The 2012 season was a frustrating time to cover the Pirates, and their prospects. At the big league level, the team was contending in July, then saw an epic collapse in the final two months, sending them to their 20th straight losing season. In the minors, they were starting to build a strong farm system, four years after inheriting one of the worst farm systems in baseball.
The problem there was that the Pirates lost at the big league level in horrible fashion. And when the Pirates lose at the big league level, it's not just alright to say that the big league team had problems.