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.