Pirates Get Swept

Hey All,

Today the Pirates had their third game against the Phillies, in Philadelphia. The Pirates seemed to have a new string of hope with the new deal to get Derk Lee from Baltimore. It just wasn't enough to give the Bucco's the win. They Played strong all game long, and seemed that they were going to hold off the sweep, which they've done all year. The Phillies seemed to know the perfect time to strike a come back. After a two run shot by Overbay, the Pirates took a 5-3 lead going into the 8th inning. This looked like it would be it, and the the Buc's would hold off the sweep. Ibanez hit a 2 run shot to tie the game going into the 9th inning. The bull pen pulled through for Pittsburgh once again and took the game into extra's. As of late extra innings seems to be Pittsburgh's kryptonite, and history repeats itself. With a huge shot to right field by Ibanez drove in Hunter Pence, who hit a double earlier in the inning. Ibanez, by himself, beat the Pirates, with 2 HR and the walk off in the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates had no answer for him today. Let's hope that the Buc's can turn it around once they get home tomorrow against the Cubs, with new addition Lee, and Ludwick who I'm not sure when he will report to the team, get to the ball club. I think adding these two power hitters will bring new light to this offense which has been struggling as of late. It's just what Pittsburgh needed, but I think it came too late. They should have tried to acquire these players before they got into the meat of their schedule. Maybe have him come in late in the Atlanta, and before this series against the Phillies for sure. But what is done is done, and these two should bring the winning back to Pittsburgh.

Ochocinco To The Pats

Hey All,

Chad Ochocinco is now a member of the New England Patriots. Now I don't care about either the Pats or Ochocinco; but there is one thing that I think is completely ridiculous, and that is the Pats forcing Aaron Hernandez change his number. Just because formally known Chad Johnson changed his name to his number which as we all know is 85. The sad thing is he didn't actually change his last name to his actual number. What he did was change his last name to the numbers 8 and 5. I was saying this all a long that he would get traded eventually, and go to a team that already has a 85 on their team. I just didn't think that the organization that got him would actually make the player change his number so Chad doesn't have to. If I was the Patriots I would say sorry about your luck Ochocinco, you will take whatever number we feel like giving you. It's not our fault that you were dumb enough to change you last name to your "number". I feel for Hernandez who is the real loser in this situation, because he has to change his number. The Pats really do not need Ochocinco, their receiving core is solid. Ochocinco probably will not be a starter on this team, rather a back up, or even a slot receiver. I guess the teams will get what they signed, but that's not my problem, it'll be the Pats.

Worst Call Ever!

Hey All,

I am really upset about the umpiring at the Atlanta Pittsburgh, in game one of the series. The game went into extra innings and should have been the Pirates game, but a call that will bring out more talk about instant replay to the Majors, screwed up the Pirates chances for a win. Home plate umpire Males, missed one of the easiest calls that an ump can make. A chopper hit to third, was played well, the toss to home was perfect, and beat the runner by a mile was called safe at home when he was tagged three feet in front of the plate. This wouldn't have been that big of a call, if the game wasn't in the bottom of the 19th inning. A 19 inning game decided by a missed call doesn't give the fans their moneys worth. If he would have made the right call and called the runner out, Mckenry could have made a throw to first to get the batter out, who fell coming out of the batters box. This would have brought the game to the top of the 20th, which is unheard of for a game to go that far into extras, but it would have given the Pirates a chance to bat again which I'm sure they would have won the game from here.

What blows my mind is that in the second game of the 4 game series went into extras again. I think the Braves have found their match in the Pirates. Neither team can seem to finish the game in regulation. I am really looking forward to seeing how game three tonight turns out, and if it will go into extras like the first two did. Lets all hope that the Bucco's can pull it out in this one and pick up the win, which they desperately need to stay in the race for the division. Also lets hope that the umps don't screw things up for them again.

Are You Ready For Some Football!!

Hey All,

I am so happy to be posting this one, we have football this season! It's been a long road, 133 days of a lock out, but finally they got the deal right for both sides and we get football back in our lives. The players can report as early as Wednesday for mandatory physicals by their ball clubs. The problem I have with this is: everyone knows that the players were working out on their own. It was all over the media that most of the QB's for their teams scheduled these "meetings", so that they could stay in a rhythm with the offense. These "meetings" were important to stay in shape since they were missing so much camp. I'm sure both sides of this are happy that the lock out is finally over, and they can get back to doing what they know how to do best. Today the NFL has released a full calender of how the next few weeks are going to play out, here's the link (http://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/2011nflcalendar.pdf). I feel that how they are handling the way camps are set up is a little messed up. They are only letting certain teams start camps on certain weeks. I think that they all should just be able to meet on the same week and be able to start their camps. Just because you have a late preseason game doesn't mean that you should have to start later. If we didn't have the lock out teams will all be starting to practice at the same time, so why should that change now that the lock out is over? I don't see how this is a good idea, but hey I guess that's why they make the big bucks right? I just don't get it, how is it that some small town kid from West Virginia, still in college can figure stuff like this out, but these so call "big shots" have no idea what they are doing? If anyone knows, please fill me in. All of these minor details aside, I'm excited for football. I can't wait to see where all the free agents go, how many trades are made, and where everyone will end up. This is going to be exciting 5 months of work done in a few weeks.

Pirates Trying To Avoid A Sweep

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a tough time trying to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. They have lost the past 2 against the Cards and are facing a sweep this afternoon at PNC park. After last night embarrassing lost night 9-1 Pittsburgh will be looking to redeem themselves and pick up a win. The Bucs put Morton on the hill, who has a record of 8-5 and his ERA is 3.62 very close to his competitor on the hill for the Cards Lohse who is 8-7 with a ERA of 3.45. I think this is going to be a tough battle for the win tonight, but I think if the Pirates can pull off a win if they get the bats moving. The Cards have a reat pitching staff and their bats are really hot. With Pujols stronger than ever after coming back after his broken wrist, Morton will have be on top of his game. I can't wait to see if the Bucs can pull off a big win and close on in to the lead in the division once again.

Lock Out Still on For A Few More Days

Hey All,

The lock out will be on for a few more days. All that needs to happen is the players need to vote on the new CBA. The players said that they are going to go over the new agreement on Monday. I'm not sure as to why they are choosing to wait till next week to even look over the agreement. I think they are trying to play a little game of cat and mouse with the NFLPA, which is completely ridiculous if you ask me. On the other hand, the players said that once they look over the new deal, that they will vote after a few possible changes. They players received the CBA late last night and stayed up and early this morning looking over the 200+ pages that is the new CBA. Everyone keeps telling the players that they need to stay put and keep doing what they are doing. According to Baltimore Ravines running back Ray Rice said "I think that there will be football by the middle of next week." I'm hoping he is right and that by the middle of next week that we do have football back up and running. This lock out has gone on long enough, everyone is getting tired of all the talk about it, and want to get back to watching football. Some players have gone as far as tweeting their gratitude towards the fans on being so patient with all the negotiations that have happened since this lock out has started. It's good to hear that they are thinking of the fans. I just hope that motivates them in getting this deal done as Monday and we have football, because everyone needs football in their lives next season to get us through our daily lives.

Breaking News

Hey All,

The owners of the NFL have approved the new proposed CBA. Commissioner Roger Goodell has just had a press conference telling everyone that they have come to an agreement and agreed on the CBA. This couldn't have been better timing. There will be a conference call between 32 players with the owners and the NFLPA at 8:00pm eastern time. This is under a half hour away. Now ESPN has talked to a few players to get their take and to try and see what they are going to do. The players that they talked to say that they are in no hurry to make a deal. They are going to wait until they get the perfect results. If they like what they hear with the CBA, training camps can start as of next week, Wednesday to be exact. A few things that were mentioned in the CBA are; they will be cutting rookie salaries, there is now a salary cap of $120M with a minimum of $106M that every team has to meet, there will be no more full contact two-a-days practice in training camp, this is just a few of the stipulations that are in the new CBA that will be voted on. The owners vote was 31-0 for the agreement, with the Oakland Raiders the only team opting out of voting. Since this lock out is taking as long as it has the Hall of Fame game for this coming year has been canceled. This will push the first week of preseason back to August 11-15. This is only if the players agree to the CBA. The only good news that we the fans will get once the lock out is over is; we get football back in our lives which we all need, and there will be no more labor talks in the NFL for 10 years. This brings the next time for a potential lock out through the 2020 season. I can't wait till this lock out is over, and we get back to the greatest sport in the world football.

NFL Lock Out

Hey All,

I'm really excited to be talking about some football. Given there's no games or anything like that, but the lock out is almost over. The NFLPA, the owners, and the players union are about to finish this deal. There is a conference call today for the players and the NFLPA to finalize this deal. After that they will meet tomorrow and sign on the dotted lines to make this 10 year deal and we can get back to watching the sport we all love to watch. If your like me you are tired of hearing about all the players crying about this deal and saying they don't like it. Payton Manning is one of them who is asking about free agency, when he will not even be able to attend training camp because of his neck surgery. If another kicker says something, I might just lose it. You have one job and that is to kick a ball, keep your mouth shut and agree on the deal so we can get back to football. People will complain and most are not going to be happy about this deal, but not all the players need to agree on this deal for it to be finalized. Only 50% of the players need to agree, so it looks like feelings are going to get hurt, some are going to get what they want, and we will get football back in our lives once again. With everything that has to happen, they might miss some of training camp and maybe even the Hall of Fame game. I don't see what the big deal is about missing this game. I know it's important to the players who are already in the Hall of Fame, but it's one game and it's preseason, games that don't even count. Yes, I know it gives the coaches a chance to look at their rookies, and back ups a chance to show that they can be a starter. This one game will not hurt the two teams that are in it. They will still get all of their actual preseason games in, and get the looks at those players. I just think that everyone wants to see football and the players, owners, and the NFLPA knows this. They need to make the deal and give everyone, meaning the fans, what they want.

Raise The Jolly Roger!!!!!!!

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Pirates have picked up their 51st win last night against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC park. The Pirates didn't pick up their 51st this early last season, it took them 104 games to complete that feat. Now the Bucco's have new life under the leadership of Clint Hurdle who has turned this team into a division leader, from the worst team in the league last year. Pittsburgh picked up a big win over division rival in the Reds 1-0, and pitching was key in the Pirates win last night. It wasn't just about starter James McDonald, but the bullpen picked up the slack when J Mac was running out of steam in the 7th inning. The Bucs bullpen pitched out of a bases loaded 1 out jam and didn't give up a run. This is not to say that McDonald didn't pitch well, he pitched very well, picking up 7K and gave up 8 hits, with 2 errors. Pirates are now showing that they aren't going to make it easy on anyone, and showing that they are for real. I think that the Pittsburgh Pirates, provided they get a hitter before the trade deadline, will make a run for October and make the postseason. If they don't get a hitter I think it will be tough, it could go either way. If they pick up Carlos Beltran from the Mets and it's a done deal and the Pirates will be in the post season.

How About Them Bucco's

Hey All,

This is an exciting moment for all you Pirates fans out there. Your Pittsburgh Pirates are a half game above the Cardinals and the Brewers after the All Star break. This is just unheard of for the past couple decades. The Pirates were one of the worst teams in the majors as of late, but this year they have turned up the heat and are bringing it to the competition. Now I know most will say that the Pirates are in one of the worst divisions in the majors, and I would probably agree with you. The National League Central has been weak, and all the teams in that division, no one has talked about, Until now. The Cardinals, thanks to Albert Pujols, have been hot and making a name for themselves the past few years. The Milwaukee Brewers have been that team that just kind of fly's under the radar, and the only time you hear about them is when Prince Fielder has a big night. Now to the Pittsburgh Pirates, no one has been talking of them unless they have a big name team beats them. Also people have called them the farm team for the rest of the majors. They have traded away all their good players to the Red Sox and the Yankees, and then wonder why they can't win games. This year is different, they have not traded any of their "good" players and gotten nothing. They are a small market team, in terms of player names and money spent for them. The Pirates have been finding a way to win games with players that no one really knows about. They've brought players up from the minors, and they've produced. They've had players get hurt, and other have filled their shoes nicely. The only "big name" player that they have is Andrew McCutchen, and they are still winning. The Pirates haven't been in first in the their division, after the All Star break, since 1921. The only problem with this stat is, that year the Pirates failed to make the post season. Times are changing for the city of Pittsburgh. I think very soon that Pittsburgh will be known once again as the "City of Champions". The only missing piece of this puzzle was the Pirates, and now they are winning games. Lets just hope this trend keeps up and they can go deep into the post season, and make the World Series.

Heart Breaker In Germany

Hey All,

The US women faced Japan yesterday in the Women's World Cup Finals, and as predicted it was one for the books. In the opening 30 minutes of the game, the US women had plenty of chances to put some points on the board, but failed to do so. It seemed like every player for USA just couldn't find the back of the net. Shots going wide, over, and great saves by the Japanese goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori made scoring difficult. I was certain that this would be USA's time to shine, and get out of the shadow of the 1999 World Cup's US team. The first half of the game was all about goalkeeping for both teams. Hope Solo made some amazing saves as well as Japan’s goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori. It would come down to how both teams would play in the second half of this game. Once the horn blew to start the second half, it played out just like the first, goalkeeping ruled. It wasn't until the 71st minute when USA's youngest player Alex Morgan put one past Kaihori to put the US up 1-0. Japan would not go down without a fight, getting the equalizer in the 81st minute off the foot of Aya Miyama. This was a spectacular goal to say the least. Solo had originally stopped the first shot at her, but wasn’t able to get a hold of the ball. Her teammates couldn't clear leaving Miyama the open look to put it past her. This would send the game into overtime, something the women of USA are used to seeing in this tournament. It wasn't until the 104th minute where the head of Abby Wambach put one past Kaihori. Everyone including myself thought this would be the final, but Japan said we don't think so. With just minutes left Japan would get yet another equalizer off the foot of Homare Sawa, leading the USA women into another game to be decided by penalty kicks. Now I thought this was a good situation for the US to be in, and predicted that this game would go down like the 1999 World Cup final did with USA winning in dramatic fashion. The reason this was not the best situation for USA is because Japan has seen all the shots that USA has taken when it comes to PK's. Everyone knows that Japan was studying the kicks in case they were put into this situation. Kaihori had the number of every player she faced in this round of penalty kicks, except for Wambach who was the only player to put one past her. Hope Solo was playing hurt after tweaking her knee right before Japan got the equalizing goal. Solo only made one save and let three go past her to give Japan a win, and the World Cup Title. One stat that is worth telling is that this was the 26th meeting between the two teams, and before yesterday’s game Japan was 0-25 against the US. So not only did Japan win the World Cup, but also snapped a 25 game losing streak against the women of USA. I want to say congratulations to Japan on their victory tonight, it was much needed for the nation of Japan after the devastating events that happened just a few months prior to the start of the World Cup. Also I want to congratulate the women of USA for fighting so hard in this tournament, and making it all the way to the finals.

Pryor In The NFL?

Hey All,

If your like me I'm sure you are as sick of hearing about Terrelle Pryor as I am. His agent says he will be a first round pick in the supplemental draft, once the lock out is lifted, and I can't help but laugh at this thought. He is not even close to being a first round pick. He doesn't have the arm strength, he's not that accurate, and doesn't like to stay in the pocket. Now I know most fans will say to look at Mike Vick, he's the same way. My response to that is, no he's not. Mike Vick is in a category all in his own. Plus he has had experience in the NFL, before the whole dog fighting thing happened, but that's for a other time. Terrelle Pryor is a package QB at best. Teams that run the wild cat offense, and run it well, should look at taking him in the supplemental draft. The only thing is that they should wait til' after the first round to pick him. The over under on where he will go is the 4th round according to most NFL analysis, and i couldn't agree with the more. Teams would be taking a huge gamble taking him anytime lower then mid second round to late third, and at the latest early fourth round. I will be really surprised to see him go any earlier than that, and will be looking forward in seeing how he does once he is drafted, who he goes to, and how he is used.

Breaks Over

Hey All,

Today marks the end of the All Star break as the Pittsburgh Pirates get back to action for the second half of the season. If all goes well, and the Bucs have as good of a second half and they did in the first, then they will be a contender at the end of the season. The Pirates had an amazing first half to their season, going 6 games above the .500 mark, and only a game out of first place in their division. If the Bucco's can make a few moves, maybe with their minor leaguers, to pick up a power hitter, they will fair well in the second half of the baseball season. The Pirates are showing the major league that you don't have to be a large market team, in terms of money, to have a good season and make a run at your division. The Pirates do not have many "big named" players. Instead they relay on heart, the love of the game, and the will to win. The only really "big named" player that they had is Andrew McCutchen. He constantly produces for them, his bat stays hot, and he does pretty well on the defensive side of the ball with his speed.

I don't think that the Pirates should get rid of any of their players on their line up. However; they will need to make a move of some sort to pick up that power hitter to move themselves into a better position to make a run at the division. I think the Bucco's have turned a lot of heads in the baseball world, not many people know what to say about the way they are playing. All I know is that this is making for some exciting baseball as of late. Today the Bucs go into Huston to face the Astros, a team that is one of the worst in the league right now, and at the bottom of their division. Pittsburgh should have an easy task to pick up the win in this one with ease. The one thing they will have to watch out for is the hitting of the Astros. Most think that just because they are in last place in the division that they simply just can't hit. Well, I would have to tell those people, you are wrong. The Astros can hit, it's their pitching staff that needs the work. They have probably the worst pitching rotation in the majors, in my opinion. Pittsburgh needs to take advantage of this tonight and move themselves even closer to that all important 1st place in the NL central. The only thing people are going to be wondering, myself including is; can the Bucco's do it?

USA Does It Again!!!!

Hey All,

The United State woman's soccer team has had an incredible run in this years world cup, and show no sings of slowing down. Wednesday's game against France proved to be just another stepping stone along this remarkable journey. The US women got off to a quick start in the 9th minute of the game scoring first off the foot of Lauren Cheney as she just slung it by the goal keeper. France would not go down without a fight though, getting a goal in the 55th minute of the game by  Sonia Bompastor. This posed a big scare for team USA, because yet again they were in for another close hard fought battle. USA would pull ahead in the game off of a corner kick when Abby Wambach's head put in another spectacular goal to give the US the lead 2-1 in the 75th minute of the game. At this point France didn't seem to have an answer to the will power of team USA. At one point in the game France looked like they would have something for the women of USA and were out playing them on all levels of the game, except one, goal tending. Hope Solo like always kept this team in it with her great skills between the pipes. USA would make some subs to get fresh legs out there and I don't think they expected the youngest player on the team Alex Morgan to come away with her first goal of this World Cup. She scored in the 82nd minute  to give USA what they needed most, a comfortable lead and some room for error. This sparked new life into the team and gave them the heart they needed to finish out the rest of the game, and take the victory to move onto the Cup Finals by the score of 3-1.

The women of USA go onto the finals to play Japan, a team playing not only for themselves, but to restore hope to their country that was hit by deadly natural disaster just a few mouths ago. It all comes down to this. Two teams with the heart and sole to take home the World Cup, but which will have the most heart to pull off the victory? I think this game will go down to the wire, and be one to remember for a long time. One team playing for their country to give them hope yet again. Another playing to live up to past teams and show that with hard work, practice, and a lot of heart you can achieve your goals. This game could possibly be making a lot of needed buzz for woman's sports, given them much needed recognition and their time in the spot light away from all the dominating men's sports. I think this one will go down to a shot out to see which goal tender wants it for their team more. With all the hype for this game it has turned people like myself, who don't watch or care for soccer that much, into fans to see their country pull it off, and bring home the title. USA Japan, will it go down in history as one of the greatest sports moments? We'll find out on Sunday.

All Star Game

Hey All,

Yesterday was the MLB All Star Game, and it was a good showing for the National League. The final score of the game was 5-1 in favor of the NL. I normally don't like All Star Games. Mainly because it's all the best players playing at the same time, so there's no real big plays, and the scoring is low. The only time you will get a run is when someone hits a HR. That was the case in this game. The AL got the scoring started with a solo shot by Adrian Gonzalez to put the AL up 1-0. It was short lived thought, the NL's Prince Fielder came out and hit a huge 3 run HR to give the NL the lead for the night. Had it not been for him I think the final might have been 1-0 AL and gave them the home field advantage in the World Series. Instead, Fielder came through big for his team. Maybe it has something to do with the poor showing from the NL in the Homerun Derby the night before? The one thing that upset me about the NL pitching decisions is that Kevin Correia did not get to pitch in the game. If this is an All Star game, and you get selected to play in the game, then you should actually get to play in the game and not just sit in the bullpen or on the bench the whole game. I know some people might call the "childish" but it only seems fair. One last fact about the game is that this is the first time in a long time that the NL has won back to back years in the All Star game, since it was for home field advantage. Since they made that rule change the NL is 7-2 (counting last night) against the AL in this game. With the power house teams in the AL; lets see if home field advantage has the same affect it did last year, with the San Fransisco Giants winning the World Series, and help another NL team in winning the Series.

Homerun Derby

Hey All,

The 2011 Homerun Derby was a record setting one at that. It was by far the most entertaining one I have seen. In my mind it tops the 24 first round homers in the 2007 Homerun Derby, which was close to a record but not quite there. And the man who did it, wasn't even the winner of the event. This year David Ortiz picked the best line up that anyone could have picked. The Derby came down to The Yankees and The Red Sox, how fitting. Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano were the two finalist representing the AL. Both men in the second round hit 20 bombs! That's outstanding. The NL didn't fair too well against the power house that is the AL batters. Prince Fielder was the only hope for the NL to win the Derby, and I'm sorry but one man against four isn't going to be enough fire power. In the last round Gonzalez hit 11 homers, 11! That's amazing for having so many swings of a bat. Most anyone would have started to show some fatigue at this point in time; their hands would start to hurt, fingers start to tingle and just wouldn't be able to get any power on the ball. Not these two men. With Gonzalez hitting the 11 homeruns, a record tying for most HR hit in the last round of a Derby, everyone in the stadium knew that in order to win the Derby that Cano would have to break a record and hit 12. He did just that, and what made this event even more special was he had his dad pitching to him. No one could have predicted this went. The fans who were on hand for the event got their moneys worth. Not to mention that they raised a ton of money for charity, the David Ortiz Children's Fund and the Boys and Girls Club. This event was a great one over all, amazing for the kids, fans, and players who all got their moneys worth in this event, and that is what it is all about.

USA!!!!

Hey all,

Now I don't pretend to be a huge soccer fan, but taday I found myself getting into the World Cup this morning against Brazil. The women of USA scored the first goal against Brizal in this World Cup in the first 74 seconds. They held that lead all the way until the 70th minute of the game where Brazil's Marta scored what would be called a questionable call on the PK. A yellow card given to goal keeper Hope Solo for moving to early on the first try. That makes the game 1-1, and would remain that way till the end, sending the game into overtime. In the first couple of seconds of extra time Brizal's Marta would get a unbelievable goal to give Brizal the lead. This made the score 2-1 in favor of Brizal going into the second 15 minutes of extra time. This is where the game became more questionable to say the least. USA wasn't getting any calls going their way, and it wasn't looking good for the American team. The game was in the 122 minute with 3 minutes of extra time for one of the players for Brizal faking a back injury. They brought out a cart to take her off the field, and once off she then unstrapped herself and ran back onto the field, picking up a yellow card. Now with just one minute left to go in this game USA picks up an unbelievable goal to make it 2-2 sending the game to penalty kicks. This is where USA shined after playing most of the game a player down for receiving a red card. USA was fantastic with penalty kicks not missing one to send them into the semifinals against France on Wednesday. This will be another good tough game for America to move on and try to win the World Cup after being named the #1 team in the world. Be looking for another post after the semifinals on Wednesday.

Pirates Cubs

Hey all,

With the Pirates coming off of that big time upset against the Astros, the Pirates are looking to bounce back after a tough loss with the Cubs in town tonight. On the mound for the Bucco's will be James McDonald, who as of late has been struggling. On the other side Lopez takes the hill for the Chicago Cubs. J. Mac will have to have all the right stuff tonight in order to pick up another win for the Pirates, who are just a game back from the lead in the NL Central. With both Milwaukee and St. Louis tied for first in that division the Bucs will be looking for both of them to go down tonight, and maybe squeak into the top spot before the All Star break. The Pirates are making a lot of noise in the majors, and are looking to keep that noise going with another big win tonight against the Cubs. If Pittsburgh can pull of a win of this series or a sweep, there is no reason that they shouldn't be in first place in their division right before the break. The only problem with that is that St. Louis has "The Machine", Albert Pujols back in the starting line up. Quite frankly the Cardinals just aren't that good without him in the line up, but with him epically now that he is stronger than before from his time off, I don't know who will be able to pitch around him. It's going to be a close race to the finish for both teams, I just can't wait to see how this one turns out. The Pirates should be able to take this very weak division, but they need to focus on taking it one game at a time. I will be posting again after the game after the game.

Pirates Going for the Sweep

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Pirates have not done well when going for the sweep of any team this year. With the Huston Astros in town, one of the worst teams in the majors, it's looking like the Bucco's might have it in them to pick up the sweep right before the All Star break. The Pirates two previous wins against the Astros has been by healthy margins, 5-3 in the first meeting and 5-1 in the second. With Chris Morton on the mound for the Bucco's, I feel that they have a good chance to pick up the sweep tonight at PNC park. Morton, with a 7-4 record coming into tonight's game, should be able to pick up another win against a relatively strong hitting team in the Huston Astros. I feel that the only reason for the poor season that the Astros are having is because simply they have no pitching. This will play well into the hands are the hot bats of the Pirates. Morton is very capable of putting away the Astros hitters, he just needs to go right at them like they have in the past two games. Hopefully for the Pirates that they can bring out the brooms tonight and "RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!" Be looking for another post shortly after tonight's game.

Albert Pujols

Hey all,

If you have been following baseball, or even watching Sport Center you know that Albert Pujols has been out on the 15 day DL list due to a wrist injury. The Dr. said that he would be out at least 4-6 weeks, but he is making an amazing comeback without any rehab what so ever. I guess that is why they call him "The Machine" because he does stuff that most players just wouldn't be able to do. Most players would have stayed out for the full 6 weeks to make sure that they were good and healed up, but not Pujols. He is able to come back to the Cardinals without rehab and in half the time. This will be a great help to the St. Louis Cardinals, because they have been struggling without Pujols in the line up. It will be good for them to try and stay in first place in the NL Central over the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Seeing how the Cardinals are ahead of the Brewers by 1 game and only 1.5 games ahead of the Pirates, they are going to need to stay strong to stay ahead. With the Pirates playing as strong as they are the NL Central will be shaking up and I think people will be surprised how that division will turn out at the end of the regular season. The Pirates schedule coming up shouldn't be a tough one and they should be able to make a strong run to be #1 in that division after the All Star break. The St. Louis Cardinals sure should be glad that they are getting one of their star players back and sooner than he should be. Some of the players on his team have said that he is looking stronger than before the injury, which should scare most of the teams in the Majors. Pujols was scary good before he got hurt, I'm scared and excited to see how he will do now that it is "stronger than before". Be looking to see how he does and I will be updating after his return.

All Star Snubs

There were some players in the Major Leagues who should be playing in the All Star game but aren't. One player for the NL that should be there is Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen's average this season is .294 with 12 HR and 42 RBI. He's also stolen 15 bags this season, and with his speed on the defensive side of things, not a lot of balls get over his head. McCutchen also has a pretty good slugging percentage as well as an on base percentage, his on base is .393 with a slugging of .498. It just blows my mind how you can over look a player like this, who puts up those type of numbers. It just goes to show you that the MLB All Star game is nothing but a popularity contest. Can someone please tell me how Derek Jeter made the AL All Star team being on the DL for the last couple of weeks. That just proves my point that the fans just vote for their favorite players and that's who will play in the game. Don't get me wrong Jeter is a pretty decent player, but has been out with a calf strain. All of his reps the last couple of week have been with the AA team the Trenton Thunder, and I'm sorry if you are going for your 3,000 hit but your playing for a AA team, how does that mean your an All Star?

It's not just the fans who are guilty of voting for their favorite players, the players get a say in who plays in the All Star game as well. They are just as guilty as the fans are for voting in a "big name" player. Since we are on the subject of the All Star game, I think that I should give credit where credit is due. The one and only Bucco that made the All Star game is well deserving of the honor. Joel Hanrahan makes his first All Star game of his career. Possibly the best closer in the Majors with a perfect 24/24 saves, finally one player that should be there who actually made the team. Now I know that the rosters aren't final yet and there still could be some moves, but there is still no way that McCutchen will make it to the game and that's sad because he deserves it. I will be posting again when they have the final rosters in.

Jagr update

Hey all,

The time has come when Jagr has made his decision on which team he will play for next season. I'm sure, if your like me, you were hoping he'd be playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The only problem is that he decided on taking his talents elsewhere in PA, and play for the Phildelphia Flyers. I never thought I'd see the day when he would play for the instate rival of the Penguins. He will be taking less money then he would if he would have played for the Penguins. $1.3 million for one year in Philly, .7 million less. The Flyers will be, in my opinion, will be the team to be with the talent they got in the free agent market. Max Talbat has taken a 5 year deal with the Flyers. The way the NHL free agents played out I can't wait for next hockey season. There is going to be more excitement then this past season, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.