18 Years and Counting

October 14, 1992 is currently the third worst Pittsburgh sports day of my life.  (Numbers one and two are January 28, 1996 and May 14, 1993.)  On this day the Pirates choked in the 9th inning of game 7 of the NLCS and lost to the Atlanta Braves.  They haven't had a winning season since.  For the past 18 years I've struggled with who to blame for this.  Should it be Barry Bonds for failing to throw out Sid Bream, an aging first baseman with two bad knees?  Or maybe Jose Lind, for failing to come up with a ground ball which should have been routine for a player of his defensive ability?  Blame could also be thrown upon Stan Belinda for having his worst outing of the season in the least opportune time.  I can still see the hit, throw and slide in my mind as clear as if it happened yesterday.  And it still stings just as much each time.  The fact of the matter is, however, I still don't know who to blame.  Barry has been a large target for so many years now and really, how many Pirates fans remember Stan Belinda?  So that leaves Jose Lind.  Sorry Chico, but I have to lay blame on you.  You should have made that play, thwarting the rally before it even had a chance to start.  I don't know where you are right now Jose, but this 18 year curse is your fault.  Come back to Pittsburgh, make the play (even just in an infield drill) and maybe the losing will stop.  You can even crash at my house.  No hard feelings.