2008 Pittsburgh Pirates | ||
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League | National League | |
Division | Central | |
Ballpark | PNC Park | |
City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [1] | |
Record | 67–95 (.414) | |
Divisional place | 6th | |
Owners | Robert Nutting | |
General managers | Neal Huntington | |
Managers | John Russell | |
Television | FSN Pittsburgh | |
Radio | WPGB-FM (Steve Blass, Greg Brown, Lanny Frattare, Bob Walk, John Wehner) | |
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The 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 127th season of the franchise; the 122nd in the National League. This was their eighth season at PNC Park. It was the first under new president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington, and manager John Russell. Unable to improve on their 68–94, last place finish during the 2007 season, the Pirates had not had a winning record or made it to the playoffs since 1992, and finished 67–95 for their 16th straight losing season. The season was the final of play-by-play announcer Lanny Frattare, whose 33-year tenure as Pirates' broadcaster was the longest in franchise history. [2] [3]
On November 5, 2007, John Russell was introduced as the Pirates manager, replacing Jim Tracy. [4] Team management cited three areas that the franchise hoped to improve: "refocused emphasis on fundamentals", holding players to a higher standard, and signing younger players. [5] The Pirates won their season opener against the Atlanta Braves, by the score of 12–11, in 12 innings. [6] The Pirates played their home opener against the division-rival Chicago Cubs on April 7, losing 10–8, also in 12 innings. [7] The Pirates started out the season with a 7–7 record after the first half-month; however, after a five-game losing streak they began to struggle, finishing out April with an 11–16 record. The Pirates losing continued as they dropped three of four to the Washington Nationals to begin May. The team fought back, winning six straight games—the most consecutive since 2004, [8] to bring their record within one victory of a .500 record. Throughout the remainder of May the team struggled, but never fell more than four games under .500. Throughout the early months of the season closer Matt Capps was perfect, getting saves in 15 consecutive opportunities. However, on June 10, Capps gave up a two-run home run to the Nationals, losing his first decision of the season. [9] In addition, Capps would blow saves in two of his next three appearances; however, he achieved his first win of the season after an extra-inning victory over the Baltimore Orioles. [10]
Pittsburgh went 6–9 in interleague play, [11] including two wins against the New York Yankees who returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since the 1960 World Series. [12] On July 12, in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pirates came back to win a game that they trailed by six runs in the seventh inning. It was only the second time in the past 25 years that the Pirates won at home after scoring runs in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and extra innings. [13] The Pirates finished out the remainder of July with a 6–9 record—50–58 overall. On the final day of July, the Pirates made a deal with the Yankees to send outfielder Xavier Nady and pitcher Dámaso Marte in return for Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and José Tábata. [14] Later in the day the team became involved in a three-team deal in which the Pirates sent Jason Bay to the Boston Red Sox in return for four players from the Los Angeles Dodgers. [15] The Pirates won seven of the first 18 games in August before dropping ten consecutive games to close out the month. Pittsburgh entered the final month of the season 21 games below the .500 mark. On September 7, the Pirates lost their 82nd game of the season, tying them with the Philadelphia Phillies as the only two franchises in professional sports history to have losing records in 16 consecutive seasons. [16] [17] The Pirates concluded their season on September 28 with a victory against the San Diego Padres. [18] The team became the second in the Pirates' 122-year history to have no pitchers to win 10 games. [19] The performance of the pitchers lead the team to fire pitching coach Jeff Andrews after the season. [20]
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Chicago Cubs | 97 | 64 | .602 | — | 55–26 | 42–38 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 7½ | 49–32 | 41–40 |
Houston Astros | 86 | 75 | .534 | 11 | 47–33 | 39–42 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 11½ | 46–35 | 40–41 |
Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 88 | .457 | 23½ | 43–38 | 31–50 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 67 | 95 | .414 | 30½ | 39–42 | 28–53 |
2008 Game Log (67–95) [21] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April (10–16)
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May (15–13)
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June (12–15)
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July (12–14)
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August (7–21)
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September (10–16)
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Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Pirates team member |
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Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
Arizona | – | 3–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 15–3 | 2–7 | 4–2 | 8–10 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 6–9 |
Atlanta | 5–3 | – | 0–6 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 2–5 | 6–12 | 8–7 |
Chicago | 4–2 | 6–0 | – | 8–7 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 8–9 | 5–2 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 14–4 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 9–6 | 3–3 | 6–9 |
Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–8 | – | 1–5 | 6–2 | 3–12 | 1–7 | 10–8 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 6–9 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 5–10 | 4–3 | 9–6 |
Colorado | 3–15 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | – | 5–3 | 3–3 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 3–6 | 0–5 | 5–2 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 7–8 |
Florida | 7–2 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 3–5 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 5–1 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 14–3 | 5–10 |
Houston | 2–4 | 3–3 | 9–8 | 12–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | – | 4–3 | 7–8 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 8–8 | 3–3 | 7–1 | 7–8 | 4–2 | 7–11 |
Los Angeles | 10–8 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 7–1 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–4 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 5–10 |
Milwaukee | 5–2 | 6–3 | 7–9 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 8–7 | 2–4 | – | 2–4 | 1–5 | 14–1 | 4–3 | 6–0 | 10–5 | 6–2 | 7–8 |
New York | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 6–3 | 10–8 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | – | 11–7 | 4–3 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 12–6 | 9–6 |
Philadelphia | 4–3 | 14–4 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 5–0 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 4–4 | 5–1 | 7–11 | – | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 12–6 | 4–11 |
Pittsburgh | 3–4 | 5–2 | 4–14 | 9–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 8–8 | 2–5 | 1–14 | 3–4 | 2–4 | – | 3–4 | 4–2 | 10–7 | 3–4 | 6–9 |
San Diego | 8–10 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–3 | – | 5–13 | 1–6 | 5–1 | 3–15 |
San Francisco | 7–11 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 7–11 | 3–3 | 1–7 | 9–9 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 13–5 | – | 4–3 | 7–0 | 6–12 |
St. Louis | 4–3 | 5–2 | 6–9 | 10–5 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 8–7 | 4–2 | 5–10 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 7–10 | 6–1 | 3–4 | – | 5–1 | 7–8 |
Washington | 2–4 | 12–6 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–14 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–6 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–5 | – | 8–10 |
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Opening Day Starters | |
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Name | Position |
Nate McLouth | CF |
Freddy Sanchez | 2B |
Jason Bay | LF |
Adam LaRoche | 1B |
Xavier Nady | RF |
Ryan Doumit | C |
José Bautista | 3B |
Jack Wilson | SS |
Ian Snell | SP |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
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(October 29, 2007 – March 24, 2008)
(March 25, 2008 – October 29, 2008)
Rd | # | Player | Pos | DOB and Age | School |
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1 | 2 | Pedro Álvarez | 3B | February 6, 1987 (aged 21) | Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee) |
2 | 48 | Tanner Scheppers | RHP | January 17, 1987 (aged 21) | California State University, Fresno (Fresno, California) |
3 | 79 | Jordy Mercer | SS | August 27, 1986 (aged 21) | Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, Oklahoma) |
4 | 114 | Chase d'Arnaud | SS | January 21, 1987 (aged 21) | Pepperdine University (Malibu, California) |
5 | 144 | Justin Wilson | LHP | August 18, 1987 (aged 20) | California State University, Fresno (Fresno, California) |
6 | 174 | Robbie Grossman | OF | September 16, 1989 (aged 18) | Cy-Fair High School (Cypress, Texas) |
7 | 204 | Benji Gonzalez | SS | January 16, 1990 (aged 18) | Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School (Gurabo, PR) |
8 | 234 | Jeremy Farrell | 3B | November 11, 1986 (aged 21) | University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia) |
9 | 264 | Matt Hague | 3B | August 20, 1985 (aged 22) | Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, Oklahoma) |
10 | 294 | Drew Gagnon | RHP | June 26, 1990 (aged 17) | Liberty High School (Brentwood, California) |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: VSL Pirates
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Christopher James Jakubauskas is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles.
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The 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 129th season of the franchise; the 124th in the National League. This was their tenth season at PNC Park. The 2010 season was the Pirates' MLB-record 18th consecutive losing season.. The Pirates finished sixth and last in the National League Central with a record of 57–105, their worst record since 1952.
The 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 125th season as a member of the National League and 130th season overall. This was their 11th season at PNC Park. The season was the first with manager Clint Hurdle, who was hired to replace the fired John Russell. After going a major league worst 57–105, they enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence, winning more than 70 games for the first time since 2004 and being covered significantly in the summer due to being involved in the pennant race, but they still locked up their 19th consecutive losing season.
The 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the franchise's 126th season as a member of the National League, their 131st season overall, and their 12th season at PNC Park. Despite being 67–54 on August 19, the Pirates finished the season 79–83. This set a record for the longest losing season streak in all of North American professional sports history at 20.
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