Rebirth in the Burgh

Yes, I know, I know, I keep talking bad about the Steelers. For the past two weeks I haven't had a right to say the things I have said. But, every other week has been another story. Today they actually really impressed the hell out of me and they probably surprised you too.

I may sit here and talk bad about them, but again, I still love them. Just a little constructive criticism, after all, they do seem to keep winning after I say a few bad things about them. I'll take the blame for their wins, but they can take the blame for their losses, right?

They are sitting in second place right now, not terrible but not good. It's still a huge uphill climb from here and I don't see them doing much about it, but hey, I continue to be wrong and to be honest, if they keep winning, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Tanking it?

Every time I start to talk bad about the Steelers, they somewhat prove me wrong, they win a game. They still sit three games under .500, and the outlook doesn't look great.

In my opinion, I think they should honestly forget about this season, get a high draft pick, stockpile players, and trade some older players for young highly touted athletes. Obviously this would come with a price though, key pieces like Roethlisberger would need to be traded. With the swirling trade rumors surrounding Ben the past week, I think that it could be very realistic topic. I think Pittsburgh needs to do this and I think it would be very beneficial for them. They could get some young athletes who could help this team out, after all, Roethlisberger is a top-tier quarterback.

If they could get a top pick in this years draft, they could take a quarterback with their first overall pick. Teddy Bridgewater is a Junior from Louisville and is the top rated QB. I think he could fit well with the Steelers if given the opportunity. These things could fall into place even if Ben doesn't get traded, Ben could groom him into something extremely special.

Not only could the Steelers get Bridgewater but they could also trade for some high draft picks and take other top-end prospects. Maybe "wishful thinking", if all this were to happen, we could find the Steelers atop the league in a couple years. Look at the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, they dealt with being terrible for years, and they drafted high, got a QB, and stockpiled players. They are now arguably the two best teams in the NFC.

Does this sound good? I think it is a realistic possibility. Again, "wishful thinking". None of this will happen.

Game Over

I think it is officially time to throw in the towel.  My Pittsburgh Steelers have officially been put on the back burner.  I know what you will all say, "bandwagon jumper", "and fair-weather fan".  Well it's impossible to call me that; I am a die-hard Pittsburgh fan.  I have dealt with losing baseball for my ENTIRE life.  I think I can deal with a couple bad seasons from the "worst" sports team in Pittsburgh.

No, I don't want to be on this blog bashing the Steelers, but who do I bash?  I have bashed the Pirates for 20 years...I’m 22... I think the Steelers can deal with a little criticism their selves.

Their season has completely gone down the you know what.  I will still watch every Sunday with a hope from the gods that the Pittsburgh Steelers will somehow pull out a victory.  Granted their season isn't "completely" over.  They still have a fighting chance, if you will.  But right now, nothing at all looks promising.  They can't seem to find the right mojo.

When it's all said and done, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still be number 1 in my heart, even if they are number 29 in the league standings...

 

Aint over til' it's over

The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a shot to turn this season around. They have won 2 games in a row and last week against the Ravens proves that the Steelers still have life. Now, will the Steelers actually do something the rest of this season? It has yet to be seen, but I believe that they are capable of making this season worth something.

Don't get me wrong, they are still the "worst" team in Pittsburgh, but I think they could turn a bad season thus far into something worth waiting for.  They put on a strong showing against a formidable foe this past Sunday against the strongly hated Baltimore Ravens. They won on a last second field goal, and improved their record to 2-4, winning 2 games straight.

I don't know if the Steelers will turn this season around, nobody does. But what is a guarantee, is that the Steelers will go down fighting and won't give up hope.

A change in scene

Something new is happening in the city of Pittsburgh, for the first time in 20 years we can officially say that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the worst pro sports team in the city. The Pittsburgh Pirates are no longer the laugh of the town. The Pittsburgh Penguins are on top of this city as they have been for the past several years.

I believe that Pittsburgh has the richest sports history out of any city in the world. The winning passion that this city has, has never changed and has always been something to be proud of. My favorite team in this city is the Steelers, but this year it has been hard to watch. It's tough to sit in front of my television and want to break the screen. I can peacefully watch the Penguins and know something great is going to happen at any second. They are simply, in my opinion, the best NHL team and have the most talent in the world.

I hope the Steelers can turn it around real fast, they finally got their first win this past week. They also played a bad New York Jets team. The schedule doesn't get any easier from here, they play the Ravens on Sunday.

The Penguins are playing great hockey right now, they have lost one game and Sidney Crosby is on a record breaking streak for points this season. He has scored a point in every single game this season.

Biggest game in my lifetime

Everything that has happened this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, throw it out the window. Everything that has happened this season for the St. Louis Cardinals, throw it out the window. Wednesday October 9, 2013, mark this day on your calendar, the Pirates vs. the Cardinals, win or go home. A NLDS game 5, winner takes all, the Pirates have to win to move on.

I have never been more proud of a professional sports team in my life, the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates have really stole my heart this year. I don't want to see this magical run come to an end and quite frankly neither does the entire city of Pittsburgh.

Gerrit Cole (back) AJ Burnett (front)

In my own opinion, the only way that the Pirates can win this game on Wednesday is if they start Gerrit Cole as their pitcher. It is a debate right now as to who is going to pitch for the Pirates, either AJ Burnett or Gerrit Cole. Burnett, this season has allowed an average of 1+ runs per inning against the Cardinals. Cole has shut them down every time he has threw against them, including a huge game 2 this past Friday. But the debate continues, Burnett is a veteran and Cole is a young rookie. Who do you go with? Experience or Domination? I believe Cole is the true answer to Wednesdays victory.

I'd hate to see this amazing season come to an end that shouldn't be. Wednesday is going to be one that goes down in history, win or lose. LETS GO BUCS!

Moving on

Raise it! The Pirates win! The first playoff game in PNC Park history has proven to be a winner.

I don't know what was more impressive last night in Pittsburgh, the players or the fans? The crowd played a huge part in the victory last night, just as much as the players did I believe.

The Buccos won in convincing fashion, if they keep this up, they will be unstoppable. They have now moved on to the second round of the playoffs, and will be taking on the St. Louis Cardinals. They play tomorrow night at 5:07pm in St. Louis.

Let's "raise the Jolly Roger" in St. Louis, Pittsburgh!

It's finally here

The city of Pittsburgh is going to be rocking tomorrow night. The atmosphere is going to be something that this city has never seen, well, at least something PNC Park has never seen.

The Pirates have earned home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. This game is going to be pretty much a play-in game. Win and move on, lose and you're going home. They will be taking on the Cincinnati Reds, which they just came off a sweep of the beaten up Reds.

I couldn't be more excited as a Pittsburgh Sports fan. This is the first time in my life that I will get to experience post season baseball in the city. I am such a big baseball fan and have played baseball my entire life, to have to cheer on a losing team has been terrible, and that stops now. Pittsburgh has done some amazing things this year. Getting to the post season is just another step to the grand prize, the World Series.

I don't know where I will be, or where I will be watching the game, but I do know that there will be a beer in my hand and the game will be on.

Let's "Raise the Jolly Roger" tomorrow night in Pittsburgh!!

 

Its Official!!

The Pirates have landed their selves a guaranteed playoff spot! Last night in heroic fashion, the Buccos clinched a playoff birth with a dramatic 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates have 2 more games against the Cubs, which are almost "must win" games, if they want to have any shot at winning the division.

This win marks the first time in the past 20 years that the Pirates have made the playoffs. This is the first time that I can ever remember them making the playoffs, I was too young to remember the games in the early 90's.

Last night was really something special to me, watching the Pirates celebrate in the clubhouse was one thing I will never forget. Baseball is my passion and to have a hometown team be terrible for my entire life, has been miserable. Now I can finally watch the Pirates in the Postseason.

The Cards have a 2 game lead over the Pirates, the Buccos almost need to win out to have a shot at first place. They play 2 more against the Cubs and then play in Cincy over the weekend. Those games in Cincy, no doubtedly, will decide which team will get the first and second wild card.

 (In this picture, Starling Marte hits a game winning home-run against the Cubs last night.)

Nothing is guaranteed

Today marks the first day in the past 20 years that you as a fan, are able to buy playoff tickets for the hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. But, there is a chance that you may get your money back as a refund.

Right now, the Buccos aren't playing the best baseball possible. In fact, they are slowing losing ground on their first place bid. Not only are they losing a shot at first place, but the wild card as well. They are playing the San Diego Padres in a 4 game set, they lost the first 2. The Washington Nationals are on a roll right now and so are the Reds. Those 2 teams are the ones vouching for the 3rd place wild card, but if the Pirates keep losing games they will be the odd team out and not earn a playoff spot (wild card).

Pay attention to the Buccos over the next several days, as they have a big 3 game series at home against the Cincinnati Reds. They need to stay ahead of the Reds to have any chance of having a good outlook over the next week.

On another note, the Steelers look like they could possibly have the worst team in recent memory. The offense can't move the ball down the field, the defense is playing stellar, like normal. You cant win games if you don't have an offense though, and right now the Steelers have arguably the worst offense in the league.

Where is the bright spot in the city of Pittsburgh? Hopefully we can look forward to the Penguins starting in a few weeks. They start out the season as a Stanley Cup favorite.

 

Not so fast!

The Pittsburgh Pirates know how to keep things interesting, sweeping an American League stud. The Texas Rangers lose 3 straight games to our Buccos.

Just when we think the Pirates are starting to slide, they pick up 3 straight victories and are still in the hunt for first place in arguably the best division in baseball. Not only did they beat the Rangers 3 times, they also beat the best pitcher in baseball, Yu Darvish.

They currently sit in a lone second place, 1 game behind the St. Louis Cardinals, and 2 games ahead on the Reds. Starting today, the Pirates open a 4 game set against a bad Chicago Cubs team, hoping they take at least 3 of 4, the Buccos should and could quite possibly be sitting in first place by weeks end.

Let’s keep rooting on our Pirates and hope for a strong performance this weekend.


http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/recap?id=330911113

Couple weeks 'til hockey season

It appears that the Pirates nor the Steelers were worth watching this past Sunday. I'm not ready to give up on either team yet, but the Pirates are starting to spiral downwards, quickly! The Steelers looked just as bad as any NFL team on Sunday, that includes the Jaguars, Browns, and Raiders.

Pittsburgh is looking in at a world of hurt, yes the Pirates and Steelers. The Buccos can't win a game, the pitching staff looks horrendous, and they've been shut out the past 2 games. The Steel Curtain isn't so "Steel" anymore, with injuries to 3 starting players, this could have them (Maurkice Pouncey, Larry Foote, LaRod Stephens-Howling) missing the rest of the season. Not to mention that the Steelers scored 2 points before the game even started, when a Titans return man stepped out of the end-zone with the ball and then kneed the ball back in the end-zone, giving the Steelers a 2-0 lead with one second ran off the clock. Needless to say, the Steelers didn't score another point all day until there was 1 minute left in the 4th quarter. Which by this time, it was worthless.

With this being said, I'm not ready to give up just yet, but I can already hear the yelling of "shoot the puck!!"

What will you be watching?

On Sunday, September 8, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be playing at 1:00pm. The Pittsburgh Pirates will be playing at 2:15pm.

For the past 20 years, this has never been a problem for the fans in the city of Pittsburgh.  The Steelers open up there season at home against the Tennessee Titans, everybody in the city knows that the Steelers own the sporting world in Pittsburgh.  The Pirates are in a huge pennant race with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds.  On Sunday, they will be playing the Cardinals in which could be the biggest series in recent history for the buccos.

This being said, everyone watches the Steelers, if you are a fan.  But on the other hand, if you are a Pittsburgh sports fan as a whole, then which game will you be choosing?  I know my clicker will be on both stations trying to watch as much as possible from each game.

Postseason Baseball in Pittsburgh?

For the first time in my lifetime -_- it looks as if my Beloved Pittsburgh Pirates are going to make an appearance in the 2013 MLB Postseason.

The Pirates have endured a 20 year, yes year, streak of having a losing record. It started in the 1993 season and is still an active streak. This streak is the longest ever in all 4 major sports markets (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey). They have been the worst pro sport team of every sport.

In 2011 the Pittsburgh Pirates had a team that had a winning record but weren't very talented. This collapse was more expected if you had to pick between the 2011 & 2012 Buccos. Last year, the Pirates went in the the All-Star Break (mid-season) with a record of 48-37 and on August 19, the Pirates were 67-54. All they had to do was win 15 more games to break the 20 year drought. Needless to say, in both years they collapsed and were once again the laughing stalk of Major League Baseball.

This season seems to be just a bit different though, as of today, the Pirates sit in a 1st place tie of the Central Division with the St. Louis Cardinals with a record of 79-57. All the Pirates need to do is win 3 more games to break the embarrassing streak of 20 years. They are in a great spot right now to not only do that, but also make the playoffs. There are 3 teams in the Central Division that are more then likely going to make the playoffs and either 3 of these teams could win the Division (Pirates, Reds, Cardinals).

In the past week, the Buccos have added 3 former all-star players. Marlon Byrd, John Buck, and Justin Morneau. These guys are going to make a big impact in the line-up for the Pirates and could quite possibly be exactly what the Pirates have been looking for to boast them into the 2013 Post-Season.

Stay tuned to see what happens with the Pirates, we all know anything is possible with this franchise.