a plan to rescue one of the most mediocre teams in baseball history, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

My local paper (home of the Knicks ... we know losers when we see them) referenced three teams that were losers right out of the gate -- the Orioles, Pirates and Giants. We are talking 100 loss ballpark (natch) here. Much of the NL is "mediocre" ... these teams simply are bad.

They dream of mediocrity of the Toronto Blue Jays of the last few years -- a floating .500, third place hope for finish sort of deal, with the added excuse of dangerous division competition.

"Most mediocre" translates as bad. Like the Mets had a "most mediocre" finish last year. Or, to be blunt, horrible. Even there, the three aren't in equal company. The Orioles have some hope of a future. Greatness (playoffs etc.) was not as distant as the Pirates (Mussina, once of the playoff Orioles, is still pitching these days). The Giants was in the WS but a few years back, and can be seen in the last years of a downslide, with the added benefit of Bonds gone.

The Pirates just seem like cannon fodder. Expect the Mets to struggle in a bunch of 3-2 games with them. Just New York doing its part. They aren't playing each other in September, are they?*

-j

* Thanks for '99.