Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez became the team's 25th National League batting champion yesterday, going 2 for 4 in a victory against the Reds at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Sanchez hits his way to National League crown Pirates Notebook: No turnaround compares to Duffy's McClatchy could make a decision Wednesday Slideshow: Freddy Sanchez, 2006 National League Batting Champion

In a summer that was so bleak for so long, the sun peeked through for the Pirates on a sparkling, season-ending Sunday afternoon.

In so many ways.

There was, of course, Freddy Sanchez nailing down the National League batting title in a take-that manner: Two hits in his first two at-bats. No backing in to it.

There was the PNC Park crowd of 25,004, always thick with season-ticket holders on the closing date, chanting and cheering throughout.

And there was -- as if to make some symbolic statement -- yet another one-run victory, 1-0 against the Cincinnati Reds, thanks to Shane Youman's seven shutout innings, Xavier Nady's clutch single in the eighth and Salomon Torres' strikeout with men at the corners to end it.

"It feels good," left fielder Jason Bay said. "This was how we wanted it to end."

Even when it did, there was more. Torres was mobbed by teammates to congratulate him for matching Kent Tekulve's franchise record with his 94th appearance, the relievers sprinting from the bullpen to join in. The attention quickly switched to Sanchez, who was embraced by everyone in sight. And team employees took turns at the microphone to sing the praises of the season gone by.

It all seemed a bit much for an outfit that finished with exactly the same record as last season, 67-95, and a lousy one at that.

But the Pirates' perspective clearly is upbeat as can be.

"I am proud of this group," manager Jim Tracy said. "What we've seen here is a growth process over the course of 162 games, and definitely something for us to build on. Especially when you consider that we had a winning record at PNC Park for the first time since the doors opened."

True enough. The Pirates were 43-38 at home.

		The playoffs American League A's at Twins, 1 p.m. tomorrow Tigers at Yankees, 8 p.m. tomorrow National League Cardinals at Padres, 4 p.m. tomorrow Dodgers at Mets, 4 p.m. Wednesday

"We had an above-.500 second half of the season for the first time since 1992," Tracy continued.

The Pirates clinched that yesterday with a 37-35 record after the All-Star break.

"And this is a team that played 90 games before the break and lost 60 times, with pretty much the same group," Tracy went on. "It's great to see. I think the thought process for 2007 is that we're going to pick up where we left off instead of feeling like we're starting over."

Some players spoke even more ambitiously.

"I think we've given hope to Pirates fans that there's a light at the end of the tunnel," Torres said. "If we could duplicate what we did in this second half, we're going to be talking about the postseason at this time next year."

Playoffs? In Pittsburgh?

"Playoffs," Torres said.

He was not alone.

"We know now that we can play into October," catcher Ronny Paulino said. "That's how we feel. We'll compete with anyone."

The warm-and-fuzzy factor was in play from the outset.

Sanchez lined a single to left in the first inning off Cincinnati's Matt Belisle, then reached in the fourth on an infield dribbler that second baseman Brendan Harris could not control. With the latter, he raised his helmet to the crowd with his right foot on the bag, reminiscent of the famous image of Roberto Clemente standing at second after his 3,000th hit.

"Just unbelievable," Sanchez said of the moment. "A lot of relief and excitement and joy."

Sanchez would wind up 2 for 4 and make a bunch of history in the process.

2006 BY THE NUMBERS
Pertinent numbers from the Pirates' 120th season, along with their ranking among the 16 National League teams in those categories:
Category	Number	Rank
Overall record	67-95	15th
Home record	43-38	9th
Road record	24-57	16th
Batting average	.263	10th
Home runs	141	16th
Batters' strikeouts	1,200	13th
Batters' walks	459	15th
Steals	68	13th
On-base percentage	.327	13th
Earned run average	4.52	8th
Pitchers' strikeouts	1,060	10th
Pitchers' walks	620	14th
Saves	39	8th

His final average of .344 handily beat out the .339 of the Florida Marlins' Miguel Cabrera, who was pulled after two strikeouts in Miami. He became the 25th batting champion in franchise history, his name added to the legendary likes of Honus Wagner, Paul Waner and Clemente. His average was the highest of anyone on the Pirates since Clemente had .345 in 1969. And he became the 31st in team lore to achieve 200 hits.

"It means so much to all of us that Freddy got this," shortstop Jack Wilson said.

Sanchez felt that, apparently.

"You could sense that they wanted it for me. I can't say enough about this team. I really can't. We've got a lot of people who really care about each other, and it's been that way all season."

That the season ended on a two-game winning streak -- as opposed to the 0-10 nosedive that seemed likely entering the weekend -- was mostly a credit to Youman.

He limited Cincinnati to four hits and a walk over his seven innings, pinpointing his not-so-fast fastball and sawing off bats with a diving changeup.

"I felt really good," Youman said. "I was aggressive, threw strikes and made guys swing the bats."

Tracy called Youman, who opened the year with Class AA Altoona but had a 2.91 ERA in four appearances with the Pirates, a possible piece for 2007.

"Another guy to add to a depth chart that keeps getting deeper and deeper," Tracy said.

Befitting the Pirates' powerless offense, they scored their only run by stringing four singles in the eighth off reliever Todd Coffey. Nady came through with two outs by dropping one into shallow right to bring Bay home from second.

John Grabow and Matt Capps had a 1-2-3 eighth, and Torres overcame Wilson's error in the ninth by slipping his trademark splitter under the bat of pinch-hitter Javier Valentin to close his 12th save.

Oh, and that one-run record that dominated discussion this summer? It was 9-27 in the first half, worst in Major League Baseball, and 15-4 in the second half, best in baseball.

Is it real?

Sanchez seems to think so.

"I think we're a couple pieces away from being a contender," he said. "Look at what we've done, how we've improved. And we're only going to get better."