Baseball is in the air. . .

The Pirates have taken the first two games of the year against the Houston Astros, and a lot of the Bucco faithful are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. TWO wins. It's sad how little it takes to get our hopes up, but after straight 14 sub-.500 seasons (following two CRUSHINGLY painful playoff defeats in '92 & '93), we need hope.

The Pirates went 27 of 81 in the first half of last year, and it was worse than the record shows. UGLY. Their defense was about one point away from the worst rating in modern times. If not for Freddie "National League Batting Champ" Sanchez and outfielder Jason Bay, there would little to speak of offensively.

This off-season, we traded for lefty 1st Baseman Adam LaRoche, who hit 32 home runs for Atlanta in less than a full season last year. He hasn't even had a hit yet, but nobody expects that to continue. Freddie Sanchez hasn't played yet (minor knee injury in Spring Training), so we got these two wins without two of our best players doing anything to help the cause. It's nice to know we can do that.

When we traded Brian Giles to the Padres a few years back, we wanted a young outfielder named Xavier Nady in return. San Diego wouldn't budge, and instead we had to 'settle' for Jason Bay (who has hit 32 & 35 home runs the past two years, and looks to be off to a good start for a Hall-of-Fame career), and lefty pitcher Oliver Perez (said to be the next Randy Johnson, and for one season had EVERYBODY convinced, but he failed to deliver on his promise in the long-term).

The once-highly-coveted Xavier Nady ended up with the Mets, had a couple injuries, and we traded for HIM around the trading deadline last year (got him for Oliver Perez and a bag of used batting practice balls). He's healthy this year, and has hit 2 home runs already. Could it be he's about to show why we wanted him so badly? Geez, to have 3 players capable of knocking in ~40 HR's over the course of a season. . .the entire Pirate TEAM only hit 141 HR's last year, you do the math!

Despite SIX of our last SEVEN #1 draft picks needing Tommy John surgery before pitching a full major league season 🤦 , our starting rotation is young and promising, and our bullpen is solid(the last 2 guys are frightening, but that's the case for every bullpen). . .we have a young, big, slow catcher named Ronny Paulino who, while he clogs the basepaths, can hit for average and has HR power potential. . .and then there's six-foot-five, 275-pound right-hand-hitting, Brad "Big Country" Eldred.

Much like Crash Davis in the movie "Bull Durham", "Big Country" seemed destined to set the somewhat dubious record for minor-league home runs, and the even more dubious record for strikeouts. . .until spring training this year, when he suddenly showed an amazing ability to lay off bad pitches and draw walks, while still smashing MONSTER home runs the likes of which haven't been seen since Mark McGwire's chemically-enhanced days. This guy's potential is just amazing if he can keep it together. He's kinda old for a prospect(26), but lost nearly all of last season due to a badly broken thumb(he credits his time-off for his improvement, as he spent the time watching tapes of his at-bats). He's on the bench behind LaRoche and Nady. If LaRoche struggles against left-handed pitching, it would be nice to see Brad get his cuts.

If our shortstop(Jack "Flash" Wilson) can get back to his former gold-glove-caliber defense (he had bulked-up last year, had an emergency appendectomy, and generally stunk up the field), and our previously low on-base-percentage centerfielder/lead-off man can get on base often enough to make use of his impressive speed, I think we can contend in the weak NL Central division. (crosses fingers).

Get the brooms out. Today, we go for the sweep. If we get it, we will have equaled our win total against Houston FOR ALL OF LAST YEAR 😲

Former Pirate catcher Jason Kendell used to greet new arrivals in Pittsburgh with the phrase, "Welcome to Hell." I think the team has come a long way in dispelling the 'losing atmosphere', but I think a win today, in Houston's house, will close the door on 14+ years of bad memories.

So, what's happening with YOUR team?

I'm not a huge baseball fan. But I do try to keep up on the phillies and catch a game or two if I can. But Phillies are off to a great start, dropping thier season opener.

Looks like it will be another sad year for Philadelphia.

Megaron wrote:
Looks like it will be another sad year for Philadelphia.

How about them Eagles...

😉


JUST KIDDING!!! 😉

Well, the Sox had a good off season and grabbed some top-notch talent in Dice-K and JD Drew. Assuming that they can keep their starters healthy and their relievers on track, Red Sox Nation should be in for another great ride. I don't care if we win the World Series as long as we beat the f*ckin' Yankees 😈

I actually try not to follow the Sox too much at this time of year and just casually keep track of what is happening. The season is too long and I am emotionally drained by the end if I start now - I just can't take the stress. For that reason I am happy at this time of year to not have the regional sports network in my Satellite package because they show every Sox game. By the end of the season I'll be desperately wishing I had it, but for now it keeps me from becoming completely obsessed and watching every single game at the exclusion of most everything else.

YANKEES FTW!!!!!111!1!eleven

Atomm wrote:
YANKEES FTW!!!!!111!1!eleven

Oh, Atomm. . . 🙁

If you're gonna like American League baseball, do you HAVE to root for the most obvious, easiest to like team? ANYBODY can like a team with an owner crazy enough to spend double everyone else's budget. That said, it looks like the Yanks are finally placing some importance on their minor league players, and aren't going to trade away the future for every good vet who is on the downside of his career.

Sarge wrote:
Well, the Sox had a good off season and grabbed some top-notch talent in Dice-K and JD Drew. Assuming that they can keep their starters healthy and their relievers on track, Red Sox Nation should be in for another great ride. I don't care if we win the World Series as long as we beat the f*ckin' Yankees 😈

I actually try not to follow the Sox too much at this time of year and just casually keep track of what is happening. The season is too long and I am emotionally drained by the end if I start now - I just can't take the stress. For that reason I am happy at this time of year to not have the regional sports network in my Satellite package because they show every Sox game. By the end of the season I'll be desperately wishing I had it, but for now it keeps me from becoming completely obsessed and watching every single game at the exclusion of most everything else.

One thing about the Sox I gotta give them credit for: They have a knack for taking players the Pirates can't do a damn thing with and making good use of them. It's frustrating to see guys go elsewhere and blossom, as we've had so little luck these past 14 years. There's been a lot of vitriol for Pirates management and training staff as a result of both of these things. . .of course, we DID trade Jeff "What do you mean I didn't make the post-season roster" Suppan to Boston to get Freddie Sanchez 🙂 Here's a 16-year-old who should be the next Sox GM:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:oR8zv...lient=firefox-a

Oh wow, did you read this Sickles' quote from the article? Dude CALLED his batting championship, though he DID hedge his bets a lot.

Sickles went on to say, stressing it was merely a possibility, a strenuous if, that “a normal growth curve would make him a potential batting champion down the line.”

It looks like, going from past performance, Drew is ripe for another season where he misses 50+ games. It's an odd-numbered year. 🙁

Theo is has made some good trades, but that wasn't one of them. Remember however that was before "The Curse" was broken and things were a little different. Since we won the Series, the fans haven't been quite so insane which has allowed the management to relax a little. Would the Sanchez for Suppan 🤮 trade have been made now? No. They seem to be a little bit more respectful of future needs fortunately and are also slowly coming to grips that while they can throw some money around ($140 million this year), they still can't afford the kind of salary that the Yankees regularly pay out ($190 million).

Sarge wrote:
Theo is has made some good trades, but that wasn't one of them. Remember however that was before "The Curse" was broken and things were a little different. Since we won the Series, the fans haven't been quite so insane which has allowed the management to relax a little. Would the Sanchez for Suppan 🤮 trade have been made now? No. They seem to be a little bit more respectful of future needs fortunately and are also slowly coming to grips that while they can throw some money around ($140 million this year), they still can't afford the kind of salary that the Yankees regularly pay out ($190 million).

I understand the curse and the craziness it brought out. The trade wasn't a TOTAL 🤦 , especially when you take into account what was known at the time. The Sox NEEDED another pitcher, and as I recall, Suppan was very effective for the Bucs the first half. Sanchez was born with a club foot, and he missed most of a season since the trade due to corrective surgery(he didn't last the rest of the season at triple-A before being shut down). Hell, Suppan signed a 4-year, $42 million contract in the off-season, so it's not like he's a career AAAA guy. . . but that did turn out to be a horribly lopsided trade, one of the few that was lopsided in favor of the Pirates.

So my 'stros got to play a wakeup series against this down and out crap team the Butte-Pirates.. or something wasn't really paying any attention 'cept that the bastardes lost. Well maybe this is just the same ole same ole.. but of all teams to lose against.. the Pirates?.. WTF. Be it as it may.. who knows I may actually watch sports sometimes this year...

then again probably not.

Silent Cold wrote:
So my 'stros got to play a wakeup series against this down and out crap team the Butte-Pirates.. or something wasn't really paying any attention 'cept that the bastardes lost. Well maybe this is just the same ole same ole.. but of all teams to lose against.. the Pirates?.. WTF. Be it as it may.. who knows I may actually watch sports sometimes this year...
then again probably not.

Butt-Pirates? BUTT-PIRATES? BUTT-PIRATES?????

ALL RIGHT, BITCHES. IT'S ON!!!!!!!!!


http://tinyurl.com/2jnzxm

YOU MUST BE FROM HOUSTON IF...

You have a Roach Story: You opened your flatware drawer to find a roach the size of the Taco Bell chihuahua. He stood up and looked you in the eye. You closed the drawer, bought new flatware -- and stored it in the oven.

When you see your neighbor dancing around the front yard, you don't think he's won the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes; you know he just stepped in a fire ant bed.

Your neighbor's Christmas yard decorations look like a re-creation of the gunfight at the OK Corral, complete with a ten-foot tree decorated with boots and cowboy hats, and a Santa Claus who looks a lot like Wyatt Earp.


YOU MUST BE FROM PHILADELPHIA IF...

You can sleep soundly through gunshots in the neighborhood.

You can't eat fries without Cheez Whiz.

You find yourself at a nice restaurant thinking, "This would only be three bucks at a truckstop."

You visit New York and notice how clean it is.


Q: Why is it so hot at Phillies games?

A: Because there's not a fan in the place.


For the (shudder) YANKEE fan:

Three baseball fans leave the stadium after a game and come across a dead, naked woman lying in the middle of the street. After they call the cops, they each take off their baseball caps and place them on the dead woman out of respect and to cover her private parts until the cops arrive.

The first fan places his Boston Red Sox cap over her left breast, the second places his Phillies cap on her right breast and the third fan places his Yankees cap on her pubic area.

The cops finally arrive, and the officers take statements from the fans to find out what happened. After explaining that they found her naked and covered her up with their caps, the cop went over to examine the body.

He briefly lifted the Red Sox cap, and quickly replaced it; then he lifted the Phillies cap, and also quickly replaced it.

However, when he lifted the Yankees cap, he stared and stared for what seemed to be two or three minutes. Finally, he let the cap drop, walked away, wrote in his notebook, then returned and lifted the Yankees cap once again and stared for a long time.

As he was walking away the second time, the fans were curious and stopped him and asked him why he spent so much time looking at the woman's genitalia, and he said, "It's the first time I've seen anything but an asshole under a Yankees cap."

Fuck you Cold. Fuck you Megaron. Fuck You Bubba. Fuck you Atomm. Sindy. . .you're OK. 😉


😛 😛 😛 😛 😛

Bah the whiz goes on the cheesesteak...get it right

Megaron wrote:
Bah the whiz goes on the cheesesteak...get it right

Provolone all the way... Wiz.. hell that is NOT cheese. 😉