This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Pittsburgh PiratesOverall: 45 Title track: 77 Ownership: 80 Coaching: 57 Players: 46 Fan relations: 57 Affordability: 20 Stadium experience: 9 Bang for the buck: 25 Change from last year: -37Well, you cant host the wild-card game every year. But after three straight trips to the postseason and a 98-win season in 2015, the Pirates U-turn in 2016, to a spot 25 games behind the NL Central-winning Cubs, made this their most disappointing season since Barry Bonds left town a generation ago. That isnt just on the field: The franchise suffered its largest attendance drop in 15 years and fell from a top-10 team in the Ultimate Standings to one in the mid-40s.Whats goodAt least theyve got PNC Park! The Pirates got the best score in sports when asked if their team has a great stadium, and that waterfront property, combined with reasonable concessions and parking prices (and below-average ticket prices, despite a 27 percent increase this year), earned the team a ninth-place ranking in stadium experience. Even in a down year, the Pirates affordable prices and (mostly) competitive play combine for a strong bang for the buck (25th overall this year, though down from eighth in 2015). On the field, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco arent Andrew McCutchens young proteges anymore. This was the year they actually passed McCutchen, and both are signed and under affordable control for the next five years.Whats badThe Pirates had the highest Opening Day payroll in their history ($99.9 million) this year. Has it peaked, at least for now? There were ominous signs at the trade deadline, when the Pirates were alive in the wild-card race but still traded away both their closer (Mark Melancon) and Opening Day starter (Francisco Liriano) in the interest of saving themselves approximately $6.5 million in salary this season, plus the $13.67 million Liriano was owed next year. Is Andrew McCutchen next to go? The longtime face of the franchise is coming off the worst season of his career, has one guaranteed season (plus a 2018 club option) left on his contract and could conceivably be shopped around this winter. Fans dont appear to have much confidence in owner Bob Nutting -- he fell 29 spots this year to 88th -- so they clearly wouldnt put it past him.Whats newAfter completing a season with their lowest win total since 2011, both manager Clint Hurdle (down 35 spots) and the roster (down 32) shared the blame. The good news: There are reinforcements on the way. The Pirates three best pitching prospects -- former No. 2 pick Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl -- all arrived this season, as did Josh Bell, the first baseman of the future. The bad news: This team needs to rediscover its touch for finding and reinventing what seemed like an endless string of pitching reclamation projects. Pittsburgh remains at the forefront of the sport in statistical analysis and creative thinking. But with their limited revenue and payroll, the Pirates need more things to go right than your average team. This year was a stark reminder of what happens when they dont.Next: Chicago Cubs?| Full rankings Kyle Korver Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Oscar Robertson Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/346t-kareem-abdul-jabbar-jersey-bucks.html .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Milwaukee Bucks Shirts .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Dave Cowens Jersey . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. HOUSTON -- When the Houston Astros suffered through a grueling offensive slump that bridged the final two games of July with the opening week of August, they hoped that the additions of Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel would eventually lengthen their lineup and correct their problems.The Astros scored a total of 18 runs while losing eight of 10 games before finding their footing in Minnesota on Aug. 9. On Saturday night, in their 6-2 win over the Rays, the Astros (68-61) showcased the balanced offense they sorely craved.In attacking Rays left-hander Blake Snell, the Astros banged out nine with him on the mound and closed the game with five starters recording multi-hit games. By spreading hits up and down their lineup, the Astros overwhelmed Snell and set the stage for a series sweep on Sunday.Its a weird discipline to ask out of your hitters to be ready to hit on every pitch but dont swing at everything, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. I thought we did a really good job tonight of making (Snell) get his breaking ball over. We didnt chase any breaking balls in the dirt or not very many of them. The changeup was really very effective early on for him but we hit his fastball, and then the second time through we hit his changeup. I like how our guys stayed very focused in the strike zone.Right-hander Doug Fister (12-8, 3.59 ERA) will take the hill for Houston coming off his best start of the season. On Monday against the Pirates, Fister worked seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with six strikeouts in a 3-1 win. He did not faace the Rays when the teams squared off in Tampa Bay in mid-June, but Fister is 2-4 with a 3.dddddddddddd.63 ERA over seven career appearances (six starts) against them.Right-hander Chris Archer (7-17, 4.11 ERA) will get the start for the Rays (54-74), seeking to continue his exceptional pitching against the Astros.Archer is 3-2 with a 1.31 ERA in six career starts against the Astros. Two of his three career shutouts have come against Houston, including a one-hitter on Aug. 20, 2015 at Minute Maid Park and a five-hit shutout at Tropicana Field on July 14, 2013.The road shutout against the Astros came in his previous appearance in Houston, a 1-0 win over right-hander Collin McHugh in which Archer threw just 98 pitches. In that start, Archer became the first American League pitcher to throw a one-hit shutout with 10-plus strikeouts and less than 100 pitches since Yankees right-hander David Cone twirled a perfect game against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999.The Rays will need Archer to pitch effectively and efficiently. They lost Snell to an injury one batter into the fourth inning on Saturday, forcing manager Kevin Cash to dip into his bullpen earlier than he expected.Its unfortunate because Kevin Jepsen really shouldnt have been pitching, Cash said. Now, tonight was injury-related, and (Danny) Farquhar comes in and gives us two innings.The bullpen is getting taxed a little bit. We need to straighten that out. ' ' '