Opinion

The Pirates will be making their 2011 PNC Park debut today at 1:30 pm against the Colorado Rockies.

This is arguably the first opener that has had a buzz since the stadium opened in 2001. The Pirates are bringing a 4-2 record home to Pittsburgh.

This team is still a work in progress.

The baseball season isn't even a week old yet. They have only played six games out of 162. The weather in Pittsburgh hasn't even broke 60 degrees yet. We know that.

So much for the Tampa Bay Rays being a playoff team.

After watching them in this homestand, they are 0-5 for a reason. They feature no hitters that scare the other team. It's not surprising Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Tillman, Zach Britton, Jered Weaver and Dan Haren had their way with them.

I am going to start this article off by adding the disclaimer that we are still only five games into the season.

However, the Mets have gotten off to a quick 3-2 start. The team has looked good with the exception of Mike Pelfrey.

It is already obvious that this is a different Mets team than the one we saw last year. Last year’s incarnation of the team would have just laid down and rolled over once they were down 7-0 to the Phillies.

One week down, plenty of panic buttons pushed.

It's been an upside down week for Major League Baseball. The Red Sox look like a slumbering bear just awoken from hibernation. The Twins actually won in the Bronx. And the Reds are quietly keeping busy—not that any of us have noticed...or have we?

Through the first week of Major League Baseball I have witnessed a lot more losing than I have winning.  You may think, “Hey, aren’t the numbers equal; doesn’t there have to be as much winning as there is losing?”  Well, the answer is sort of. 

Sports has many foes.

Steroids in baseball.

Greed in the NFL.

Soccer...well, Soccer.

But the real threat is in the stands, with these chumbaloans who are taking the term sports "fanatic" to a dark, dark place. It is said the game is played for the fans, but what happens when that gets to the fan's head?

So much for the Rays being a playoff team.

After watching them in this homestand, they showed why they are 0-5. They feature no hitters that scare the other team. It's not surprising Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Tillman, Zach Britton, Jered Weaver and Dan Weaver had their way against them.

These fives games are not an aberration. This should be expected. After losing Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena this offseason, their lineup was not going to better. This will be their downfall this season.

Continuing my springtime tradition, I will give my thoughts on the upcoming season for the Cincinnati Reds. Again, like last year, I am a little late getting started. The Reds have jumped out to a 4-0 start as I write this.

Is it possible to say a player is arguably the most overrated athlete ever to play professional sports and yet still believe his accomplishments make him a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer?  Yes it is, and that player is Yankees legend Derek Jeter.

The Red Sox are 0-4, one of only three winless teams in the majors behind the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. Their pitching has looked shaky, and the offense has disappeared the past two games. John Lackey, supposedly ten pounds lighter, looks like the same bum from last season. Carl Crawford, their prized $142 million acquisition, is hitting a mighty .133 and has been bounced around in the order twice in four games. They now turn their lonely eyes to that bastion of consistency, Daisuke Matzusaka, to put an end to their misery.