only is this team poised to make the playoffs, but they could very well do some damage in October.  Clint Hurdle, as far as I am concerned, should be the unanimous choice for manager of the year.