Pittsburgh

What does slogging through a brutal 162-game schedule that spans the entirety of an American summer (and then some) earn you in MLB's expanded-playoff era?

If you're a wild-card team, it earns you the right to play at least one more game. The San Francisco Giants will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game to decide which team moves on to the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals.

Behold a pale horse, the Pittsburgh Pirates are serious contenders for the World Series in 2014.

Success in baseball generally comes from solid pitching. This is especially the case for the Pirates this season.

When the Pirates hold opponents to four runs or fewer they are 7-2. When they give up five runs or more they are 1-9.The Pirates team ERA is 4.24, which is good for 19th in Major League Baseball.

They aren’t striking many batters out (118) and are walking too many (73).

Over the last decade, there have been many Major League Baseball teams that inspired the feeling for a split second that you could have made a career off that .300 average you carried in the Frankfort Dixie Youth League. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates are only 18 games into the season and you already hear faint rumbles in the media world regarding the early struggles of Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez, to his credit, is taking the slump in stride. He has repeatedly said he isn't concerned, nor should he be.  

View From the Rockpile: Mile High Musings Along the Journey to Rocktober

The Colorado Rockies arrived at PNC Park last Thursday to face off against an improving Pittsburgh Pirates squad, managed by former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle.

It's difficult to imagine things having gone any better for the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff through first eight games in 2011. The offense has hit for a team on-base percentage of just .312 and a stunningly bad (but not league-worst) .295 weighted on-base average. But the pitching has kept the team in every game it has played.

And they're winning.  

View From the Rockpile: Musings from a Mile High along the Journey to Rocktober

Although Rocktober magic has made the club's recent slow starts a distant memory, the Rockies entered 2011 determined to get off on a better foot than in previous seasons.

Coming off of a less than stellar 7-11 2010 record against the divisional rivals, the Los Angeles, Dodgers, the Rockies welcomed an early season opportunity to make a statement that they are a force to be reckoned with in the 2011 Wild Wild NL West.

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.

When people around the Pittsburgh area heard that Andrew McCutchen was going to be batting third in the Pirates batting order, some people were skeptical. He is by far the Pirates fastest player and possibly the fastest man in Major League Baseball.

Wouldn't a guy like this be better if he were batting leadoff?