When Pirates fans gather at Piratesfest in December wearing their “I Was A Pirates Fan Before It Was Cool” T-shirts, many of them we’ll be trying to hang their hats on that wonderful, heady time when their Buccos were in first place.

What they should be discussing is how their Buccos pulled off the worst fall from first place in the history of Major League Baseball.

Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib has the numbers for you.

So, once again, the Pirates have pulled off an epic failure within the epic failure of having 19 consecutive losing seasons and they managed to turn  having a Major League Baseball team  into a source of aggravation and misery.

But, don’t you worry. The Pirates are going to spend more money on payroll next year and, because they were in first place for an hour and a half, you can bet that there are free agents-to-be out there who will be dreaming about playing at PNC Park.

Joe Butler of Metro Index Scouting on the Pathetic Pirates.

The Pirates stink.

They’re 15-29 since the All Star break.

They’re 11 games under .500 and 18 1/2 games out of first place.

They’re three and a half games ahead of the fifth place Cubs and I’m betting they’ll finish fifth.

And, oh, by the way, they’re a month away from finishing their 19th consecutive losing season.

Other than, that, things are looking up. I hear they spent a lot of money on draft picks the last two years and they’re going to be really good in 2016.

Ticket prices are going up.

You really can’t blame the Pirates for realizing that they couldn’t wait until they reached the magic number of .500 before raising ticket prices. They know that that could easily take another 19 years.

The most amazing thing that I will read today is that there are actually people out there who are willing to pay $225 for a seat behind home plate at PNC Park.

The timing, as usual, is delicious. The Pirates have lost two in a row to the worst team in baseball and they’ve struck out 27 times in those two games.

Here’s the best part: There’s a real good chance that the Pirates are going to be worse next year. It would be unrealistic to expect their starting pitching to put together another first half like one they put together this year.

Maybe they’ll finally get those 30 home runs out of Pedro Alvarez.

Or maybe he’ll be in Indianapolis hitting .250 and striking out every four at bats.

Where are all the people who were calling me a partypooper a month ago?

If/when you start feeling good about this team again next year, let this season be a lesson for you.

In Major League Baseball it’s all about the 162.

The Pirates ultimately succeeded in doing what they’ve done for the previous 18 years. They became a source of misery for and an embarrassment to the city.

Meanwhile, do you know where I can get one of those “I was a Pirates fan before it was cool.” T-shirts?

The Pirates made big news for doing what they’re supposed to do again.

They signed Jose Tabata to a long term contract.

This isn’t something they or anybody else should be celebrating. It’s what teams are supposed to do with good young players.

Right now, Jose Tabata is a 23 year old outfielder who’s hitting .267. He looks like a guy who can play in the Major Leagues for a long time. Whether he’ll be a star is another issue.

Tabata is guaranteed $15 million through 2016, so money should never be an issue in his life. (Of course, unless someone does him a favor and assassinates Hugo Chavez, he won’t be guaranteed anything if he puts his money in a bank at home in Venezuela.)

Tabata’s problem may be that he’s banking on the Pirates being a contending team. Lots of players, who have signed for lots of money have been made miserable by playing in Pittsburgh.

He says he made the commitment because he likes the city and the fans. That’s nice, but the fans are nice everywhere and there are a lot of nice cities that field contending teams every year.

Let’s see how happy Tabata is in 2014, if the Pirates’ are on their way to their 22nd consecutive losing season.

When you stink, you are rewarded with high draft picks.

The Pirates have stunk for about 27 of the last 32 years and they’ve had a lot of high picks.

Yesterday they signed their top two picks, Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell for a total of $13 million in bonus money.

In some circles that was seen as a reason to celebrate. Pardon me, but, I don’t think doing what you’re supposed to do is worthy of a celebration.

They took a gamble on Bell, who’s a high school kid who said he was going to go to college.

One day after signing these guys, they sent Pedro Alvarez back to the minor leagues. He had fallen below the Mendoza line. That should give you an idea of what a crap shoot it is with can’t miss prospects.

Alavarez showed flashes last season and he still has plenty of time to become an All Star, but he also could turn out to be a bust.

The Pirates have signed four can’t miss prospects in the last two years.

When you’re drafted near the top and you get a record amount of money to sign, as Cole did, you should be on the fast track to the big leagues.

One or two of the top four need to force the Pirates to call them up by blowing their way through the minor leagues.

If you don’t see at least one of these guys at PNC Park by 2013, you’ll know that nothing has changed.

Gullible Pirates fans are still trying to hang on to the fluke that produced a semblance of a pennant race this year.

Lot’s of them seem to be assuming that this season is some kind of first step.

They’re happy that the Pirates promising prospects weren’t traded away for rent-a-players.

But how promising are the Pirates young players?

Their number one hitting prospect is Pedro Alvarez, who is hitting .207 with three home runs and 15 RBIs.

Alvarez will be 25 when the 2012 season  starts.

Here’s what a few of the Pirates’ better players did when they were 25.

Clemente: 16 HR  94 RBI  .314 (best outfielder in baseball)

Stargell  25 -107  .272

Bonds  33  114 . 301. (52 stolen bases…best left fielder in baseball)

Do you see Alvarez putting up those kinds of numbers next season?

OK. Those guys are in the Hall of Fame.

Here are some more:

Jason Bay   26 82  .282

Al Martin  18   64  .281

Al Oliver   12  89  .312

Dave Parker  25   101   .308

Richie Hebner 25   74  . 271  (number 2 hitter)

Richie Zisk    17   100   .313

Mazeroski   14   81    .271 (Maz isn’t in the HOF for his hitting and those 14 home runs at Forbes Field would translate to 20-25 at PNC Park.

Andrew McCutchen will be 25 next season. He’s considered a future –  -if not current –star. He’s hitting  .273 with 15 home runs. He’s lot closer to Al Martin than he is to Dave Parker.

One of their other top prospects is Tony Sanchez, a catcher in Altoona who will be 24 next season. He’s hitting  .236 with 4 home runs and 37 RBI.

Maybe one or all of the three top prospects will put up numbers that compare to those former stars. I just wouldn’t bet the ranch on it.