Last Friday, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the quiet part out loud: "I think we are at a moment in time that progress should not be measured entirely by wins and losses."
Good thing, because the Pirates still have a real chance to post their most losses since 1952. They dropped 112 games that year. The most since then was 105 under the great John Russell in 2010.
This year's crew is on pace for 101 and faces a brutal schedule, including 21 of the next 25 against teams in playoff position. With 38 games left, the Pirates would have to go 9-29 to outdo Russell and reach 106 losses. That's a .237 winning percentage. I think they're up to it.
