For five months this year, I found myself stuck in an up-and-down relationship with a…For five months this year, I found myself stuck in an up-and-down relationship with a predictable ending.

But this relationship wasn’t with a girl, it was with a professional baseball team known as the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Like most relationships, mine began in an awkward, yet intriguing, fashion.

In April, the Pirates showed remnants of last season’s early success, finishing with 10 wins and 12 losses. Although their record didn’t indicate significant success, one game in particular stuck in my mind.

In their second game of the season, the Pirates faced the formidable Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. After a tough loss the previous day to Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, one of the game’s best pitchers, the Pirates responded with a 2-1 victory over the Phillies in 10 innings.

With catcher Michael McKenry on third base, right fielder Alex Presley scored the game-winning run with an infield single. I attended the game and took great joy in Pittsburgh’s win over the Phillies — a team well-represented by fan support in the Pitt student body.

It was then that my love affair began.

Throughout the summer, I felt my relationship with the team grow with each home run hit by star center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who astounded me with a batting average that surpassed .370 for a large portion of the season.

My relationship with the team couldn’t get any better — and, in my mind, the best was yet to come.

On July 8, the Pirates played the San Francisco Giants in an afternoon matchup at home in Pittsburgh’s final game before the MLB All-Star break. It was like that date at a fancy French restaurant you’ll always remember.

With sole possession of the National League Central Division on the line, McCutchen belted two home runs, and pitcher A.J. Burnett retired 13 straight batters at one point, winning his ninth straight decision.

As he left the field in the seventh inning, Burnett received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd, pumping his fist in triumph.

That moment has remained vividly in my memory the entire season. The Pirates finished the first half of the season 11 games over .500, with a solid lead in the division over the Cincinnati Reds.

Baseball was back in Pittsburgh.

But alas, like any relationship, there were bound to be a few bumps in the road.

On July 30, the Chicago Cubs blasted the Pirates, 14-4, at Wrigley Field in Chicago — the same day that the Cubs traded outfielder Reed Johnson and pitcher Paul Maholm. Depleted and in disarray, the hapless Cubs torched Pirates starter Erik Bedard for nine runs in four innings.

In my mind, this incident was simply a blip on the radar. Just give the Pirates a few days and our relationship will return to its mid-summer form, I told myself.

Unfortunately, things just didn’t work out.

In August, the Buccos went 11-17, losing much of the offensive power the team discovered in June and July. After watching the team display the same ineptitude they’ve shown in my eight years as a fan, I had trouble overcoming my own skepticism.

And last week, we had our proverbial “falling out.”

Last Friday, the Pirates once again suffered a devastating loss to the Cubs, falling 12-2 and committing seven errors — the most committed by the team in more than 25 years. And although he obviously wasn’t completely responsible for the loss, Burnett — who restored my faith in this baseball team earlier in the season — struggled, allowing three earned runs on eight hits in five innings.

The damage to our relationship was irreparable after that game.

So with the saying “there are plenty of fish in the sea” in mind, I moved on. But unfortunately for me, the next fish I reeled in likes playing hard to get.

Its name is Pitt football.

Write Pat at [email protected].