Well, we are just over the half-way point of the season with the All Star Game in just two days. In our first and second periodic assessments, we focused on the Pirates’ need for some offense and pretty much indicted the GM for failing to address obvious needs during the offseason. In our last assessment, we noted that a sea-change seemed to be underway, in that the Pirates were more than holding their own and just a few games out of first place.
Today our Buccos are eleven games over .500. In the last week, they beat up on a poor team (the Astros) and won two of three from a good one (the Giants). They are in first place and playing solid baseball offensively and defensively, and in their last game before the break, they made a definitive statement that they are to be taken seriously – a 13-2 pummeling of the Giants. Best of all, they appear here to stay - I don't think we'll see a collapse like last year.
