A Season, A Game

In summing up the year for the Pirates, I got to thinking that this whole year, can really be summed up in one game that was played this season. That game was played on a warm night in Atlanta at the end of July. Yes the 19 inning affair that the Pirates lost in extra innings. That game was part of a critical stretch for the Pirates has they were competing for first place, but were going to be playing a host of top teams. Trips to Atlanta, Philadelphia, and then a stretch with divisional foes with a west coast swing. It was going to be the challenge for the team, especially at the trade deadline.

A Neil Walker triple, a Pedro Alvarez single, and a Mike McKenry home run put the Bucs up 3-0 through 3 and they looked to continue their winning ways. Then in the bottom of the 3rd the Braves tied the score on Jeff Karstens and the Bucs with a couple of base hits. It would stay tied for the remaining 16 innings until another infamous play at the plate in Atlanta gave the Braves the win. The Pirates, seemingly out of gas after this marathon, started to see the wheels fall off the wagon. The downward spiral for the season started to take hold.

The game is like the season in that the Pirates were in the lead then saw all their hard work go for naught. It also had its share of heroes, like Daniel McCutchen pitching heroically in relief. Questionable calls by Hurdle, like not pitching Hanrahan in the game irked many Pirate followers. A strong performance from the bullpen and a cast of characters making up the offense, summed up what typified the season.

A couple days earlier Mike McKenry hit a home run to win a game against the Cubs at PNC Park. That might be the most memorable win of 2011, but the most memorable game has to be this one. It was this game that seemed to make me believe in the baseball Gods again. The Pirates of my youth were dashed away when Sid Bream slide across home plate in Atlanta on fall night of 1992. The dreams of this season seemingly did the same when Julio Lugo, according to Jerry Meals, missed the tag of McKenry.

Add to this one more irony of it all. The game lasted 19 innings. It has been 19 years and counting since that fall night in Atlanta with Sid. The game really seemed to be a coming together of fate, hopes, and dreams for anyone watching that game as a Pirate fan. Perhaps that is why it is still vivid to me and will more than likely be for so long from now.