Magic: The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates and How To Save Baseball

Demand more from your local sports owner. Raise your voice. Chant. Be proactive. Because when it comes down to it, hating works.

An examination of the breakup of the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates, the hapless years to follow, and the inevitability of a 2027 MLB lockout based on sketchy financial practices around the league. Where do we go from here?

The first playoff game in Pittsburgh in 21 years is a dramatic showdown with the Cincinnati Reds. What's trembling harder: Johnny Cueto's hands or Francisco Liriano's stomach?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are somewhere they haven't been in decades. Their trade history when acting as sellers is checkered at best. What happens when they act as buyers?

Before Paul Skenes, there was Gerrit Cole. Meanwhile, Francisco Liriano is running through a glass door. Let's play Price is Right.

A flippant tarmac dismissal in 1972 causes ripple effects felt all the way in 2013. On Roberto Clemente's indelible legacy, hometown hero Neil Walker, and the Pittsburgh Sports Band.

The prophecy foretold of a savior. And for once, that savior wants to stick around and not be traded for a pack of beans. Andrew McCutchen is here to save the Pirates. It's time for Pittsburgh to reward his faith and do the unthinkable: try.

Sid Bream killed the Pittsburgh Pirates. What follows is a 20-year stretch of suffering unparalleled in the sports world, littered with terrible draft choices and horrendously corny music.

At least none of the Pirates rapped.

A lesson in baseball economics, the plight of the "Small Market" team, and how the Los Angeles Dodgers have broken the sport.

Major League Baseball has fully embraced the Tarps Off fan movement.

They didn't get the fairy tale ending. But the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates are the Cinderella story baseball needs right now.

While a traditionally docile sport looks for an injection of energy, its best crowd environment and most cinematic fan experience can be found in its most win-starved market.