FEB

14

Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh

Things to watch for in 2008 is, well, FanHouse's attempt to keep track of what's worth keeping your eye on as we roll into the 2008 season, be it good, bad, or ugly.

All across Arizona and Florida this week, pitchers and catchers are reporting to camps and kicking off the 2008 baseball season. They've all got goals in mind for the coming season, but one squad faces a more daunting task than any other. While the Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka worry about defending their crown against the rest of baseball, Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have to work to topple a much more history: their goal is to keep the Pittsburgh Pirates from being the worst franchise in the history of sports.

From 1933 to 1948, the Philadelphia Phillies lost. They lost so much that they changed their name to the Blue Jays in 1943 out of embarrassment (and changed back to the Phillies in 1945 out of even more embarrassment ... and I'm not kidding). They didn't have a winning season at all in that span and it's a record that's stood for 60 years. It's in serious trouble this year, though as the Pirates have been losing since 1993 and in an attempt to break their fifteen year losing streak one year short of the record ... are trotting out almost the exact same team that went 68-94 last year.

Read the full post at AOL Fanhouse

• ArmchairGM Dead Soxy: 2008 Spring Training Edition Feb 19
• Bugs and Cranks Your Team Ain't S#!t #1: The Pirates Feb 19
• Sporting News Beckett looks to repeat winning performances for Red Sox Feb 17
• With Leather POWER RANKINGS: BOLEYNS AND BIKINIS Feb 16
• Yardbarker Josh Beckett and HGH? Nope, try F-A-T Feb 15
• Sports By Brooks Blog-O-Rama: Josh Beckett Packs On The Pounds Feb 15
• Deadspin Josh Beckett Doesn't Appear To Have Been Taking Steroids In The Offseason [Josh Beckett] Feb 15
• Awful Announcing Create The Caption #167 Feb 14