Pirates Continue Losing: Lose 82nd for 20th Straight Season

The Pirates lost their 82^nd game this year.  Ordinarily, this wouldn't be news, but in doing so the Pirates have set two records.  The first is their well-known streak of now 20 consecutive losing season, a North American professional sports record.  The second is that they became the first team ever to be 16 games above .500 after 108 games to not finish the season at .500 or better. 

Nevertheless, you might still not be convinced that this is news.  And maybe you’re right, maybe it’s not news.  “Pirates Continue Losing,” makes for a lousy headline.  But as a 23-year-old Pirates fan and self-admitted sports fanatic, I now have a new sporting emotional low, and I’m going to tell you about why it’s so depressing. 

You’d have to ask my mother, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been a Pirates fan since the womb.  My parents are both Pirates’ fans and my dad’s parents were both Pirates fans as well.  It was never even going to be a choice that I made; it was just going to be the case.  I’m just old enough that, although I have no memory of it, I did attend a couple of Pirates’ games during the playoff years of 1990-1992. 

When we moved to Columbus, Ohio, I remember travelling to Cincinnati to see the Pirates on opening weekend one season.    By that point, I was old enough to read the newspaper, and I would check the sports section every day to find out what the Pirates had done the night before.  When we moved back to Pittsburgh, my family was so excited about being back that we even bought a package of 20 home games for the 2003 season.  That was the team that included Jason Kendall, Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, and Kenny Lofton.  It was a one of the better teams the Pirates have had since 1992.  They won 75 games that year. 

But Giles, Lofton, Sanders, Stairs, and Ramirez were all gone after that season, and the team went downhill in a hurry.  From 2005-2010 the Pirates averaged just under 65 wins per season.  My family kept going to Pirates games, though.  I remember being there when Freddy Sanchez won the batting title in 2006. 

Of course, the Steelers won the Super Bowl following the 2006 season.  And of course, as any Pittsburgher does, I followed them through the playoffs that year.  And a couple of years later the Steelers and the Penguins both won titles in the same year.  But football was never the first sport (or the second or the third really) in my family, and so although I could experience the excitement of being a part of the celebrations, I never felt the same ownership of them that my friends did. 

Pittsburgh, of course, went absolutely bonkers on all three occasions.  During college, I found myself in Spain and Switzerland, places in which people might have heard of Pittsburgh but they didn’t know a lot about the city.  My one sentence about Pittsburgh is usually that it used to be one of the most important cities to American industry, and now it’s one of the most important cities to American sports.  And I am absolutely convinced that Pittsburgh’s success past in present in the two distinct fields is derived from the pride and commitment of its people. 

There is also no city as crazy about its sports as Pittsburgh is.  When people ask me what there is to do in Pittsburgh, I tell them that for the Pittsburgh experience, they should come when one of the teams is in the playoffs, and go to bars and be amongst the people of Pittsburgh.  It’s a unique experience.  I remember during one of the Steelers’ playoff games, I saw pictures of the biggest shopping center in Pittsburgh.  There weren’t any cars in the middle of the day; it was completely empty.  There wasn't even anyone working.  Can you imagine that happening in New York or Los Angeles or Miami or Phoenix? 

The thing that many people, even Pittsburghers, don’t realize is that the city cares just as deeply about the Pirates.  For a couple of months this summer, the city had the festive atmosphere of a January weekend of playoff football.  PNC Park was full to overflowing every weekend in June and July.  People were talking about the Pirates downtown every day.  And baseball even took precedence over football for the first time in my life. 

I was at the Steelers’ preseason football game during the Pirates’ epic 19-inning thriller in St. Louis.  During the 17^th inning, in which both the Pirates and the Cardinals scored, I was clustered around a tiny monitor in an apparel stall without about 50 other people.  And the result of the game was announced on the loudspeaker after the Pirates won.  At that moment, I was absolutely convinced that the Pirates would win 82 games this year. 

It was too perfect.  Last year, they were playing over .500 baseball when That Call happened, and the Braves were gifted a (yes that’s right) 19-inning victory of the Pirates.  The Pirates win in 19 innings this year against division rivals and fellow playoff contenders St. Louis, and how could they not go on to at least break the streak?  And as I mentioned at the top, what team had ever been 16 games over .500 2/3rds of the way through the season and then not finished at .500 or better?  Oh right, none. 

What I’m building up to here is the idea that there couldn't be a more heartbreaking scenario for sports fans than what has happened to Pirates fans this year.  We live in a city that is absolutely sports-crazy and has one of the best football and hockey teams in the country.  You've been a Pirates fan all your life, and all you want is for them to play slightly above average baseball for a season because, well, you've never seen it.  And all of sudden, for two months in the summer, the Pirates couldn't stop winning.  They were in first place at the All-Star break! 

And then the team disintegrates.  The bullpen goes from being one of the best to one of the worst in the league.  The starting pitching can’t seem to get to the 5^th inning.  Your MVP-candidate All-Star loses 40 points off his batting average in a month and stops hitting home runs.  The defense can’t stop making errors.  It wasn't just the wheels coming off.  It was the wheels, the suspension, the engine, the doors, the mirrors, the windows, the axels, and even the sunroof all breaking at the same time. 

Fortunately, I moved to Chicago in early September, so I haven’t been subjected to the worst part of it.  I haven’t watched virtually every game, as I did through August.  And I haven’t been subjected to the ridicule of Steelers and Penguins fans who just know the Pirates are a joke and always will be.  And it’s not like the Steelers and Penguins fans don’t want  the Pirates to succeed; they do.  It’s just that at the end of the season, they can go back to the Steelers and the Penguins and forget about the Pirates.  But for those of us who are Pirates fans, we have no such luck. 

If the Pirates are lucky, the Steelers will be dreadful this year and the NHL lockout will result in the cancellation of a full season.  The Pirates will be back next year with a talented crop of young outfielders (Marte, McCutchen, Snider), and maybe they’ll sign a pitcher or two over the offseason. 

But if the Pirates are unlucky, the Steelers will make it to the Super Bowl, the Penguins will make a playoff run, and even if the Pirates are playing good baseball into July next year, the question remain: "Will anyone care?"  They might have broken our hearts just one time too many.  

Liverpool 3 - 0 Everton

Gerrard was back in his finest Liverpool from, netting three times as Liverpool gave one of their best performances of the season in the Merseyside derby.  The 3-0 scoreline may have been slightly flattering to the men in red, but Howard had made a number of key saves early to prevent Liverpool from taking the lead, and Liverpool fans may feel the score does indeed accurately reflect the run of play.

Gerrard's delicate chip (with his left foot, no less) over Howard and three Everton defenders for the first goal was sublime and brought back memories of the days when Gerrard was consistently named among the best players in Europe.  A combination of injuries has kept him from his best for over a year now, and it should be inspiring for his teammates to see him firing on all cylinders  again.

Both the second and third goals were created by Suarez.  The little Uruguayan unselfishly squaring the ball back to Gerrard in second-half stoppage time when most strikers would have taken on the shit themselves.  Whether he is shy of confidence or was helping Gerrard get the first Merseyside derby hat trick since the days of Ian Rush, we may never know, but Liverpool fans must be pleased with his performance either way.

In fact there were few Liverpool players who didn't have a good game.  Liverpool fans are likely coming away from the game extremely impressed with Martin Kelly, whose marauding runs down the right flank will be giving Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar nightmares for the next month.  Perhaps, however, they will be even more content with the combined performances of Carroll and Suarez.  For the first time since their arrival 14 months ago, the two looked as if they knew how to play with each other.  Howard made an excellent save with the score still tied to deny Suarez after he shot one-time from Carroll's knock-on.

Carroll had arguably his best game in a Liverpool shirt.  Beyond combining well with Suarez he looked comfortable on the ball.  His neat touches allowed Liverpool to get out of defense on a number of occasions and his presence in the Liverpool box on Everton set pieces should never be underestimated.  He ran hard without the ball as well, pressuring Everton defenders high up the pitch.

Carragher, Skrtel, and Reina had virtually perfect games.  Spearing seems to have recovered from some of his poorer performances this season and looked more assured with Gerrard by his side.  Downing and Enrique seem to have developed an excellent understanding and combined well down the left.

About the only player who didn't play well was Jordan Henderson.  He was absolutely dreadful against Sunderland on Saturday, and it was something of a surprise to see him out for the start instead of Maxi, Kuyt, or Bellamy.  His passing was substandard and although he's a willing runner, he just wasn't that involved in the play.  He's still young and he has time to grow and develop, but after the last week, he's the signing from the Dalglish era about whom I'm most skeptical.

Everton fans may have been frustrated that their side didn't appear to be the strongest one available to David Moyes.  Commentator Steve McManaman went on and on about how he couldn't believe that Moyes put out such and understrength lineup, but I didn't feel the lineup was that understrength.  The inclusion of Anichebe undoubtedly raised some eyebrows, but I felt the fact that this was even an issue was a real testament to the strength of depth on the Everton roster.  Jagielka and Distin played at center back, which meant Heitinga was excluded.  Seamus Coleman played instead of Leon Osman or Royston Drenthe.  And Anichebe played instead of Cahill or Jelevic.  Of those, only Coleman and Anichebe seem odd selections, and Coleman has been a regular performer for Everton this year.

Both teams will be looking forward to weekend FA Cup quarterfinal fixtures.  Liverpool take on Stoke and Everton host Sunderland.  Both should be cracking fixtures.  Hopefully this result helps Liverpool recover from the blip in form that had resulted in them losing three league games in a row.

Man of the Match: Steven Gerrard.  It's a rather easy contest when all three goals of the match are scored by the same player.  Carroll and Suarez could both have been contenders had the goals been distributed differently, but Gerrard it is.  Welcome back.  Now go grab some more goals, Stevie.

I didn't mention the referee - the best possible compliment that can be paid.  Well done, Phil Dowd.

MLS First Kick, Part Two: Portland 3 - 1 Philadelphia

ESPN revealed why it is the supreme network for football coverage this evening.  Apparently the enormous dearth of commentating talent has resulted in the two worst football commentators known to man being the two color commentators for Major League Soccer's nationally televised games this year.  After I had the displeasure of listening to the insipid comments of Kyle Martino yesterday, I was quite horrified by the prospect of listening to Taylor Twellman during this evening's game.  If anyone can give Martino a run in the World's Worst Football Commentator (WWFC) competition, it's Twellman.  

But the guys in the studio for ESPN were good as usual.  Alexi Lalas's comments are usually insightful and frequently provocative, and this year, ESPN has added Kasey Keller to the crew.  While it felt mildly like he was shouting his insights at the viewers, what he did have to say was worthwhile, and when Lalas offered a particularly negative comment about expansion team Montreal Impact's prospects for this season, Keller was there to offer a little encouragement to their supporters.  

The play-by-play commentator turned out to be none other than every Barca fan's favorite, Adrian Healey, who so consistently waxes poetic about Barcelona that I'm convinced he must have fallen in love there.  He makes me look unbiased when talking about FC Barcelona, not that I'm complaining about his predilections, though.  Needless to say, I've never had an issue with his commentary, and he was in typically eloquent form tonight, making alliteration at will ("pandemonium in Portland") and offering statements that enhanced my enjoyment of the game - something unusual in most sports commentary at the moment.  

What really set ESPN apart however, was the way they must have coached Twellman to just shut up and let Healey do his thing.  Healey's used to commentating on Spanish Primera games for which he's the only commentator, so he doesn't really require a color commentator.  I found tonight that for long periods, I had forgotten that Twellman was even in the booth with him.  Who knows, maybe Twellman just had bowel troubles and was constantly off in the restroom.  Whatever it was, it worked.  Twellman's comments were usually on the worthless side (he went on about Tweeting and e-mailing rather too much), but he did once or twice offer some insight into tactics and movement on the field.  Mostly, though, he allowed Healey to run the show and offered color commentary at down points in the match.  

The game itself was a rather odd affair.  After a first half that could have been an advertisement for the Premier League (30 seconds of the first half followed by a voice-over saying: "You want to watch that?"), the second half turned out to be a thrilling encounter.  Philadelphia got on the board first after a great ball was whipped into the box from a free-kick.  It was officially scored as own goal, which seems at bit harsh, as the shot was on target before a minimal deflection off a Portland player.  

The Union goal seemed to fire up the Timbers, though, and the one- and two-touch passing that coach John Spencer has implemented in Portland started working to great effect.  The pace of Kalif Alhassan, Jorge Perlaza, Diego Chara, and the overlapping fullbacks, and the solid passing of Captain Jack Jewsbury and Eric Alexander really looked like it would pay dividends.  It would be an error from the young Philadelphia goalie, however, that would get Portland back into the game.  A simple header from Andrew Jean-Baptiste (also credited with the own goal) should have been saved by 20-year-old Zac MacMath, but the ball squirted under his arms and into the side netting.  

From that point on, the Timbers didn't look back.  It was Alhassan who created the second - his cross was met by Scotland's finest, Kris Boyd, who headed home on his MLS debut.  It was arguably the best goal of the night, and fully merited by the great play from Portland. 

Portland's third goal also came from Alhassan.  A quick free kick from Jewsbury short down the right flank left Alhassan short, but he took a quick touch around the defender and sent in a lovely chip that he was most likely intended as a cross, but some somehow sailed over the helpless MacMath and into the side netting.  It was a delicate finish, the kind Lionel Messi has been making look commonplace in the last week.  Whether Alhassan meant it or it was a happy accident, it made for beautiful viewing.  

Portland could well be a force to be reckoned with this season.  I have rarely seen an MLS team play one- and two-touch football of the caliber Portland played in the second half.  They really looked like they could have been competing in the English League Championship, or perhaps one of the lesser European leagues (Belgium, Switzerland, maybe the Eredivisie).  

My enthusiasm for Portland's play may well have been influenced by the absolutely marvelous atmosphere inside the stadium.  I don't think there was a minute of the entire match where the fans weren't singing or chanting.  It was veritable pandemonium when Portland scored - flags waving, green smoke bombs turning the entire stadium into that deep green of the Pacific Northwest, fans jumping up and down.  It made me want to hop on a plane to Portland to be sure I could catch the next Timbers game.  

Overall, this was a far better advertisement for American soccer than yesterday's fixture.  Better commentary; better atmosphere; better game.  Who cares that the game didn't feature Thierry Henry?  It featured Kris Boyd, and I'm betting Boyd scores more than Henry this year anyway.  Tonight was the real beginning of MLS season.  A great fixture to mark the start of what we all hope will be a great year.  To MLS!

MLS First Kick 2012 Review

Having only watched 1.5 football matches through the middle of Sunday, I decided I'd take in the first match of the MLS season this afternoon.  Well, at least that's what I thought MLS First Kick would be.  As it turns out, the first matches of the MLS season were yesterday.  Matches?  Yes, there were five of them played yesterday.  And how many of them were televised in the US?  None.  That's right.  The first match of the new season wasn't on television in this country.  Nor was the second, or the third, fourth, or fifth.

Can you imagine if on opening day of baseball season there were no games on television?  Or what if on the first week of NFL season you had to wait until Monday night to watch any football?  There would be public outcry!  People would be irate at the cable companies and the league for not providing access to these events.  But instead, Sunday afternoon rolled around and NBC Sports (my vitriol about them is coming shortly) proceeds to act as if they are broadcasting the first game of the season and talking about what an historic moment this is because it's the first time the MLS is being shown on NBC Sports, a television station which didn't exist at the end of the last MLS season.  Really, it was your first broadcast?  No shit.  

Smartly, NBC Sports decided they wanted to hire experienced commentators.  There had been a lot of complaints about Fox Soccer Channel's MLS coverage over the past few seasons, and going out and getting experienced commentators would fix most of the problem, right?  Well, their first choice was a good one.  NBC Sports hired Arlo White, formerly the Seattle Sounders' play-by-play announcer to be their lead man for MLS telecasts.  I hadn't listened to Arlo White before, but he was excellent today, and I look forward to hearing him commentate on MLS games in the future.  

Of course, NBC Sports couldn't do everything right, could they?  Of course not.  Their second "experienced" commentator - the new color guy for MLS - is really just the OLD color guy for MLS.  Yes, NBC Sports hired everyone's least favorite commentator Kyle which-is-the-team-in-red Martino to be the color man.  I've already gone nuts about Kyle Martino's commentary before, and it looks like I'm going to be doing so regularly again.  Or at least I will until I've gotten so tired of the cacophony of idiocy jingling around in my mind that I decide only to watch the telecasts in Spanish.

As for the football (oh right, it's MLS, soccer), it wasn't that bad.  Henry and Lindpere looked like decent passers of the ball for the Red Bulls while Kenny Cooper was good up front when he came on, and Ricardo Villar, Blas Pérez, Fabian Castillo (until he went off injured), Brek Shea, and Carlos Rodríguez all looked good going forward for Dallas.  Having watched only elite football for the past couple of months, it was difficult not to get frustrated by those times when players simply failed to control the ball and it would roll out for a throw in, or when they would fail to deliver a basic cross while being unmarked.  

Nevertheless, the quality of MLS is higher than it was a decade ago.  I'd proclaim the Beckham Rule to be a success so far.  Players like Beckham, Henry, and Guillermo Barros-Schelotto (when he was playing) have certainly raised the level of play of their colleagues as well.  It was frustrating to watch Henry today, though, as every time his teammates didn't read his mind, he threw a little hissy fit on the field.  As someone not known for that type of behavior, it really must be an indication of just how poor the decision-making of some of the players in MLS is.  

One more gripe about MLS before I sit back and allow us to celebrate the beginning of the season.  I'll be watching the Columbus Crew twice this year. That's how many of their games are being televised.  The number for the LA Galaxy?  14.  This would be understandable if the difference in quality between the two were enormous.  In the Premier League, the best teams consistently play on Sunday afternoon, as both Manchester clubs did today.  But the Crew made the playoffs last year after finishing fourth in the eastern division.  They're a good team - better than the NY Red Bulls (who will be on national TV 15 teams).  And then the league wonders why the fan base is so small in Columbus, Kansas City (6), and Salt Lake City (4). It also makes it harder for these teams to sign players under the Beckham rule in the future because foreign stars are less likely to want to sign for a club they've never heard of.  They would be less likely to go to one of these three cities in the first place, so this television issue isn't causing the problem, but it is exacerbating it.  Here's the full TV schedule (I've omitted the games on Galavisión from my tabulations)  

So now, here's the MLS season - a relatively meaningless venture.  The league title doesn't mean anything.  It's all about the playoffs.  So we'll watch, hoping to be slightly above average for the next five months.  If we are, then we can start caring for real in October.  So here's to a season where I'll never be able to watch my team, want to be deaf after listening to the color commentator for three games, and doesn't mean anything anyway.  And the league wonders why people have a hard time getting excited about soccer in this country...

Language and Politics: Jezebel and The Kony Controversy

As an activist, you know you've made the big time when your material is covered on the front page of the New York Times.  And that was right where Invisible Children's latest viral video has gotten them.  For non-profits like Invisible Children, or the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights where I work, being on the front page of the New York Times is a dream.  Invisible Children already had a few million followers on Facebook, but the New York Times circulation just added another million people who were virtually incapable of missing the news.  In this age where everyone and his mother has started a non-profit, gaining this type of coverage allows an organization to transcend the cacophony of non-profits competing for scarce funding in a Darwinian world where only the fittest at adapting to contemporary media survive.

You'll notice that I didn't mention in that first paragraph that the press was relatively unflattering in its attitude towards the video put out by Invisible Children.  Why?  Because it doesn't matter.  There was coverage from virtually every major news outlet.  The WSJ here and here, The Atlantic here and here... and here and here, the Washington Post here, here, and some more places - well, you're getting the point.  It's been huge.  Having had a number of discussions about western aid campaigns in the developing world, I felt rather like I didn't much need to wade into this shitstorm (named best import from English in German last year).  But then I saw this, excerpted from the Jezebel coverage of Kony, "Fine, I thought, clicking on the video and wondering why the people who usually bombarded me with cat memes and status updates about getting high and eating McDonalds were suddenly fervent supporters of Ugandan children."

I'm not going to dispute the criticisms of the Kony campaign.  They are many, and some of the pages I've linked to in this article do an excellent job offering a very reasonable discussion of the campaign's shortcomings.    After laying into the feminist movement in my blog post from yesterday about its unfortunate exclusion of men I really didn't want to lambaste it again today, but this Jezebel article just got under my skin too much to be ignored.  I'll remind everyone that I'm an ardent feminist - though not as radical as many of my self-identified feminist friends, and that fortunately, very fortunately, Jezebel doesn't speak for the whole movement.  

My point yesterday was that the left so consistently fails at coalition building.  Too many opportunities to bring people into the fold are wasted by those who feel it's not worth their time to explain the complexities of a leftist point of view to those who have a proclivity to share their point of view but don't yet understand its nuances.  And this is exactly what the writers/editors at Jezebel have gone and done with respect to the Kony campaign.  Again, yes, there are problems.  Foreign Policy pointed them out reasonably in a way that most people wouldn't feel personally attacked by reading.  I don't get high, go to McDonald's, or post cat memes on Facebook, and I felt personally attacked.  Jezebel's stance: "If you don't find it ridiculous that people think posting a video on Facebook is doing something activist-y, then you're an idiot!"

What is the point in attacking people for ignorance?  Yes, people need to understand that posting the video isn't saving the world.  They need to understand that there are organizations far more worthy of their $10 contribution than Invisible Children.  They need to comprehend that Invisible Children works with the Ugandan military, which itself has a somewhat equivocal history when it comes to protecting Ugandan citizens.  But screaming at people who don't understand these things that they're stupid faux-activists isn't going to convince them that you're a reasonable person who supports causes in a more efficient manner.  Instead, you wind up looking mildly insane and completely antagonistic towards anyone who's "not smart enough" to see the world the way you do.  

There's an obvious counterargument that I'm sure someone reading this article will consider - that Jezebel isn't designed as a coalition-building site for feminists.  Rather, it is a cathartic forum for hard-core feminists who (rightly) feel marginalized by the world around them and want a safe place to vent their fury.  Such a place should exist, and the online world presents an excellent forum for people who don't have easy access to feminist circles.  Nevertheless, if that place is going to exist, it shouldn't exist as (arguably) the most visible feminist news source on the internet.  As (again, arguably) the most public face of the feminist movement, Jezebel must strive to be more palatable to those not yet acquainted with its perspective.  

I'll try and make my next post on language and politics not be about the feminist movement.  It has just so happened that two incidents in the last two days prompted me to write about its failure to broaden its base of support - a mean I think essential to its ability to achieve its goals.  If any of my readers have suggestions for topics related to language and politics, please let me know.