Johnny Cueto is scheduled to pitch Friday night at PNC Park, an occurrence that always brings back memories but seems especially poignant this time around.
Couple of reasons for that.
One is that I can’t help but juxtapose the glorious night from four years ago, the night “Cueto dropped the ball!” with what I’m staring at from the press box on this perfect summer evening: lots of empty seats.
It’s not a terrible crowd for a weeknight (22,595). Not at all. But it’s still a reminder that the Pirates are in danger of posting their biggest attendance drop since their second year at PNC Park — the precipitous plunge that followed the 100-loss season of 2001.