PIT Post-Gazette: Punchless Pirates’ losing streak at nine games

“We haven’t scored much,” manager John Russell said. “That’s about it.”

As a result, the Pirates have not won much, either, in the aftermath of the Bay and Nady trades: The record for August now is 7-20, and another loss today—CC Sabathia will make Milwaukee a prohibitive favorite—would wrap up a 21-loss month, the franchise’s worst since August 2000. The .250 winning percentage would be the worst since a .185 mark in September 1998, as well as the third-worst in the past 57 years.
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Of the two offensive acquisitions in those trades: Brandon Moss is batting .235 since joining the Pirates, with a boost from a home run and double last night that drew the only rise out of the 21,931 on hand. And Andy LaRoche, after a pinch-hit groundout, dropped to .126, just 9 for 71.
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“That’s part of the frustration right now,” Russell said. “You work so hard, and you go through a stretch like this and hear a lot of ‘Told you so’ or ‘There they go again’ or ‘They’re about to break the major league record.’ “

The latter was a reference to the Pirates being four losses away from clinching a 16th consecutive losing season, matching the professional sports record.