The Pirates' hope of breaking their streak of 15 losing seasons is an ambitious one, as history shows.

In the franchise's first 121 years, there have been only 16 occasions when they have turned a losing record into a winning one.

1917.....51-103
1918.....65-60

And, of those, only three came when the losing record had a winning percentage of .420 or lower, as was the case with the 2007 Pirates:

Go figure: In the first season after Honus Wagner's retirement, with few other personnel changes, the Pirates dramatically transformed from losers to winners in 1918, a season cut short by the United States' entry into World War I.

Staff ace Wilbur Cooper went 19-14 with a 2.11 ERA.

1947.....62-92
1948.....83-71

Go figure: Ralph Kiner's home run total dropped from 51 to 40, but the team as a whole improved.

It helped that a 30-year-old second baseman named Danny Murtaugh had a career offensive year -- .290 with 71 RBIs -- but the most noteworthy change was the change at manager with Billy Meyer.

1957.....62-92
1958.....84-70

Another change at manager was key, with Murtaugh beginning his legendary career in fine form.

It surely mattered more, though, that a gifted core, all 27 or younger -- Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Friend, Bill Virdon, Dick Groat -- were gearing up for glory two years later.