The inning that will live in infamy

it doesn't really matter if Bonds' throw was a good one or not...you'd like to believe that your super star left fielder will be able to throw the lead-footed Syd Bream out at he plate with the entire season on the line.

you'd especially like to believe this after your super star left fielder had spent the better part of 3 post-seasons stinking the joint up at the plate.  you'd hope he could come up with a great play...not just an average or even above average one...when you needed it the most, in order to gun down such a lard-tush, especially with 3 years of sickening playoff losses (and, as it turns out...the last glimpse of winning baseball in this town for at least 17 years) hanging in the balance.

before making an out with a man on last night, Alex Rodriguez was tied for 2nd for most consecutive playoff at bats without a hit with men on base.  guess who he was tied with?  

Bonds does not deserve any credit for the throw.  who cares if it was a decent throw?  it failed.

and in the end, after everything he failed to do for the Pirates in 3 post-seasons...it was just not good enough.

the chancellor

Mr. Bob-

I'm going to have to ask you to please acknowledge the fact that Van Slyke told Bonds to move up and to the left during Cabrera's at-bat.  Such a move would've obviated the need for Bonds to throw across his body.

I'm not sure why you're ignoring this inconvenient fact.

(I'm ignoring nothing.  I don't know if what you say is true or not. Your link did not work for me. If it is true, how far did Van Slyke tell Bonds to move? Two steps or ten?   Even if it is true, why would Bonds have any reason to believe Van Slyke's knowledge of how to play Cabrera is any better than his.  Did Van Slyke have some inside knowledge on Cabrera? Where was the Pirates bench in terms of positioning the outfield? If they thought Bonds was playing in the wrong spot, they should have moved him.  -- Bob Smizik)

I blame Van Slyke for not catching Cabrera's hit in the air.  Who cares if he was nowhere near the play? He failed.

It doesn't really matter if it was physically possible or not...you'd like to believe that your above average center fielder could keep a scrub like Cabrera from getting a base hit.

Lind is the goat of that inning plain and simple! If he converts that routine grounder the Pirates are in the World Series. Spare me the talk about how great of a glove he had this is true, but he choked when it mattered most.

Wakefield should have been brought in to face Cabrera. I know he pitched the day before, the only chance he had was to catch up with a fastball and had no chance with off speed junk. A tired arm makes a knuckle ball even more effective and he had enough to face another batter with everything on the line and the off season around the corner.

Don't forget about Leyland playing the righty, lefty game and sitting a red hot Redus and Slaught after they hammered Brave pitching in the prvious two Games.

(The possibility of a wild pitch from Wakefield has to enter into the thinking here. -- Bob Smizik)

Bob,

Why would you rehash such a painful memory?  I was in 5th grade at the time and remember laying in bed crying as Bream crossed the plate.  The next day i had to face kids at school doing the tomahawk chop.  I punched at least 3 of them and got sent home from school.  My dad understood though

bjonson is right.  Pittsburgh sports writers should ban this topic from print/talk.  We've suffered enough.

I am still bitter with Jose Lind.  For years, the team put up with his crappy batting skills because of his glove, then when the team needed him the most, he failed.

btw check out his wikipedia page.  He has been arrested and convicted for cocaine.  He was part of the Mitchell report, implying that he used steroids.

I blame Bob Nutting........ yes, he hadn't come on the scene yet, but it is still his fault.  Just as the lead posioning in the bobble heads, the obesity rate due to the all you can eat seats, and the swine flu (haven't found that connection yet but I am sure there is one) are all due to him and his family.

Of course I am kidding........OR AM I?

You are correct Bob, but Wakefield was money and I still think Cabrera's only chance to make contact was a fastball groved down the middle which he got.

There was alot of blame to go around and the only thing we do know is that was the night that competetive and meaningfull baseball died in Pittsburgh.

Thanks for the details Bob.  My memory was Belinda starting the inning.  But nonetheless, if Lind makes the play he makes 99.9% of the time, Pendelton is on second with 1 out and steam is taken out of the Braves comeback.  He may still score but Cabrera never comes up to bat and the game is over.

For me, this one inning is the worst moment in Pittsburgh Sports in my life (I am 41) - worse than Neil O'Donnell's Super Bowl interception when they were driving down by 4 as heartbreaking as that was.  

There are many disheartening moments in Pittsburgh sports but the 1992 Pirate team was a great team and their failure (and it was not just Bonds and his consistently poor post-seasons - it's a team failure) to capitalize and win it all still breaks my heart.  I went to those games at Three Rivers, three years in a row.  1992 was their best shot.

(you should do a blog on worst moments in Pittsburgh sports if you haven't already. That would be nice and cheerful.)

To this day............to a CERTAINTY............ I am not sure Sid Bream was safe. Call it sour grapes but I've viewed the tape over and over and to me it's still a toss up call at home plate.

I always thought Leyland (though I'm not blaming the loss on him) should have went to Wakefield, as he had baffled the Braves the whole series.

I understand the passed ball thinking, but you have to go with the hot hand.

The tightened strike zone was a key factor, as I can still remember Spanky barking at Marsh behind the plate.

It just wasn't meant to be.

The toughest game of my life in Pittsburgh sports.....though I thought it might be surpassed when Larry Fitzgerald scored in the Super Bowl with a couple minutes left. Thanks to Ben & Company on that one.

It was the only game that drove me to tears when it concluded.

It was apparent that it was the end of the Pittsburgh Pirates as we knew them....I just hoped that I would never be so correct.

Superb recap, Bob.

A few things I'd touch upon:

- Indeed, the obese, grossly overweight McSherry passing out and departing the game played a large factor.  Belinda got squeezed out of TWO very good looking pitches that should be been strikes.  

- The sac fly by Gant was no "can o' corn".   This ball was caught by Bonds, oh, about a foot shy of the fence.    RIGHT THERE, I would have removed Belinda.   It was obvious that RH batters were seeing, and then pulling the tar out of, Belinda's fast ball.  

- Maybe others have, but I have never seen a good, reverse angle or "side angle" of the Cabrera GW hit.   Ever.   The only replay I have ever seen is from the CF camera showing Cabrera swing, and then a split second later a camera in the press box shows Bonds trotting forward to gather the ball.    That said, your account, Bob, is the very first I've seen to call this a "softly hit" ball.   It seemed like a line shot from the CF camera and from the way Cabrera was DRILLING foul balls down the 3B line in that at bat.  

- Having said that, the root problem didn't appear to be the THROW.  It was the SETUP for the throw, which, a good defensive OF'er, will tell you is more critical.   Bonds didn't appear to take the sharpest angle he could have (given the situation with the GW run on 2b) nor did he show extreme alacrity in getting to the ball.  

That said, this was, I believe, the single most heartbreaking Pittsburgh sports moment I have ever watched.   What probably factors into that were the 2 prior years of close NLCS's that we'd lost.  

(I thought Bonds play on getting to the ball and getting rid of it was as good as anyone could do. -- Bob Smizik)

Wow, it's like it happened again yesterday... My friends and I were at the Sports Garden at Station Square,watching the game on the big screen TVs and getting ready to celebrate a World Series appearance... Then to see Bream sliding past a diving Mike LaValliere. Disbelief, despair and somehow, the immediate feeling that we witnessed the end of an era (the rumors were strong that Drabek, Bonds, et al., were on their way out of town). Little did we know it was just the beginning of another (losing) era.

I think if we had a catcher that was in shape, I think he would have be quick enough to tag Bream's foot before it touched home plate.  In the end though, we're all just crying over spilled milk.  

To this day, I will not watch a replay of that play. I do agree with the post about Leyland overmanaging the lefty/righty match-ups in that series.

Lind on roids? Is that how he could launch those blasts to  shallow center?

Better franchise (Braves) won that day. Braves continued to win season after season after 1992 and the Pittsburgh franchise has dropped off the earth.

The link is from pages 66-67 of the book Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman By Steven Travers.  You can google those pages and the book, and it will come up on google books for you to read.  According to the book, Bonds acknowledges Andy telling him to move.  McClendon was perturbed in the dugout that Bonds was not moving, as well.  Why McClendon didn't start motioning to Barry, I don't know.

Your question is a little silly.  No outfielder would ever move 10 steps up or to the left.  Movement is at most a few steps one way or another.  Those few steps would've made a bunch of difference.

Next, Van Slyke's knowledge of how to play Cabrera was objectively better than his, at least for this particular play, since Van Slyke attempted to position Bonds right where Cabrera hit the ball.  There's a reason Leyland has Andy on his staff.  I seem to remember the announcers talking on Tuesday night about how Andy is positioning the Detroit outfielders after almost every pitch.

(Do you seriously believe Van Slyke knew where Cabrera was going to hit the ball?  As an outfielder, Bonds has to play where he thinks is best, not where Van Slyke thinks is best. If Van Slyke is positioning the Detroit outfielders today, it is the result of much study of hitting charts, something that was not in vogue in baseball in 1992, nor would anyone have had any kind of a book on Cabrera.  -- Bob Smizik)

Here's the video

mlb.mlb.com/.../video.jsp

Pause at 8 seconds into the video....Bonds has the ball and Bream is still 15 feet away from third base....not only was the throw weak and offline....it took Bonds too long to get it off.

This was one of the first Pittsburgh events I watched when I moved to NorCal in 1992....killer....but even worse was to come......the day the Giants signed Bonds and afterwards and I thought - they'll never win anything with this arrogant, selfish, prima donna as the ordained clubhouse leader and damn if Mr. Barcolounger didn't muck up another play in LF misplaying a ball in Game 6 of the 2002 Giants/Angels WS that opened the floodgates for the Angels comeback!

thanx Bob for ruining an otherwise nice day.  Next you can remind us about the Bob Moose wild pitch.  That may have even been more devastating.  The hated Reds.  Clemente's last game.  That could have been the best Pirate team of all time actually.  

steelva, when Gant hit that fly ball I got off my chair and went into the next room because I thought it was a game winning homerun. Knowing what we now know, I wish it did go out.

Still heartbreaking, it would have saved everyone the pain of getting beat with two outs and two strikes by a complete STIFF.

On watching that play again, it does seem bizarre that Bonds was playing so close to the line. The ball was hit so that with normal positioning he should be charging forward, not to the left.

When I was a kid, the heartbreaker I experienced was Bob Moose's wild pitch in the 1972 playoffs against the Reds. Of course, this play didn't kill the franchise - the Pirates were still a great team throughout the 70's.

In the end, the Bream play did not kill the Pirates either. If the Pirates had won, the Pirates may have won the World Series, but the rest of the story would remain the same.

Bonds and Drabek would have left. And 17 would be just held in contrast the last great Pirate win in the World Series.

Pirates history is filled with triumph and pain. We've got Maz's homer and we've got Bream's slide.

Thank God we've not been irrelevant for most of our illustrious history.

thanks for the chuckle, MattB.

but had the ball been hit to Van Slyke, i think Bream would have stood a much better chance of being out at he plate.

regardless, i remained a big Bonds fan.  still am, bloated head and all.  he was the best player i ever persoanlly saw play in person.

but he chocked in the playoffs, and he didn't make the throw when we needed him to, and those are facts.

LInd?  i cut him some slack, because as it turns out, we were lucky he was wearing pants in the 9th.

the chancellor

Bob, my question to you is, isn't the center fileder the captain of the outfield?  Also, Andy was one of the best if not the best defensive outfielders at that time.  Maybe if barry wasn't so stubborn he would have listened to the advice.  I do think it does not all fall on Bonds, obviously Chico was too blame for starting the rally.  As someone mentioned before though, we suffered through 3 post seasons of Bonds doing nothing, then having him not make the play that was needed to end the game, followed by him bolting town.  All of that leads to him being the consenus goat of that game.

(No, the center fielder is not the captain of the outfielders. I've never even heard of that term. Bonds has eight Gold Gloves, Van Slyke has five.  --  Bob Smizik)

Speaking of Lind...if I remember a few years back, I took a look at the players who had been in all 3 post season series, and I think he had the highest post season batting average on the team.  That pretty much sums up why the Buccos never made it to the world series.

Steel-

I have to disagree that Bonds was the Goat.  I don't think the Pirates should've ever been in a situation where they're needing to throw Bream out at the plate.  Simple as that.  A ton of stuff when haywire in that inning.

While I disagree with Bob that Bonds' play was the best you could expect in that situation.  I cannot blame him for the loss.  It was a "team" loss, from coaching to playing, IMHO.  And, while my coach always said "if you have to blame the umps for your loss, then you didn't do enough to win the game on your own", I still am irritated with whoever was behind the plate there.

AND, now it's coming back to me.  The original guy behind the plate got sick, and was replaced.  I can't remember what inning it was, though.

(Third inning, as I wrote. -- Bob Smizik)

I guess I should've read Bob's summary more closely . . . the ump was replaced in the 3d.

And, sadly, what's lost in all of this is how awesome Drabek was that night.

Bob-

1.  Empirically, Van Slyke at least had an inkling of where Cabrera was going to hit the ball, as he positioned (or tried to) Bonds right where he hit it.  If Bonds had moved, and Cabrera hit a screamer down the line, this conversation would be about Andy screwing it up.

2.  Hitting charts were in vogue all the way back when we used them in my American Legion team (hardly MLB) in 1996.  And, as a pitcher in college, beginning in 1997, I can tell you I spent every second of every inning that I was not on the mound doing ridiculously detailed charts on teams and players that we wouldn't possibly see until the next year or the conference tournament.  As such, while you may be right about the use of charts in '92, I have trouble believing that MLB teams didn't chart hitters back then.  Although, you make a good point regarding what kind of chart, and how detailed it could've possibly been, on a scrub like Cabrera.

I'm not trying to be contrary for the sake of picking an argument, here.  I just think there's blame to be passed around in that inning, and to absolve Bonds seems, to me, to be off the mark.

The ironic thing is Bonds was starting to hit. Homered in game six and was starting to hit the ball with authority. It looked good for the World Series, sadly that was a story never to be written!

Every one taking shots at Bonds, some might be justified but if management did not belittle him in arbitration and signed him before he was eligible for free agency to a fair extension, we would not be talking about 17 years of garbage and counting.

It was all about trying to save a buck, as things change isn't it amazing how eveything stays the same?

brudda, thanks for "Next you can remind us about the Bob Moose wild pitch." Right up there on my misery chart. Throw in a few Pitt NCAA tournament losses (always excruciating) and you have tortured me for the day.

(The Moose will pitch will be an upcoming subject. -- Bob Smizik)

actually, a few years back, i cracked out the old VHS tape and watched the inning again, and what struck me the most was that although i originally was very irate about the balls called on Berryhill, watching without emotional attachment years later -- although the pitches were still close, i think the ump got them right.  i think theye were a bit up, and the last one maybe even a tad outside.  shame we didn't have "pitch track" back then to muddy up the waters even more.  

again the main reason i still think Bonds could have done better on the timing of the throw is because of the lack of speed of Syd Bream.  BTW....is anyone REALLY sure Bream's foot didn't bounce up BEFORE it touched home plate, anyway?

to me, the only game close to rivaling this one for tragic endings is Vilanova v. Pitt, Eilite 8, 2009.

the chancellor

I am not saying I blame him for the loss.  I am saying if you poll a bunch of fans I think he would come out with the most votes as the reason why they lost.  I think everything he did in the postseasons leading up to that, that being the last play and then leaving makes the fans blame him more for the loss.  

As for Gold Gloves, are you telling me Bonds was a better outfielder then Andy?  We all know that gold gloves are given to the truely great defensive players, and the averge ones that have great offensive numbers.  If the ball was hit to center also knowing it is a longer throw, I think Bream would have held up at 3rd because the Braves respected his arm more.

I do disagree that at times the center fielder does position other players in the outfield.  I am not saying it is a commonplace, or that Andy knew where the ball was going.  That is why they say hindsight is 20/20.  

(I don't know who was better between Bonds and Van Slyke, but Bonds was a great defensive outfielder. Those awards are voted on by coaches and managers. They weren't voting for Bonds because he was a nice guy or a good hitter. And they vote for three outfielders, not a left fielder, center fielder and right fielder. Ken Griffey Jr. was a great outfielder. Gene Lamont, who managed in the American League, once told me he thought Bonds was better.

By the way, anyone who thinks Bonds is more responsible for that loss than Lind isn't thinking very straight.  -- Bob Smizik

I will say I am still bitter about those years, I was 12-14 during those season growing up in North Jersey.    My father is from Pittsburgh and I went to each of the NLCS games in Pittsburgh. I had to go to school the next day with all of my friends who were Mets fans making fun of me(even though they stunk that year) It was my fathers dream to take me to a world series when I was younger and obviously that never happened.  Some of my greatest memories were sitting at section 19(I think) right by 1st base with my father, waking up early and going to the ball park at 9am on a Sunday for auotgraphs, then going to the game only to have to drive the 7 hours back home.  I can only hope that we will one day be able to go to a world series game together to root on the Buccos!

If they voted on things because you were a nice guy....Barry's throphy case would be completely empty!

My heart skipped a few beats while reading this piece. What a terrible night. I've never been more upset over a sporting event in my entire life.

My belief is that it would be unreasonable to give Bonds the blame in this game. What is the likelihood of throwing Bream out at the plate if this play were to happen 10 times? Two or three out of ten? You don't bring it up in the article, but the fact that Bream is slow-footed is often mentioned when this subject is brought up, but it's entirely irrelevant. The fact is the play never should have happened. If Lind makes the play he normally makes earlier in the inning, the Bucs would have been in a much better situation, but certainly not out of danger.

Without Bonds, Lind, Belinda, or Drabek, they might not have even gotten that far. They all just seemed to come together to form one of the most painful events in Pittsburgh sports history.

Thanks, I'm gonna be on edge for the rest of the day.

Van Slyke did tell Barry to move up.  Lloyd McClendon confirmed as such on Barry Bonds' SportsCentury.  

That wasn't no soft hit ball either.  That was a line drive to LCF.  

anybody who thinks any one player is responsible for the Cabrera loss isn't thinking straight.

but anyone who says they weren't disappointed by Bonds' throw is a liar.

the chancellor

A fine dialog here.

Hitting charts were, in fact, readily available and in use in 1992.    Furthermore, laptop computers were, in fact, widely used at that point in time.   Some folks think laptops weren't invented till 1999 or something, but laptops were invented and sold in the mid 80's and were already in use by numerous pro teams in all sports by 1992.  Tony LaRussa, in fact, was 1 of the first to use a laptop on a regular basis to chart all kinds of stuff & data.  

thanks for the viedo link, Cali.    I'll say again, that the camera angle shown on that video is the one and only replay angle I have ever seen of that play.   It just seems odd.....there are like 3 angles of Carlton Fisk's homer in 1976 (him using his hands to "push" the ball "fair"), yet 16 years later, with seemingly 11 cameras at a playoff game, there wasn't and isn't another angle available of this play.....?  ?    

Often forgotten in this game, as I recall, is that Merced was nailed at the plate by Justice in the 6th or 7th inning.   The throw from Justice was perfect and just got Merced by an eyelash.   Would have been a nice insurance run.  

Van Slyke was a superb defensive outfielder and would have won more gold gloves had his career been longer.   Injuries curtailed his career.  Hard to state that "so and so won more GGs" when the other player played 10 years longer in the bigs.   Kind of like comparing Jim Brown's rushing stats to Jerome Bettis.

Having said that, Bonds was, in fact, a superlative fielder.   I used to work at 3 Rivers and I had the luxury of being able to watch BP (batting practice), which often included fielding practice.   Bonds was flawless catching flies and liners.   What really impressed me, though, was that he would share time with Bream (this is when Bream was a Pirate) taking grounders at 1st base.  And I'm not talking piddly little charity hop grounders.....Leyland himself would hit fielding practice and Bonds would make all kind of spectacular snags of hot smashes.  

Having said THAT, Bonds is, due to his abysmal batting failures along with the failure to nab the bootfooted Bream, the primary goat of that series (and the 2 preceding it, for that matter).  

Is it FAIR to Bonds, should HE be held responsible?

Well, it's INFAMY and no where is there any FAIR there....but maybe INFAMY is too harsh a term to use for this one moment in time?

Buckner / O'Donnell they were shuttled back into the filing cabinets of history when subsequent Red Sox / Steelers championships reset their team's frame of reference.

However, it's quite possible that Barry's throw will go down as the last act in the last winning season the Pittsburgh Pirates ever had.....and that will be INFAMY.

I would like to see how the disparity between pay has been since Leyland left and now.  Basically the Yanks are at 200 million and the Pirates in the 20 million range.  Until the medium markets and small markets say enough is enough, it won't matter.  There is no way to decrease the Yanks payroll to make a cap.  However, as you point out the Yanks signed 3 high level free agents, the solution is to prohibit teams from signing a free agent unless they lost one of equal value, much like the posion pill the NFL has for the uncapped year.  Players would still be free agents, but couldn't go to playoff teams unless they lost a player. Also Pirate should go for Franchise or Transition Tag like the NFL. The next CBA will be telling in the Nutting regime's true plan. If they sit by and make no noise, you have your real answer. The system is broke when at least 1/4 of the teams have no chance to contend in spring training.  As for the paying populace, there is a true difference between fans and customers, the Pirate fan base is dwindling, customers come, eat, drink get trinkets and could care less.  They don't care about the Sano non-signing, the trades or the draft.  Nutting can rely on them. At some point, he will have to put up or shut up, that day started with the call up of McCuthchen. Failure to pay him in the future only solidifies the Pirates position as a minor league franchise for the Yanks and Sox.  About this there can be no arguement.

Bob

I still get knots in my stomach thinking about that inning.

For me the primary reasons for the loss:

1.  Jose Lind error (C'mon Man, best defensive 2nd Baseman in the sport can't make that error, I'm not even sure he was checking the runner at 2nd).

2.  Home Plate Umpire shrinking strike zone.  I know we are homers but you have to be kidding me on some of the corner pitches that were called balls.

3.  Barry Bonds.  With anemic batting in every NLCS he played with the Pirates, his time to make a play was then.

Bottom line he didn't.

What are you going to do to cheer us up tomorrow Bob?  :)

How about the Steelers getting beat by Miami Dolphins the week after the Immaculate Reception.  Oh wait, that organization knows how to step up and recover from a dissapointing event.

Bob:

Remembering this hurts like hell. I was in college at the time. One thing I do remember is that Belinda did make some really good pitches like you said, but the strike zone changed with the new umpire.

Recently took my eight year old nephew to Dodger stadium on October 3rd and saw them clinch the division against the Rockies. Wore my Pirates gear that night. Outfitted my nephew in all the Dodger gear: Cap, Jersey, Jacket. Man I forgot what it was like to celebrate at an MLB game. I actually thought of putting on Dodger blue myself, but I just can't do it. I bleed black and gold and will just have to wait and see If the Pirates can ever turn it around.

Going to the game made me feel good since I brought some joy to my nephew. Next April I'll be traveling home to take him to PNC to see the Dodgers, and then back out here in L.A. for the Pirates visit at the end of April with him and my Dad and brother.

I'm not giving up on The Bucs...They brought me too much joy as a young kid. Just like what I saw in my nephew's eyes the first time he saw Dodger Stadium.

C.B.

I don't blame Drabek, Belinda, Bonds, Leyland or LaValliere. I blame Jose Lind. I mean, how could he bobble that ball? It was such a simple play that Delwyn Young could have made the play and thrown out Dave Justice. I was 12 years old at the time and thought "They'll win it next year". Since then, I've seen my favorites in the three other major sports win championships (Steelers, Penguins, Chicago Bulls) and with the Pirates, it seems like it'll always be "Wait till five years from now."

as Bob points out...the Pendleton ball was eminently playable.

for years, i thought it was McClendon in right, until i watched the tape a few years back.  (sorry Lloyd).  because the truth is that that ball should have been caught in right by Espy.  

here's a nice bit i found by Bob's buddy Murray Chass, written for the New York Times, Friday, October 16, 1992:

www.nytimes.com/.../pirates-and-braves-cope-with-day-after.html

One more horrible on-field memory-the incomplete pass at the end against San Diego in the AFC Championship game. Don't know why, but that for me is the worst of all the Steeler losses.

Kevin

I agree with your San Diego Charger AFC Reference.

LB Gibson knocks away pass intended for Barry Foster.

The pain that game was Steelers dominated yardage and possession but settled for 3 Field Goals while San Diego did nothing except complete to long passes against one year Free Agent signing Tim McKire.  I still remember him being so distraught he had to be helped off the field after the game.

I will never complain about Tomlin foregoing FG's for TD's

Good posts Kevin

Really, every one talks about the 1992 loss, but I think 1991 was worse.  We were the best team in the NL that year.  The Braves were in the playoffs for the first time in ages.  Our roster was loaded, Bonilla, bonds,et.  We had a 3 games to 2 lead, with 2 home games to play.  

Game 6, bottom of the Ninth, runner on third, losing by one run and two outs.  Van Slyke is up, crowd is going nuts.  He watches strike three without even swinging.  You could almost hear the collective air go out of everyone in that stadium.  Everyone pretty much knew the series was over and even though game 7 was still at home, we had no chance.

This is largely forgetten in Pirate lore, but in a way was the foreshadowing of things to come.

Pitt Nh is correct.......that game 6 loss in '91 was deflating.    The "big 3" of Bonds, Bonilla, and Van Slyke just waved meekly at pitches that evening and never produced a dent.     i've never figured out why Leyland didn't try something --anything -- to jumpstart the lineup, which sagged again in game 7 and was quickly dismissed.    Maybe moving Bonds to the top of the order.  Something.   Anything.  

Andy Chomos, just a small point of fact.    McKeyer did not give up both long TDs in the loss to SD.   The 43-yarder to Alfred Papunu was actually a play-action pass that totally victimized Deon Figures, the OTHER cornerback.   (Actually, MckKeyer was a nickel back)    Diego apparently saw Figures' penchant for biting up on the run, and they ran this play specifically for the seldom-used Papunu to exploit.    By the way, if you're the same Andy guy who planned the walkout during the Pirates game last year, I applaud you.   Well done.    I'd buy you 5 beers if I saw ya in Pgh.  

Hello all...

Wow, all these comments and I see no mention of Leyland's decision to let Drabek *bat* with one out and none on in the top of the ninth. If the game was lost in one place, that was it.

Regarding whether the tag was made or not... when it happened, it looked like an out, but a few days later, Sports Illustrated ran a photo that showed LaValliere missing the tag by about six inches.

I remember the Braves loaded the bases with none out in the sixth, then a lineout double play helped the Pirates get out of it without allowing a run. At the time, I felt that that was it, the last crisis, the Pirates were finally going to the World Series... but it was not to be.

I must say, 17 straight years of losing has not been as painful as that one inning. I still hate the @#$%^& Braves....

(Yeah, keeping a Cy Young winner, who is pitching a shutout, in the game with a shaky bullpen behind him is really stupid.  --  Bob Smizik)

PittNH,

I've felt that way for a long time as well.

As terrible as '92 ended, the Bucs were down 3-1 in that series. Lind's error was the biggest factor in the Braves' comeback that inning but the failure of Bonds to live up to his regular season offensive prowess in the playoffs, when it really mattered, was the overall reason the Pirates didn't go to the World Series any of those 3 years. Van Slyke and Bonilla (not in '92, I know) as well but Bonds was the star of that team.

'91 though....... being up 3-2 with the final 2 games at home. Just no excuse for that. My memory of the details are fuzzy now but I seem to remember it being reported at the time that, it was the first time in league history that a team lost the last 2 games at home to lose a LCS.

I didn't even bother watching Californication's link. I go out of my way to try to avoid even seeing that again........ at least until the Pirates atone themselves someday like the Steelers and Pens have. But who knows when, if ever, that may be?

I didn't know it at the time, but baseball died for me that day. I was more upset about thatloss  than when the Steelers lost Super Bowl XXX. I knew the Steelers would make it back. I never believed that for the Pirates.

Besides Moose's wild pitch, how about the Pens seventh game OT loss to the Islanders. Might as well get it out of our system

When Bream scored, I said to my wife, "you just saw the end of baseball in Pittsburgh". And there's still no end in sight.

I am continually amazed by people who blame Bonds.  That inning went south when Lind booted that routine groundball.  You neglected to point out that Lind didn't get in front of it.  In fact, he tried to reach across his body and backhand it, couldn't come up with it cleanly and totally changed the inning.  

One additional point:

The story I always heard was that Ted Simmons wanted to call up Carlos Garcia in August of 92 and install him at 2b, but Leyland (ever loyal to that weak-hitting Lind) pushed back hard.  I wonder if Carlos would have gotten in front of that groundball, had Simmons prevailed.

(Never heard that story.  The ``light-hitting'' Lind had a career batting average that was 12 points lower the Garcia's, who wasn't exactly Chase Utley or Ryne Sandberg. Taking a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman out of the lineup for Garcia would have been the height stupidity. -- Bob Smizik

Although it is quite painful, thanks again Bob for the memory!  Watching part of the "play-in" game the other night of course brought all those Sid Bream memories back.  I was actually sititng in a Red Robin with my wife the other night and could only see what was happening, but when the guy scored the winning run, I remarked that history was almost repeating itself for Jim Leyland, alhtough the guy that scored the other night could fly!  

One thing I remember is that I always loved Sid Bream and hated to see him leave.  Do I remember correctly that Sid actually wanted to stay and was willing to take less money than he got in Atlanta, or is that just something I dreamed up?

Why, Bob, why?! 17 years later and that still remains, for me, the most painful sports memory I've ever had. We are certainly blessed in this town to have the Steelers and Penguins; and even Pitt and Pennstate sports have been successful at times. But I'll never shake this loss.

Please no "upcoming subject" on the 1972 NLCS wild pitch.  Let that painful memory pass on.  

Bonds gets the blame because his was the last play of the game and the one people are left remembering.

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