City set to party like it’s 1992

PITTSBURGH Clint Hurdle was amazed Friday morning when the school bus stopped to pick up his 8- year- old son, Christian, outside their home in Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs.

“It was easier to count the number of kids who weren’t wearing Pirates gear on that bus than kids who were,” the Pirates manager said with a smile. “That was pretty cool.”

It is indeed cool to be a Pirates fan again.

The Pirates took a one- game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals in the Na- tional League Central on Monday. The Pirates beat the host Milwaukee Brewers 5- 2 while the Cardinals lost 7- 2 to the host Cincinnati Reds, who are 3 ½ games back in third place.

The last time the Pirates were in first place this late in the season was in 1992 — when they not only made their last postseason but also posted their last winning record. The Pirates’ string of 20 consecutive losing seasons is the longest in major North American professional sports history.

Since being hired in November 2010, Hurdle has talked about “completing the triangle” and having the Pirates return to the same promi- nence held by Pittsburgh’s two other major pro sports franchises, the NFL’s Steelers and the NHL’s Penguins. The Pirates are right there. For example, the Steelers open their season Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, but the Pirates’ pursuit of a pennant is generating more headlines in newspapers and leading evening newscasts in the city.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Pirates second baseman Neil Walker, who was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area.

“I lived through the frustration of losing, both as a fan and a player, and it’s great to see things turn around.

“I’d go to Steelers games, and people would wish you good luck, but then you would hear them say things like ‘ Your team sucks’ as they’d be walking away. People can’t say that about us anymore.”

The players and fans were buoyed last week when the Pirates bolstered their lineup by trading with the Minnesota Twins for first baseman Justin Morneau and the New York Mets for catcher John Buck and outfielder Marlon Byrd.

“It means we’re serious about winning something here,” star center fielder Andrew McCutchen said.

Almost lost among the pennant fever, though, is that the Pirates got their 80th win Monday. They need one more win to break the two- decade- long string of losing seasons and two victories to be assured of finishing above .500.

“It’s been a long time since there’s been a winning season here, but our goals are higher than that,” Pirates right- handed pitcher A. J. Burnett said. “It’d be disappointing at the end of the season if we’d look back and say the biggest thing we accomplished was having a winning season.

“We want more. We want a championship.”

CHARLES LECLAIRE, USA TODAY SPORTS Outfielder Marlon Byrd, center, is one of three players picked up by the Pirates in the past week as they attempt to make the postseason for the first time since 1992.