The Pirate Ship -- Pittsburgh Pirates Blog

Monday's 9-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds won't do much in a 162-game season that was likely doomed from the start. However, it gives the Bucs their 7th win on the road in 10 tries. Ten more victories away from PNC Park will give them seventeen. That is how many they had through all 162 games last season.

But lets get serious. The Pirates have now won their first three road series of the season. The last time the Pirates did that was in 2002. In fact, in 2010, they only won FOUR all season long.

So, what were things like in 2002?

• The Pirates franchise had been under .500 for the last nine seasons.
• The manager was Lloyd McClendon, the General Manager was Dave Littlefield, and the team was owned by Kevin McClatchy.
• Only one player, Joe Beimel, was on both the 2002 team and the 2011 team.
• Bronson Arroyo, Brian Giles, Jason Kendall, and Aramis Ramirez put on the black & gold every day.

What have things been like since 2002?

• The Pirates have an overall record of (535-759) since 2002 (two seasons were 161 games).
• They haven't finished above 4th in the division and have finished dead-last 5 times.
• Clint Hurdle is their 5th manager in that span.

Is it a bit early to get excited? Certainly. But with a team had seventeen road wins last year, this is a great improvement. It's the little things that lead to success.

Lastly, does anybody remember what my pre-season prediction was for the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates? 72 wins.

How many wins did the 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates have? 72.