With the Pirates currently struggling to muster up anything that would resemble an offensive attack, I have labeled the Bucs as the "Most Frustrating Team in Major League Baseball" (If your a Pirates fans  of course).

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Tonight, the Bucs made Jason Marquis look like Nolan Ryan. He clearly is not Mr. Ryan.

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For some reason (in which I am currently investigating), Channel 19 WGN (a Chicago based cable network which broadcasts Cubs baseball games), has been a channel in which I have received on my local cable system for as long as I can remember.  I am not complaining about receiving the station because I get to watch the Cubs and Pirates afternoon game tomorrow.  Afternoon baseball on WGN has always been apart of my channel-surfing schedule, and I’m happy about that. The folks at WGN have introduced me to many life-changing moments including Harry Carey broadcasting a home run, Superman 1-3, watching the citizens of Chicago burn the city to ruins after both Chicago Bulls three-peats and most importantly….. Saved by the Bell re-runs. I guess WGN has had a significant impact on my life…..I am just wondering why we don’t receive the channel that broadcasts Devil Ray games .

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The Matt Capps – Prince Fielder rivalry  (who needs Bonds and Schilling) is the first episode in what will become a Pirates vs. Brewers "young guns" rivalry over the next couple of the years.

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Relating to the above statement. Bob Smizik is an idiot. (Story)

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John Smoltz (Braves), Tom Glavine (Mets), and Greg Maddux (Padres) could still anchor the Braves rotation to an NL East pennant.

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The HBO series, "The Sopranos"  is by far the best television show in the history of television shows on television.

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Jim Tracy got tossed for the first time on Tuesday night. I wish he would have acted more like this guy. Classic.

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John Kruk. Aka. Proof that any ugly, fat, and messy human being can be on TV, picked the Pirates to be in 1st place in the NL Central by the end of the month. But did he truly pick them ?!?!?

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I just realized that I have inserted a variety of links on this post and you are probably reading better stuff than this.

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Who is this guy? Could it be Mr. Operation Shutdown himself? …. He favoured socks with novelty designs, such as images of Looney Tunes characters. He wore scruffy suits, often with trousers that were too short. He was eccentric and told obscene jokes. The title of his 1981 solo album Derek Bells Plays With Himself has a conscious double-entendre. While touring in Moscow he grabbed his alarm clock and put it in his pocket while rushing to catch a plane. (Link)   No its just another guy named Derek Bell . They sure did have a lot in common though.

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Only Pirate fans will understand why the above reference is somewhat funny. And on that note I’M OUT!!!  See ya at the Ballpark!

At the conclusion of each month, I would like to reflect on the past 30 days in Pirates Baseball. Yeah I know its already May 4th. So what. I turn in my rent 5 days late. Get off me.

APRIL 2007

Best Pitcher -     Ian Snell.      2-1, 1.59 era, 34 innings pitched w/ 28 k’s

Worst Pitcher-   Tony Armas Jr.  11.57 era, 0-2 record, 11.2 innings pitched

Best Hitter -       Jason Bay    .280 avg, 4 HR’s and 17 rbi’s

Worst Hitter -    Adam LaRoche – check his stats. I dont want to type them.

Best Defense -   Jack Wilson/Jose Bautista

Worst Defense – Ronny Paulino – one too many passed balls that led to runs.

Best Reliever -   Matt Capps. .063 ERA , 7 HITS, 1 earned Run, 6 k’s

Best Peirogi-      Cheese Chester- currently the clubhouse leader with 6 wins.

Best Game – 16 inning victory over Houston Astros. April 25th 4-3.

After a two day sabbatical from winning baseball games, the Pirates return with a 4-2 drubbing of the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

Tonight’s game wasn’t shaping up to be a game in which the Pirates could mount a come back, but Bautista and Paulino’s back to back jacks propelled the Bucs to victory.

The Bucs trailed 2-0 through sixth innings before they broke open in the seventh with four runs.

Tom Gorzelanny ( now 4-1) battled seven strong innings and allowed two runs on only six hits. Matt Capps worked quickly in the eight inning and Torres came on  in the ninth for his ninth save of the season.

It was also great to see a baseball play that I have not seen since my glory day’s as a third baseman for the Astros in " Little League".  With a 2-0 lead, the Brewers thought they would "out smart" the bucs by pulling a delayed double steal. Prince Fielder (who is probably the last candidate in MLB to steal a base) broke for second while J.J Hardy (who was on 3rd) waited for Paulino to throw and broke for home. The play was snuffed out by Freddy Sanchez, who charged the throw of Paulino and gunned it back to home plate to nail Hardy by a mile. At the resumption of this play, I got three phone calls from buddies of mine that all said the same thing …. "Thhaaaat play didn’t even work in little league". Its amazing how on a day to day basis, we as Pirate fans can see similarity’s of the baseball being played in MLB to the play of 13 year olds in bright orange t-shirts sponsored by Grease Monkey.

Two Buccos that are flying under the radar this season are shortstop Jack Wilson and third baseman, Jose Bautista. Jumpin’ Jack went 2 for 4 with two doubles tonight and Bautista went 2 for 3 with the home run and two rbi’s.  I would also be a complete idiot if I did not mention that the duo on the left side of the infield are playing golden glove defense. Bautista is still considered "raw" at the third base position (mainly because he can play the outfield and second), while Wilson has always been solid at short since he joined the Bucs.

For the Bucs to compete this year all the "so-called experts" and analysts believe that the starting pitching needs to be consistent. While that still remains to be true, I believe that the Bucs will need role players such as Bautista and Wilson to continue to come up big on defense and at the plate to improve their record throughout the season.

The early struggles of Paulino, Sanchez, and more importantly Adam LaRoche have been a deep deep let down for many of the bucco faithful. But as my father always told me….. "don’t eat the yellow snow". Wait that’s not it. How about this one…. "You can always find the positive in the negative". That quote doesn’t really relate to mathematics, but you get the point. While some of our stars are not shinning so bright, the role players are picking up the slack for the buccos. If everyone in the lineup starts to click and the pitchers all pitch like they are capable of. Read my lips. Watch out for the Bucs.