.500!

OK Pirate fans... I did a reverse curse.I questioned the move of taking James McDonald out and lookie here! Doumit homers and the Pirates are a .500 team.Yeah it is early but this is the first time since 2004 that they were a .500 team this late. Can they play above .500 for 128 games?(I'll get blamed if they go on a losing streak won't I?)Enjoy the curtain calls, Ryan Doumit!

Did James McDonald get hurt?

Seriously, what the hell is going on in Pittsburgh? I don’t have the game on, but I saw that McDonald was simply dealing at PNC Park.Over 6 innings he let up 3 hits, no runs and 8 strikeouts on 96 pitches. Then he was lifted. He didn’t come out for the 7th. Out came Chris Resop who faced 3 batters, all got hits including a lead off homer by Angel Sanchez.As I write this, the Pirates 2-0 lead has

Sorry Pirates fans... I won't jinx your team any more

It seems like every time I write something positive about the Pirates, they lose.Every time I try to be positive about Pittsburgh and hope they finally make their way to .500, the team does a faceplant.And I often have received nasty comments from Pirate fans when I criticize them... now I am getting flustered comments from Pirate fans when I praise them.Here I am, a Red Sox fan blogging... and

Stay focused Pirates...

OK Pirates, we all know you guys have sucked since 1992.And by sucked I mean posting a losing record for each of the last 18 seasons.By sucked I mean 9 last places finishes over the last 18 seasons.By sucked I mean 6 straight 94+ loss seasons including last year's 105 loss fiasco.We all know that.And only a lunatic would have picked the Pirates to win the NL Central. (Did anyone have them with a

Justice for Chris Resop

Last week, I saluted Pirates reliever Chris Resop for his 3 shutout innings, all after the 9th. He didn't get a win nor a save nor a hold for that, yet he helped keep the mighty Rockies off of the board long enough for the Bucs to win.Well today the ledger evened out.The Pirates looked like they were going to blow a game where they had a 4-0 lead before the Reds even came to bat. I warned them

Don't lose this game, Pirates

The Pirates are up 4 runs before the Reds even come to bat. So listen to me Pirates and you listen good. If you have ANY hopes to go .500 (an Everest not scaled since 1992) then THESE are the games you can not blow.You are going to lose close games.You are going to lose some blow outs.But when you put a 4 spot on the board in the first, then you NEED to close out the game.I expect the Pirates to

Sully Baseball Salutes... Chris Resop and the Pirates bullpen

I am guessing not a lot of you watched the Pirates - Rockies game last night. PNC Park wasn't exactly standing room only and the two teams are not the most popular in the bigs.21 Rockies played. 20 Pirates played. With 41 players putting this game on the Baseball Reference page, I am frankly surprised that the Pirates didn't have the Parrot warming up.Pirate manager (and former Rockies manager)

Can the Pirates go 78-78 the rest of the way?

The Pirates NEED to get a winning season one of these years. They went the entire 2000s without as much as a .500 season. It's been documented ad nauseum that they haven't been a .500 team since Francisco Cabrera drove home David Justice and Sid Bream.And until the Pirates win more than they lose in a season, it will be mentioned. It is the yoke on the team. None of the players were ON that team.

Listen to The Sully Baseball Show... with guest Joel Solomon

Pirates fan Joel Solomon joins me on The Sully Baseball Show, part of the Seamheads National Podcasting Network.Listen in. Listen to internet radio with Seamheads on Blog Talk Radio

OK Ross Ohlendorf... time to earn your money

Ross Ohlendorf won one game last year and then matched his win total in arbitration in the off season.A lot of people made fun of that in the off season, including yours truly. But he is pitching against the Cubs today and can match his 2010 win total in early April.Everything after that? Gravy.

OK, maybe the uniforms DIDN'T help the Pirates

I guess I was too quick to give the Pirates (and their bad ass black uniforms) credit for back to back wins.Who could have seen a 5 run 8th inning from the Cubs? I didn't.I stand by my original point: The Pirates should wear the black tops for every road game.

The Pirates take the early lead... it's GOTTA be the uniforms!

The Pirates are winning against the Cubs... again.And once again they are doing it wearing their awesome black top uniforms. I told them to make those their regular road jerseys last year. So far so good with them THIS year.They've tried everything else to put a winning club on the field (short of drafting well and making smart trades.) Why not keep wearing these cool tops?How could it be worse

The Pirates looked good while looking good

The Pirates won their opener. (Why were they playing in Chicago while San Francisco and San Diego are empty?)And who knows how long they will be undefeated. But they ARE winning the awesome alternate uniforms. Last year, I urged them to make these the permanent road uniforms.Look like winners and who knows? Maybe they will BE winners?Just 81 more wins and they will have their first winning season

Tim Wakefield and Miguel Batista... last relics of Pittsburgh glory

Tim Wakefield is back in camp with the Red Sox. This will be his 19th big league season (he spent 1994 in the minors) and potentially his 17th with the Boston Red Sox. He is only 13 wins behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens for the all time Red Sox team mark.Miguel Batista is still hanging in there as a big league pitcher. He had a solid season as a reliever for the Washington Nationals in 2010 and

Put Manny Sanguillen in!

Admit it, he still looks good in uniform.And it would help matters if the Pirates actually were playing someone who remembers what it was like to play on a Pirates team that posted a winning record.

Rest in peace Chuck Tanner

The Fam-A-Lee lost one of its great figures.Notice I couldn't say its father figure. The 1979 Pirates had only one daddy... that would be Pops Stargell.But Chuck Tanner was the manager of those 1979 Pirates and it was his enthusiasm and positivity that gave them a steady hand as they beat a powerful Orioles squad after trailing 3 games to 1.He managed contenders for the White Sox and the end of

Ross Ohlendorf's arbitration arguments

Some people are surprised that Ross Ohlendorf was able to win his arbitration hearing despite a 1-11 record for the Pirates.But if you look at his arguments, you will see it was a no brainer that he was going to win.- Hey, I'm a Pirate! We're SUPPOSED to lose. And who did it better than me?- Haven't you heard? We're not supposed to pay attention to a win-loss record anymore.- Felix Hernandez lost

The Hype of Kris Benson

I read yesterday that Kris Benson was indeed retiring from baseball. I was shocked when I read that. He was still pitching?That would be like hearing “Katrina and the Waves broke up.” Yeah, I figured they did.Actually Benson did pitch for a few games in 2009 and 2010. He pitched 36 1/3 innings in the majors since 2006. And he hung them up today.He made tens of millions of dollars along the way,

The Brewers Statement: We are NOT Kansas City (nor Pittsburgh for that matter)

When the Royals traded Zack Greinke to Milwaukee the other day, there was a beautiful symbolism to the move that wasn't lost on me.Greinke wasn't dealt to New York. Forget the spin of "He couldn't handle New York." Neither the Mets nor the Yankees have the prospects to have pulled off the trade.He wasn't dealt to the Red Sox, Phillies, Cubs, Angels or Dodgers.The Royals, a small market club that

I always get in trouble when I criticize the Pirates, but...

You can never accuse Pirate fans of being apathetic... at least not the ones who read what I write. As I've said before, I like the Pirates and want them to do well. And I hope that Neal Huntington helps assemble a winner and Clint Hurdle manages them back to the post season.But whenever I point out that their trades have left something to be desired or the team doesn't look that good for next