Game 154: Reds 6 Pirates 5

I think … disheartening. I think that's the word. I want to say devastating, but I honestly feel like once we have a tad more perspective that it's just a little too strong. The reality is that the Pirates were longshots to win the NL Central before this game began tonight, and they were longshots to win the NL Central when it seemed like they were certain to win it, and now that it's over and they lost, well …

So, yes. Disheartening. Major League Baseball plays a long season. For most of this season, everything to do with the Pirates has been good. It's been really good. And now there's this thought that suddenly, no matter how good everything else has been, that it's all going to boil down to one game that might not even be in PNC Park. And there's this thought that when that happens, what we're suddenly going to remember is all of the bad stuff; the error tonight, the save that Mark Melancon blew on Wednesday, the Starling Marte dropped fly ball in August at Busch Stadium (oh god, the dropped fly ball). And it's unfair and not necessarily even relevant to think about these things tonight, but it's also impossible not to. 

We've been waiting for meaningful September baseball in Pittsburgh for an entire generation, and now that it's here we suddenly have to remember that for every team that wins an exciting and important game during a playoff race, there's also a team that loses.

So yes, disheartening. It can't be devastating. Not quite yet. This season is not over. The Pirates have come too far to throw in the towel after 154 games. We fans have watched too much bad baseball to give up on a legitimately good one before it ends. Disheartening. Not devastating. Not while there's still tomorrow. Not yet.