More than a few times this season, I've had flashbacks to 2008.
Ten years ago, the Pirates' lineup was respectable enough, with five of their usual starting eight -- Ryan Doumit, Adam LaRoche, Jason Bay, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady -- posting OPS+ figures of 120 or better. However, only Paul Maholm had an ERA above average among the five pitchers to make 10 or more starts, so that offensive production was wasted in a 95-loss season.
Now, it will take quite the continued downturn for this year's edition of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club to lose 90 or more, but the current eight-series losing streak illustrates that the worst-case outcome is possible.