Kang Lives?

On paper, the Pirates' season achieved everything it set out to be. We knew, thanks to the departures of AJ Burnett, Pedro Alvarez, J.A. Happ and Neil Walker, that they weren't going to be half the team they were in 2015, and by the end of the season...yeah, they were in third.

But...throughout the season there were moments where the Pirates were making some serious progress with whatever they had lying around, and bringing up the new youth like Jameson Tallion and Chad Kuhl.  Plus, with Andrew McCutchen slumping, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco stepped up big time, and performed pretty damned well.

Yes, this team still has a ways to go before they can full-on compete with someone like the Cubs, and they're probably going to make a lot of progress this offseason, but enough was there this season that they weren't absolutely embarrassed. Gerrit Cole, Jeff Locke and Ivan Nova did pretty well in the rotation, and people like Sean Rodriguez, John Jaso and Jung Ho Kang hit pretty well off the bench, and eventually in the lineup.

The Pirates aren't out of it yet, and hopefully they'll be back in a big way next year (so that someone other than St. Louis can take 2nd).

Coming Tonight: After an up-and-down season, the Mariners are going for the Wild Card, with help for their trusty rookie shortstop.

Custom Card of the Night: Kang Edition

Man, these guys have to be the most powerful team to ever spend most of the season in second.

I mean it. There is so much talent packed into this team, so much power and speed and good pitching, that it's kind of sad that they'll likely be playing in the wild card game next month.

Look at Jung-Ho Kang. Thanks to Jordy Mercer's injury, he got a starting job as a shortstop, and has been playing wonderfully so far, along with a surprisingly strong infield of Aramis Ramirez, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez.

Kang's probably going to get a ton of votes for ROY, and while it's very unlikely that he'll get it, one cannot deny the effect he's had on the Pirates. He's made an already-strong team even stronger.

I dunno if the Pirates will be as good this postseason as I want them to be, but I'm hoping they can finally have an awesome playoff season.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of shortstops, one that plays for a team sliding out of the race.