Pirates beat Brewers, clinch non-losing season

The Pirates picked up win no. 81 Tuesday night, beating the Brewers 4-3 and clinching a non-losing season in the process.

I'm no longer sure how I'm supposed to feel about this -- win 82 will surely feel more cathartic than this one, and even that one probably won't feel like that big a deal, since the Pirates are on pace not just to have a winning season, but to leave it in the dust. I've got my sights set on something bigger, and I think most fans do, too. But I do think this is a good time to reflect on how nice it is that the streak is now gone, or about to be gone, however you want to define it. This is a big day, and for those of you have hung out here or at PNC Park or Pirate City or wherever for years, living and dying over every irrelevant Neal Huntington quote or GCL box score or post-spring training roster decision, well, I raise my glass to you. We've earned this, and it's happening.

Anyway, Andrew McCutchen hit a solo homer, Marlon Byrd continued his strong hitting with two RBIs, and Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings. Travis Snider, of all people, hit a solo homer in the ninth to score the go-ahead run. Oh, and Justin Morneau went 3-for-3 with a walk. This isn't a day for stat lines, though. This is a day to reflect on how stupid and hopeless things seemed a decade or so, and how the Huntington era hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows either, and how we stuck around anyway, because this is our team. And hopefully, tomorrow will be a day to reflect on those things even more.