[ifspuds]

It's been a long time since I've updated this thread, and it's been weighing on my mind. When last we spoke, the Pirates were approaching their third straight National League pennant. They did go on to win that pennant, but the heartbreak came in the World Series. Ahead of the Minnesota Twins 3 games to 1 with George Adkison, Levi Sellers and Hipolito Castillo set to pitch in the last three games, the Pirates went on to lose all three games and fall to the Twins in 7.

It took a little while for that shock to wear off, and the Pirates started 1969 a little slowly. The advent of division play took a little getting used to, but as the weather warmed up, so did the Pirates and now they sit on September 1st a comfortable 10 games ahead of second place Chicago for the first-ever National League East title. The Pirates currently own the best record in the league, at 94-40, and will almost certainly win 100 games for the 4th straight season.

How has the team reached this lofty perch? It's hard to point to just one thing. The offense is riding a league-best .281 batting average and the pitching staff boasts the league's top ERA (3.01). Let's look at some of the individual performances that have been the stories of the season:

You have to start with Levi Sellers. The return of offense has hardly fazed the 35-year old veteran, who leads the NL in wins (21) and strikeouts (235) and is 2nd in ERA at 2.36. Until two back-to-back poor starts at the end of August in which he allowed 8 and 6 runs, Sellers hadn't given up more than 3 runs in a game since an April 19th loss to the Phillies. Between April 29th and August 3rd, Sellers had a 16-game winning streak. He stands as one of the favorites for the Murphy Award, which would be the first of his Hall of Fame-worthy career. George Adkison (18-6, 2.67) and last season's Murphy Award winner Hipolito Castillo (20-4, 2.55) are also having terrific seasons, but Sellers stands above both this year. Let's give some notice to fireballing reliever Lynn "Wild Man" Willmon, who's followed three straight outstanding seasons of relief with the best one yet: 4-2, 16 saves, 1.40 ERA in 57.2 IP, notching 49 Ks in that time and allowing just a single home run.

It's hard to pick just one hitter to talk about, but here are some of the big names contributing to the offense:

Catcher Henry Cruz has been a disappointment to Pirates fans since coming to the team in 1966, failing to hit .300 even once and suffering through two straight miserable seasons in 1967 and 1968. He's turned it around dramatically this season, posting a .363 average that would be tops in either league if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. The Pirates are trying to get him into more games to see if he can nab the 502 appearances needed for the batting title.

Third baseman Ben Trome, a Pittsburgh favorite, hasn't been terrible the last few years when you consider the drop in league-wide offense, but he's put up numbers rivalling his best seasons this year, hitting .330 and popping 20 homers, 3 short of his career high set in his best year of 1962.

Two-time defending Batter of the Year Asa Booker probably won't win a third straight award, but it's not because he's gone in the tank. Booker has hit .319/.386/.520 with 31 doubles, 13 triples and 16 homers, adding 32 steals in what has become a typical year for the player once considered something of a disappointment. He's passed 1000 RBI and 1200 runs scored for his career and stands 21 triples short of 200 for his career.

Cap Marcrum and Al "Bash" Mahoney are tied for the club lead in homers at 22 apiece, with both men having fine all-around seasons. Chucho Cifuentes won't qualify for Rookie of the Year, since he got 100 AB last year, but he'd be a candidate otherwise. The 26-year old centerfielder had a lot of weight put on his shoulders after the Pirates let Fletcher Jones go in the expansion draft to move Mahoney to first, but he's played very well (.258/.356/.448, 14 HR).

Look for the return of Pirates beat writer Lang Thomason in the coming days and weeks as the once-woeful Bucs look to write their names in the record books as one of the greatest Time Warp teams ever.