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Could not agree more Coach. It helps that the good guys won both games. That was some good stuff the last two nights. A 10-2 start to July is nice.

Some random thoughts at the break:

- It is great to have two starters make the All-Star game. It is likely both Cole and Burnett will get to throw an inning. That is the good thing. The bad thing is that means Morton will be the starter for the opener to start the rest of the season. Can't say that is too exciting.
- I realize that Rodriquez comes in late in the game for defense, but if his bat gets any worse, I would rather take my chances with Pedro's defense late in the game just so Rodriquez doesn't come to the plate in any crucial offensive situation. I understand the substitutions for defense late in the game, but it just really never made sense to me. Pedro is good enough (well adequate enough) defensively to play the position for eight innings but not the last inning.
- Not to be Captain Obvious, but the key to the remainder of the season will be the starting pitchers. If the current 5 man rotation can take the hill for 90% of the remaining starts, this team has a legit chance to win the division. The organization's starting pitching depth in the minors has been depleted significantly in the last few months so it is crucial that the current starters stay healthy.

If you have not done so, check out the picture on AJ Burnett's twitter page. It is a b&w picture of PNC Park that gives it a Forbes Field type of look. JMO but is it a neat picture.

DragonsDoExist wrote:Definitely have put themselves in a good position heading into the 2nd half. They could play .500 baseball the 2nd half and still finish with 90 wins!

True, but the bad thing about that is, 90 wins this year gets you back into the Wildcard game. They got to play .550-.580 ball to win the Division.

I've poured the Kool-Aid and sipped after taking 3 of 4 from the Cards. Great to see Polanco heating up.

Manfred wrote:I've poured the Kool-Aid and sipped after taking 3 of 4 from the Cards. Great to see Polanco heating up.

Yeah, and at the right time. With the way Kang is playing, can you justify taking him out of the lineup when Harrison returns? He provides a spark. Clutch hitting, great baserunning, and flashing leather. And with Gregory perhaps turning the corner, you can't put Jay Hay in RF. What to do, what to do? These are good problems to have.

Bucs back at it tonight. There was a really good article in the Trib (I know I was shocked too), about Morton yesterday. Long story short: As Morton has success, so do the Pirates. I think he's the "X" factor in the 2nd half. You know what you're going to get out of AJ, Cole, and Frankie. 6-8 solid innings. You also know that Locke is either boom or bust. But in Morton can stay to course he's on so far (minus the Washington start) it's not out of the question that the Pirates win 95 or more games this season.

Take 3 of 4 from the Cards- sip the juice. Drop the series to bottom-feeder Milwaukee, set the cup back down again! Mercer goes down, limiting the options, yet again. I didn't see the game, but Kang to SS, Rodriguez to 3rd? What did Hurdle do? What will the front office do, till JHay gets back?

Brent Morel is being called up. Most likely as a bench player. Kang to SS, Rodriguez to 3B. Mercer flew home to meet w/ team doctors according to The Fan. That's usually never a good sign.

peytonsaturday wrote:Brent Morel is being called up. Most likely as a bench player.

One would hope that is the case, but with the lineup Hurdle put on the card yesterday while trying to avoid a sweep who knows.
Morel likely would not have made the offense (or any other aspect of the game for that matter) any worse this past weekend.

I know all the talk about the Brewers playing well, but if the Pirates are going to be a team that thinks they can win the Central Division they cannot get swept by the last place team.

The next four series for the Pirates are going to be huge. They are going to be playing some good teams, with 9 of the 13 games on the road. While the Buc's are going up against some tough competition the other teams in the NL playoff hunt are not. Other than the one make-up game the Cards play against KC, the Cards, Giants, and Cubs don't play a game in the next four series against a team with a winning record.

Somehow the Bucco's need to play well enough to get to August without losing too much ground in the standings. Doing so would go a long way to solidifying any hopes for a playoff spot.

2 nights in a row. late inning. KC runners on 1st & 3rd. At least 1 out. Do you put the batter on with an intentional walk, hope for a play at the plate or a DP, or do you pitch to the batter? Guess what Hurdle did. Toasted, both times!

17-9 for July , best mark in NL for month and still 5&1/2 back.....rrgh! Time to win some divisional games