Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Team

It always has been easy for Derek Swafford to make choices in an instant, whether it's on a football field or a baseball diamond. A linebacker stands ready to pop him at the 35-yard-line. Cut left or head for the sidelines? Easy. He spins inside, bounces off the defender and lunges for two more yards. He crouches at the plate, waiting for his pitch. Should he look for a fastball or try the slider? Easy. Wait for the right fastball and nail it halfway to San Francisco.

Not too long ago, 2 years, in fact, the Pittsburgh Pirates were the sick men of baseball, an embarrassment to the game, the laughingstock of the National League. "What has 18 legs, is yellow and black and lives in a cellar?" They lost 202 games in 2 years. Nobody came to see the games. They bottomed out the league with their worst attendance in more than 30 years. The franchise was ripped by a drug scandal. Whatever could go wrong, did. They couldn't even sell the kielbasa.

Carmelo Martinez launched a fly ball to deep right field Friday night and, for a moment, Cincinnati's Glenn Braggs reacted the same way many others did in Riverfront Stadium. "My heart stopped," he said. With five steps and a leap that will be etched in Cincinnati history, the Reds' 6-foot-4 right fielder went back and made the catch that turned Martinez's potential two-run home run into nothing more than the second out of the ninth inning.

Otis Nixon wouldn't say it, but maybe he did anyway. Maybe his four hits, two runs and stolen base served as a reminder that Deion Sanders, his illustrious center-field backup with the Atlanta Braves remains only that, a backup. The Braves pushed the Pittsburgh Pirates to the brink of extinction in the National League playoffs Saturday night with a 6-4 victory for a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Randy Myers was the originator of the nickname. He thought it was appropriate that the Cincinnati Reds' bullpen be called "the Nasty Boys." Because of the volatile behavior of Rob Dibble and Norm Charlton, and his own loony act, they should be grouped together, particularly considering he was going to be the bullpen stopper. "I really wish everyone would forget about that label," Dibble said. "I got enough trouble living down my reputation. I think hitters hate us as it is.

In the ballpark of his youth, Jack Wilson returned home as a rookie growing up in the major leagues. Wilson, 23, from Thousand Oaks High and Oxnard College, has found a home with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who value his defensive abilities so much that the organization jumped him from double A to the major leagues. The improbable rise of Wilson, a ninth-round draft choice out of Oxnard College in 1998, hasn't been forgotten.

Today I have been thinking about endings. Not happy endings or unhappy endings, necessarily, but surprise endings, abrupt endings, unforgettable endings. You know. An ending like the Atlanta Braves have now given us, one that we will be able to recollect from here to eternity. Here was a plain old game of baseball that should have ended like a Technicolor movie, with "The End" on the screen in large, flowery script. Credits should have rolled.

Bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, Steve Finley at the plate for the Dodgers with the National League West title on the line. The date was Oct. 2, 2004, but if you think that was the most anxious moment of Jim Tracy's seven years in Los Angeles, think again. Two on, two out, top of the sixth, Chad Tracy stepping into the batter's box for Pepperdine last year to face UC Santa Barbara pitcher Brian Tracy. "It was not the most comfortable situation in the world," the former Dodgers manager said.

Shade to the hole against a right-handed hitter. Cheat toward the bag in a double-play situation. The art of playing shortstop is about being in the right place at the right time. It's the quick study of Jack Wilson that has transformed him from a junior college shortstop to the brink of the major leagues in less than four years. Wilson, 23, in his third full season of professional baseball, is in a major league camp for the first time.

Five new baseball parks have opened since 2000, including Miller Park in Milwaukee and PNC Park in Pittsburgh this season: MILLER PARK * Location: Downtown Milwaukee on Miller Park Way (formerly U.S. 41). * Dimensions: Left field 342; center field 400; right field 345. * Capacity: 43,000. * Cost: $399 million. * First game: April 6 vs. Cincinnati. * The lowdown: Miller Park is a convertible-roof stadium that replaces County Stadium, which opened in 1953.

Bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, Steve Finley at the plate for the Dodgers with the National League West title on the line. The date was Oct. 2, 2004, but if you think that was the most anxious moment of Jim Tracy's seven years in Los Angeles, think again. Two on, two out, top of the sixth, Chad Tracy stepping into the batter's box for Pepperdine last year to face UC Santa Barbara pitcher Brian Tracy. "It was not the most comfortable situation in the world," the former Dodgers manager said.

Again overcoming prospect limitations, the Dodgers moved to bolster their bullpen Tuesday in acquiring left-hander Terry Mulholland from the Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Mike Trombley from the Baltimore Orioles at minimal expense. The National League West leaders--outbid for pitchers Dave Weathers and Mike Williams--obtained the veteran relievers while keeping their top minor leaguers, achieving a two-pronged objective before the 1 p.m. PDT non-waiver trading deadline.

In the ballpark of his youth, Jack Wilson returned home as a rookie growing up in the major leagues. Wilson, 23, from Thousand Oaks High and Oxnard College, has found a home with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who value his defensive abilities so much that the organization jumped him from double A to the major leagues. The improbable rise of Wilson, a ninth-round draft choice out of Oxnard College in 1998, hasn't been forgotten.

If the memories are only of an image, why does it feel like such a loss? Willie Stargell, the big man who swung that huge baseball bat, never seemed taller than a few inches to me on my TV screen. He spent his entire Hall of Fame career in Pittsburgh, on the other side of the continent. And yet the first baseman was as much a part of my young days in L.A. as the sun and the beach.

Jack Wilson will start at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the season opener today at Cincinnati. Wilson, who played at Thousand Oaks High and Oxnard College, batted .260 in spring training. The Pirates moved former shortstop Pat Mears to second base and optioned Warren Morris to triple-A Nashville. Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in a July trade, Wilson was a career .314 hitter in the minors.

Five new baseball parks have opened since 2000, including Miller Park in Milwaukee and PNC Park in Pittsburgh this season: MILLER PARK * Location: Downtown Milwaukee on Miller Park Way (formerly U.S. 41). * Dimensions: Left field 342; center field 400; right field 345. * Capacity: 43,000. * Cost: $399 million. * First game: April 6 vs. Cincinnati. * The lowdown: Miller Park is a convertible-roof stadium that replaces County Stadium, which opened in 1953.

Shade to the hole against a right-handed hitter. Cheat toward the bag in a double-play situation. The art of playing shortstop is about being in the right place at the right time. It's the quick study of Jack Wilson that has transformed him from a junior college shortstop to the brink of the major leagues in less than four years. Wilson, 23, in his third full season of professional baseball, is in a major league camp for the first time.

Dodger Manager Davey Johnson will have company. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates fired their managers Monday in continuing a purge expected to leave many seeking work. Buck Showalter of the Diamondbacks, Jack McKeon of the Reds and Gene Lamont of the Pirates were among the first victims of increased payrolls and unfulfilled expectations, being ousted a day after the regular season ended.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates end their 30-year stay at Three Rivers Stadium on Sunday, the closing ceremonies will include digging up home plate and moving it across the parking lot to the new PNC Park. Other than the memories of some great teams and players, there isn't much else worth saving from this dinosaur of the 1970s' all-purpose stadium architecture.

The Pittsburgh Pirate clubhouse was packed several hours before the game with the San Diego Padres. Some of the young Bucs played cards. Others watched a video of the preceding game or ESPN. A few prepared for physical therapy or took early batting practice.