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Sep 7, 2009 9:35 pm US/Eastern
Pirates's 4-2 Loss To Cubs Sets Record
Loss Clinches 17th Straight Losing Season
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) ―
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 4-2 to the Chicaco Cubs at PNC Park on Monday. With the loss, the Pirates now have the distinction of having the longest streak of losing seasons in four major American professional sports leagues at 17.
No team in any of the four major American pro team sports - MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL - has had 17 consecutive losing seasons.
Andy LaRoche hit his eighth homer in the third and Brandon Moss doubled in a run in the fifth, but it couldn't prevent the Pirates from being mathematically eliminated in the NL Central race the Cardinals have controlled for a month.
Derrek Lee went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI for the Cubs. His two-run homer in the fifth inning put the Cubs ahead for good.
Daniel McCutchen threw seven innings allowing nine hits and four runs while walking two and striking out five in the losing effort.
McCutchen (0-1) gave up nine hit .36 ERA in six games.
With their 10th loss in 11 games, the Pirates will finish below .500, just as they have every season since 1993.
"I'm 24 and I've been a Pirates fan since the early '90s. My earliest memories were of (Barry) Bonds, (Bobby) Bonilla and (Andy) Van Slyke," Pirates rookie and Pittsburgh-area native Neil Walker said.
"This was the top for me growing up as a fan. I feel very fortunate and very honored and very blessed to be here.
"For me, I feel it's a little more than that. I really want to help this team get on the right track and play winning baseball," he added.
Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm is looking to the future.
"It is going to be here until we prove everybody wrong," he said. "I think we have a lot more talent now. We're going to learn and have fun. We're going to win at the big league level."
Pirates manager John Russell says the team is rebuilding.
"I think everything we've done to this point has shown that we're headed in the right direction," he said. "Unfortunately we can't do anything about the 17 years so we've got to come out tomorrow and prepare to play Chicago and finish out the year."
Pirates GM Neal Huntington says he believes with the changes they're making, the team will turn around.
"I think the biggest thing for us – the changes began in 2007. Bob Nutting became the principle owner and he brought Frank (Coonelly) aboard, he brought myself on board," Huntington said.
"In our minds, the process is very different and the results are going to be very different and while it's been 17 years, there's been a few changes – we believe the system's never been stronger, we believe the future is as bright as it's been in a long, long time here in Pittsburgh based on the talent coming in our system, the vision, the people that we have here, the infrastructure in place and the commitments of everybody going forward," he added.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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