PITTSBURGH PIRATES
匹兹堡海盗队
Length of streak:
15 straight losing seasons
胜率未达五成的时间：
连续十五个球季
Last winning season: 96-66, 1992
最近一次胜率超过五成的球季：
96胜66败 1992年
General managers:
GMs
Cam Bonifay 1993-2001
Dave Littlefield 2001-07
Neal Huntington 2008-
Five bad moves
五个不对的决策
1. Keeping Andy Van Slyke instead of Barry Bonds.
Van Slyke was wildly popular with the fans, he
wasn't half the diva that Bonds was, and his asking
price was much lower. But when Pittsburgh chose to
keep Van Slyke after the team's stretch of three
straight division titles (1990-1992), it ranked as
one of the worst decisions in baseball history. The
Pirates haven't had a winning season since.
1. 选择留下Andy Van Slyke，而非留下Barry Bonds
Van Slyke在过去的日子里，受到广大球迷们的喜爱。 他也
不像棒子爷那么坚持要当球队里的老大，而且他所要求的价
码比棒子爷低很多。 但是当海盗队在他们连续三年赢得分区
冠军后，选择留下Van Slyke的这个决定，在棒球历史上是最
糟糕决策的其中之一。 海盗自从那个决策以后，至今仍未达
到球季五成胜率。
2. Sticking with Cam Bonifay for too long as GM.
Bonifay took the reins in 1993, inheriting a suddenly
talent-starved team that had just lost the future all-
time home run king. But in his eight years as general
manager, Bonifay got stuck in the mud and never dug
himself out. Failing to rebuild the farm system, the
Pirates tried to compensate by dishing out big contracts
to mediocre players (Mike Benjamin! Pat Meares!! Kevin
Young!!!) and gigantic contracts to players a step above
mediocrity. The six-year, $60 million contract he gave
Jason Kendall remains one of the worst deals of an entire
generation.
2. 坚持让Cam Bonifay 当GM太长的时间了。
Bonifay接手管理球队是从1993开始的，接手了一支突然间变成缺
乏天分的球队，而且这支球队才刚失去了在未来可能是大联盟全垒
打王的球员。 但是在Bonifay管理球队的这八年来，他就像卡在一
滩沼泽里，而且从来就没有试着转换自己的处境。 海盗队借由向平
凡球员(Mike Benjamin! Pat Meares!! Kevin Young!!!)和好一点的
球员送出大张合约来补偿在重建农场方面的失败。 Bonifay给 Jason
Kendall一张六年60M的合约仍然是最糟糕的买卖之一。
3. Sticking with Dave Littlefield for too long as GM.
His trade record was a mixed bag, with some successful
moves (acquiring Jason Bay from the Padres, albeit only
after San Diego refused to give up Xavier Nady) balanced
by a few stinkers (tossing future All-Star pitcher Chris
Young overboard for Matt Herges). His greatest downfall
was his woeful drafting and development record: The team
exited the Littlefield era with a farm system in no better
shape than it had been 6½ years earlier, despite owning
top-10 draft picks every year.
3. 坚持让Dave Littlefield当GM太长的时间了。
他的交易纪录是混杂难以评论好坏了，如：从教士队获得Jason Bay，
即使在他们拒绝放弃Xavier Nady，这些成功平衡了不少的错误，
如：将未来明星投手Chris Young丢出海盗船外以便于获Matt Herges。
他最糟糕的方面是在他悽惨的选秀和球员发展的培育上。 海盗队离开
了Littlefield世纪后，农场的动物们并没有比六年半前好，虽然每年
都获得前十选秀的顺位。
4. Drafting Bryan Bullington No. 1 overall in 2002.
Littlefield's draft record was best exemplified by
taking Bullington, a college pitcher projected more
as a safe, back-of-the-rotation starter than an ace,
over the consensus top talent, B.J. Upton (who went No. 2
to the Devil Rays). Other first-rounders Littlefield passed
up that year: Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida,
Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, James Loney, \
Jeff Francoeur and Matt Cain.
4. 在2002年第一选秀顺位上选了Bryan Bullington
选了Bryan Bullington就是Littlefield错误选秀的最好例子。
Bryan Bullington，一个被高估比一般Ace还好，可以当做先发轮值
之一的投手，他的天分是被高估和B.J. Upton一样的(当年被魔鬼鱼
以第二顺位挑走)。 当年第一轮Littlefield没挑被别队挑走的有，
Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida, Scott Kazmir,
Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, James Loney, Jeff Francoeur and Matt Cain.
译者：Bryan Bullington大联盟的成绩，Littlefield的选秀大概就只能哭哭崩溃
W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO
Career 0 3 5.89 6 3 18.1 25 13 12 3 6 8
5. Selling the franchise to Kevin McClatchy.
In a sense, it's hard to call the McClatchy Era
a bad move. A team can pick its players, coaches,
manager, GM, scouts and other personnel. But it can't
pick the people who run the whole show, and therein
lies the problem for many teams, especially the Pirates.
The head of a publishing empire, McClatchy headed a group
of owners who did everything on the cheap from 1996 to
2007, even after a beautiful, new, taxpayer-funded stadium
landed in their laps. Everything from choosing signability
over talent in the draft to sticking with the team's
ineffectual GMs too long can be blamed on hapless ownership.
5. 将球队经营权卖给Kevin McClatchy
一般来说，很难the McClatchy Era称为一个不对的决策。 一支球队
可以挑球员、教练，总教头，GM，球探，及其他的人事布局。
但是他们不能挑选负责这整个球赛转播人员，这个问题也同时存在
于不少球队中，特别是海盗队。 身为球队公开的所有者，从1996到
2007年以来，McClatchy指挥了一个做什么事都是为了省钱的管理
团队，甚至在一座漂亮全新，由赋税人建立的球场已经在他们的管理之下。
任何事从在选秀会选了高估的球员到坚持长时间让没有效率的GM管理球队，
都可以归罪于球队的所有者。
球队最低潮的时候：
在2001年球季的第二天到最后一天面对小熊队，海盗队因为
13-2的结果受到打击，也是他们第一百场落败的球季。
这也是十六年来第一次海盗队输了一百场的比赛。
Favorite whipping boys:
Derek Bell, Kevin Young, Pat Meares, Mike Benjamin,
Lloyd McClendon, Jim Tracy, Cam Bonifay,
Dave Littlefield, Kevin McClatchy.
最该打的小孩们：
Derek Bell, Kevin Young, Pat Meares, Mike Benjamin,
Lloyd McClendon, Jim Tracy, Cam Bonifay,
Dave Littlefield, Kevin McClatchy.
Notable quotable:
"Nobody told me I was in competition. If there is
competition, somebody better let me know. If there
is competition, they better eliminate me out of the
race and go ahead and do what they're going to do
with me. I ain't never hit in spring training, and
I never will. If it ain't settled with me out there,
then they can trade me. I ain't going out there to
hurt myself in spring training battling for a job.
If it is [a competition], then I'm going into
'Operation Shutdown.'"