Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

This can't be easy for Steel City fans to read, but ESPN's David Schoenfield nominates the Pirates to supplant the Clippers as the worst franchise in sports. Although, I don't think that's actually the case, he states a pretty convincing case by using the career paths of Chris Shelton and Sean Casey ...

"In 2001, the Pirates drafted an apparent nonprospect from Utah in the 33rd round. That year, he hit .305 for Williamsport. The next year, he hit .340 with 17 home runs in 93 games for Hickory. In 2003, he hit .359 with 21 home runs in 95 games for Lynchburg. The Pirates didn't protect him on their 40-man roster that offseason, and the Detroit Tigers drafted this nonprospect in the Rule 5 draft for $50,000.

Chris Shelton is hitting .479 with eight home runs in his red-hot April for the Tigers. Meanwhile, the Pirates traded for another first baseman this past offseason -- Sean Casey, who hit nine home runs in all of 2005 and has slugged more than .423 just once in the past four seasons. Casey is the Pirates' highest-paid player in 2006, making $7.5 million. Shelton is making $365,000."

That's just brutal. Schoenfield goes on to list other horrifying 21st century moves the Pirates have made, including the trades of Aramis Ramirez and Jason Schmidt for next to nothing. Just for fun, I'll throw some more gas on the fire ... In 2000 they drafted a 6'10" pitcher from Princeton named Chris Young in the 3rd round. Two years later they traded him for nobody reliever Matt Herges. Now Young is 17-9 lifetime and stands atop San Diego's rotation with Jake Peavy.

It's a shame really, because, as, I said upon my visit there in '03, PNC Park is a great place to watch a game. Too bad their team is such a disgrace.

Related: While we're on the Chris Shelton tip, Gheorghe says he looks like Sloth from Goonies (link via Deadspin). I can kinda see that, but I'm much more in line with Wizznutzz, who reveal on their outstanding Separated at Birth page that the real Sloth of sports is none other than Popeye Jones ...

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• #4 Comment from dcsportsguyEntry Author 
  4/21/06 9:34 AM | Permalink

  Antonio Daniels is still on Wizznutzz' Separated at Birth page... with the Brown Hornet!
• #3 Comment from rebelk9 
  4/20/06 9:51 AM | Permalink

  For some reason my favorite separated at birth is missing from the page. What ever happened to Antonio Daniels and his alter ego the Green Hornet?
• #2 Comment from monponsett 
  4/19/06 4:23 PM | Permalink

  Pittsburgh gets none of my sympathy. They won the Super Bowl.
• #1 Comment from robhwjr 
  4/19/06 4:18 PM | Permalink

  Arrrgh! Heave to and prepare to suck!"
  
  http://journals.aol.com/buzzlineeditor/THEBoBTheBlogofBuzzline/