Pirates first in losing

Nobody loses like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

They haven’t been a winner since Barry Bonds was a slender 28-year-old with more steals than home runs and Chuck Noll was one year removed from coaching the Steelers – 1992.

They ended a record-tying 16th consecutive losing season Sunday and, with one more such season, will stand alone as the longest-running losers in major American professional team sports. The Pirates equaled the record set by the 1933-48 Phillies, but no NBA, NHL or NFL team has had a string of losing seasons so long.“None of us like the fact we’ve lost more games than we’ve won,” first-year general manager Neal Huntington said. “None of us feel good about where we finished.”

At least they’re consistent. The Pirates’ records the past four seasons were 67-95 in 2005, 2006 and 2008 and 68-94 in 2007.

Here’s how bad they were this season: For the first time in baseball’s modern era, the Pirates didn’t have a 10-game winner. The last time that happened, in 1890, the franchise was only four seasons old and was known as the Alleghenys.

The Pirates had an outside chance of ending their run of sub-.500 seasons (they were 48-54 on July 24) before they traded their two best hitters, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, for prospects.

Then they lost a remarkable 41 of their last 60.

“We were better at the time I decimated the roster with the trades,” Huntington said.

Red Sox recovering

Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew took batting practice at Fenway Park, and when they were done, the outlook for Boston’s two injured hitters was brighter.

Both could be ready for Wednesday night’s opener of the A.L. Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels.

With ace Josh Beckett unavailable until Game 3, Jon Lester will pitch Game 1.

Gallardo may start Game 1

Yovani Gallardo could be the Game 1 starter for the Milwaukee Brewers in the N.L. playoffs against Philadelphia, even though he’s made just one major league appearance since May 1.

Gallardo returned from a torn knee ligament and pitched four innings Thursday against Pittsburgh. The right-hander allowed one run and three hits while throwing 67 pitches.

Cardinals re-sign Lohse

Pitcher Kyle Lohse and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a $41 million, four-year contract.

Lohse was 15-6 with a 3.78 ERA this season and led the staff with 200 innings.

Padres’ Black returning

Bud Black is coming back as manager of the San Diego Padres despite the club’s worst finish in 15 seasons (63-99).

The Padres announced late Monday afternoon that Black and most of his staff will return in 2009.