Pirates should be applauded for their late-season surge to the playoffs

In politics, the media gives each side (usually republicans and democrats) equal time during such things as election campaigns.

The same thing doesn't always hold true in sports, where the awesome moments are often glossed over or just expected, while the bad moments are scrutinized, analyzed and really never forgotten.

Such is the case when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates and their back-to-back melt-downs at the tail-end of the 2011 and 2012 seasons that not only prevented them from making the postseason, but assured them their 19th and 20th consecutive losing campaigns.

Around mid-August of this just concluded 2014 regular season, the Pirates were in the throes of a seven-game losing streak that would ultimately leave them only two games over .500 on August 20.

Perhaps understandably, there was a palpable fear among fans that their Buccos would make it three collapses in four years and begin maybe a new string of losing seasons after having such a magical 2013.

But the Pirates righted their ship (pun intended) and stayed afloat long enough to actually go on a hot streak, a streak that included a stretch of 17 victories in 21 games that ultimately led to them clinching the top wild card in the National League, and a home date against San Francisco Wednesday night at PNC Park.

After the Pirates collapse in 2012 that was even more disappointing than the previous year, owner Bob Nutting did a complete evaluation of his franchise from top to bottom to try and figure out why this was becoming a trend.

Will he do a similar audit of his organization this year to try and determine why it was able to keep things together despite so many injuries--including stints on the disabled list for Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano--as well as the season-long problems for slugger Pedro Alvarez?

If Nutting doesn't do that, he should at least offer pats on the back to gm Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle because they deserve much credit for keeping things together and getting his Buccos back to the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Pirates lose Game 4 of NLDS, off to St. Louis for epic Game 5 on Wednesday

I'm always preaching about the awesomeness of the NFL playoffs and how a game is such an emotional roller coaster because of the lack of "tomorrows."

Today, on Monday, October 7, 2013, I'm glad there will be an October 9, because the Pirates will still be playing baseball, despite a 2-1 to St. Louis in Game 4 of the NLDS at PNC Park.

Like most Pittsburgh fans, I just assumed business would be taken care of in front of the home folks, but the Cardinals are not the Cardinals for nothing, and they usually have something up  their sleeve, elimination game or no elimination game.

That something was rookie pitching sensation Michael Wacha, who pitched 7 1/3 hitless innings before yielding a one out home run to Pedro Alvarez in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull the Pirates to within a run, at 2-1.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Josh Harrison was caught stealing later in the inning on a hit and run. And in the bottom of the ninth inning, after Neil Walker drew a two-out walk, Andrew McCutchen popped out to end the game and send the series back to Busch Stadium on Wednesday.

I'm obviously very disappointed in Monday's results, and I know a lot of people are already chalking up a win for the Cardinals, but I have a feeling Wednesday will be a special day for Bucco Nation.

You see, manager Clint Hurdle named rookie phenom Gerrit Cole as the Game 5 starter. It was a gutsy move by Hurdle, because if Cole struggles, and the Pirates lose, he'll be second-guessed by people who will say he should have gone with the veteran A.J. Burnett.

But like I said, it is a gutsy move, and maybe it's just the eternal optimist in me, but my gut tells me Cole will show the baseball world just what kind of phenom he truly is.

As for the Cardinals starter, they'll be trotting out Adam Wainwright, their ace and the man who shut down Pittsburgh in Game 1. However, no man is perfect, and I have the feeling that Wainwright's curve ball won't be curving as much as it did last Thursday, and the Pirates are going to get them some.

Not only am I predicting a Pirates victory, I'm predicting an easy win.

Regardless of what happens, though, I  think it's important to remember just how magical this season has already been. I hate to be like one of "those" fans that I always argue with online, but there was no sin in how the Pirates lost Game 4.

The Cardinals are tough, and like most great teams, they know how to win when their backs are against the wall. If Pittsburgh falls on Wednesday, hey, it wouldn't be the first team to lose to the Cardinals.

World Series or not, I honestly think this is just the beginning for these Pirates. They don't look like a team that's going to struggle for respectability in the ensuing seasons. If I had to make a wager, I'd say they have a really good chance of being the Tampa Rays of the National League and competing for many more years to come.

Big picture, I remember the days when anticipating a Game 5 was nothing more than a fantasy. Now, it's a reality. And in terms of the emotions I felt while watching Game 3, Sunday afternoon and into evening? It was by far the most fun I've ever had watching a Pirates game.

Nothing will take away how that game made me feel, and I just hope Wednesday is another great chapter in an already remarkable story.

Ah yes, there is still one more tomorrow for these Pirates, and I actually wish it was tomorrow and not Wednesday.

I shouldn't be pumped up, but I am.

Let's Go Bucs!

Pirates clinch first playoff spot in 21 years after thrilling victory at Wrigley Field

It's amazing how the times and technology (and a bad TV) can make something truly memorable.

On Monday night, I was following the Bucs Dugout gamethread on the Internet, when I noticed everyone reacting to the fact that Starling Marte hit a ninth inning home run to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 

As soon as I read that, I immediately began to try to turn my TV on. Now the reason I wrote "try" is because my TV has been dysfunctional for a very long time, and instead of biting the bullet and getting a new one, I've just gotten used to the process of holding the "power" button on my remote and allowing the set to warm up and finally turn on--a process that takes about 10 minutes, give or take. 

While I was doing this on Monday, I was also visiting the Cardinals official team website on my laptop computer because St. Louis was playing the Nationals (the only team left who could destroy Pittsburgh's postseason prospects), and I wanted to keep tabs on the score because a Washington loss combined with a Pirates win would give the Buccos their first postseason berth since before Bill Clinton was President. 

Beings that the Pirates are currently chasing St. Louis for the NL Central crown, I suppose I had mixed feelings about a Cardinals win, but any postseason berth is wonderful, and since you don't get to see "clinches" everyday, I was rooting for St. Louis, at that moment.

Anyway, while continuing with the whole "trying to turn my TV on process," I heard people talking on my laptop. Turns out, a "live look-in" of the Pirates/Cubs game popped up on the Cardinals site, thanks to MLB.com, the flagship site that houses every team's official website, so as I was still trying to get my TV to turn on, I was standing in front of my laptop, watching Jason Grilli get the second out of the ninth inning, thanks to a force-play at second base.

There was a runner on first, and the count on the Cubs batter was 2-2. Just then, as I anticipated seeing closer Jason Grilli punch out the last batter, so Pittsburgh could clinch at least a tie for the second wild card, MLB.com stopped the feed (dirty play). In the meantime, my TV came on, so I quickly turned to WGN, Chicago's superstation that I get on my basic cable package (the Pirates cable station, Root Sports, isn't available on basic cable, so I was hoping the Cubs game would be on WGN). Turns out, after all that trouble, I realized the Cubs game wasn't on, so I turned the TV off and turned the radio on (why didn't I just check WGN's website for its tv listings? Shut up!). 

Just as I turned the radio on, I heard the final play of the game. With Nate Schierholtz on first base, Ryan Sweeney hit a pop fly single to shallow right-center field, that right fielder Marlon Byrd misplayed. Schierholtz would have wound up at third, anyway, but because of the error by Byrd, Chicago's third base coach decided to send Schierholtz home. A split second after Byrd's error, Pirates all-world center and potential MVP Andrew McCutchen, who was backing Byrd up on the play, picked the ball up and threw it toward home plate, missing two cut-off men. First baseman Justin Morneau, like Byrd, a late August acquisition, grabbed the baseball, a la Derek Jeter, and threw to catcher Russell Martin who tagged Schierholtz for the game-ending out. 

I reacted like I would normally react following a big Steelers win, because on September 23, with a playoff berth on the line, any baseball win by the home team is special. 

About 20 minutes later, the Cardinals defeated Washington, and the goggles and champagne were plentiful in the Pirates clubhouse. 

I'm glad the Pirates celebrated like they hadn't reached the postseason for 21 years, instead of maybe the business-like celebration a more postseason savvy team might have. 

After six Presidential elections, the fans deserved as much. 

Burnett goes the distance, Pirates win Sunday to take weekend series against the Rockies

Now that's how you play against an inferior opponent. A.J. Burnett pitched a complete game, as the Pirates defeated Colorado, 5-1, Sunday afternoon, to take the rubber game of a three game weekend series at PNC Park.

It was Burnett's first complete game of 2013, and the Pirates second of the season (Francisco Liriano pitched a complete game in a 6-2 victory at Wrigley Field, in early July.

After Pittsburgh scored two runs in the first three innings on an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen and a sacrifice fly by Garrett Jones, catcher Russell Martin hit a three run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Burnett more cushion than he would need.

Burnett, a hard-luck pitcher this season after tallying 16 victories in 2012, improved to 5-7 with the win and lowered his ERA to 2.73.

After taking the first four games of a very memorable five-game home series against the Cardinals during the week, the Pirates fell to St. Louis, 13-0, Thursday night and then dropped the first game against the Rockies, Friday evening.

However, Liriano pitched seven solid innings, Saturday night, in a 5-2 victory, and Burnett did him even better on Sunday afternoon.

The Cardinals took two of three in Cincinnati over the week, so the Pirates maintained the one and a half game lead they built by taking four of five from St. Louis, earlier in the week.

Even though the Pirates are currently in first place in the the National League Central Division, it is worth noting that they also have an 11 game lead for the second Wild Card spot--their largest lead of any postseason importance since they finished the 1991 season 14 games up in the National League East.

The Pirates are off Monday, before opening a three game series against the Marlins, Tuesday night.

Its nice to finally have a baseball team to stand up and fight for the fans

Being a fan of the Pirates over the past 20 seasons wasn't easy. In fact, it felt quite hopeless. From the ineptitude of the front office, to the disparity in financial resources, I didn't even feel like watching or paying attention to baseball, outside of the occasional Buccos game.

Nationally, Pirates fans were often reminded that it was all about the Yankees and Red Sox (the greatest rivalry in all of baseball, don't you know?), and our team wasn't exactly a VIP. Oh sure, we were at the party, but usually in the same sense that a butler is at a party--in other words, it was easy to feel totally alienated and out-of-touch if you called yourself a Pirates fan.

The home team certainly didn't help in that regard, especially with "acquisitions" like Derek Bell and Jeromy Burnitz.

Speaking of that hopeless feeling. We certainly had that as we watched Pittsburgh take on the cream of the crop and be totally embarrassed and owned by the other team's superstar. How many home runs did Albert Pujols hit against the Buccos when he was with St. Louis? Certainly enough to be forever ingrained in our minds.

It's a vulnerable feeling when your favorite baseball team is a laughingstock. Every personnel move seems like a disaster. Every quote from the front-office makes headline news, but for all the wrong reasons.

Today, things feel a lot different for me. These new and improved Pirates are certainly capable of ending that hopeless feeling, and they have a ton of fight in them.

We have a veteran pitcher in A.J. Burnett who will not only compete every time he's on the mound and so do rather effectively, he'll argue with the other team, the umpires and even his own manager. What does arguing and  telling an opposing player to "sit the bleep down" have  to do with anything  tangible? Not much. But it's sure nice to have a player that's been around the block and isn't intimidated by the spotlight.

What is very tangible is an entire pitching staff that is capable of silencing the likes of a Pujols on a rather consistent basis.

The Pirates also have a superstar of their own in Andrew McCutchen, a player who, when he's on, he's as good an all-around player as anyone in the major leagues, and he's shown that he can carry his team on his back when he's at the top of his game.

And then, of course, there's Pedro Alvarez, a home run weapon, capable of hitting a baseball out of any stadium--and I almost mean that literally. Plus, he's had great success against two of the Pirates biggest tormentors in recent years, the Brewers and Cardinals, and has a combined 21 home runs in a little under three seasons.

Yes, it's certainly great to have a baseball team quite capable of standing toe-to-toe with anyone.

I don't feel so hopeless, these days. In fact, I feel like a VIP.

Pirates start epic series off with a bang, ground the Cardinals, 9-2, in opening game

Francisco Liriano, this year's A.J. Burnett but without the actual acknowledgement, pitched seven innings, striking out eight and walking two, as the Pirates defeated St. Louis, 9-2, Monday night, to open the important five game series at PNC Park.

Liriano improves to 11-4 on the season and has been one of the most incredible (if mostly under the radar) additions to the team in quite some time. There was much made about the acquisition of Burnett a season ago, and the contributions he made to the team, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

The fact is, Burnett was a Godsend, going 16-10 and mentoring many of the young Pirates players as they learned how to be professional major leaguers and compete in a pennant race.

However, as good as Burnett was a year ago, Liriano is even better this season. In addition to his 11-4 mark, Liriano also has a 2.16 ERA. And believe it or not, the experts on ESPN were actually including him in discussions for the National League Cy Young award.

In all fairness, pitching is often about luck and what your offense does the day you're on the mound. Speaking of Burnett, his ERA this season is 2.96, or over a half a point lower than it was in 2012. Unfortunately, he's been pitching on the days when the Pirates often anemic offense is really, really anemic. And if it's not the offense, it's the defense, like in Burnett's previous start in Washington last Thursday, when the defense committed three errors in a four run first inning in what would be a 9-7 loss. Burnett (4-7) didn't take the loss, but he sure deserved a better fate.

No, sometimes, it's all about being fortunate. Monday night, Liriano benefited from the much-maligned Pittsburgh offense getting off to a hot start. It helped that Jake Westbrook, now 1-8 lifetime against the Pirates, was the mound opponent. Nine pitches into the game, Pittsburgh had a 4-0 lead, thanks to a walk to Jose Tabata to start off the game, a hits batsmen on Neil Walker, a single by Andrew McCutchen and a three run bomb by Pedro Alvarez (now the National League home run leader with 27 bombs).

The Pirates tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the seventh, and the route was on.

The victory pulled Pittsburgh to within a half a game of the Cardinals in the National League Central and four and half games ahead of the Reds, who lost in San Diego, Monday night.

Burnett takes the mound in Game 1 of a double-header, Tuesday afternoon, and if all goes well, the Pirates could find themselves all alone in first place by night's end. .

Alvarez doesn't win Home Run Derby, someone else does

After all the controversy surrounding the initial omission of Pirates' third baseman Pedro Alvarez from the 2013 Home Run Derby, I was wondering how things would unfold when he actually participated. I feared  a shut-out akin to Jason Bay's the year he participated. I also highly anticipated Pedro actually winning the thing which would have been a great story (Pittsburgh may even have held an official ceremony similar to the one that was held for Hines Ward when he won  Dancing with the Stars).

Alvarez didn't put of the big 0, and he didn't win, he simply finished with six dingers, didn't advance to the second round, and then called it a night.

I can live with that. Can you? If you clicked on the link to Alvarez's Derby performance, you'll see that ESPN was ACTUALLY interviewing another player while it was going on--oh the humanity. I kid. I kid. I know people were upset with ESPN for doing something similar a season ago when Andrew McCutchen participated in the Derby.

In all seriousness, A Derby is nice and all, but I just want to see a Pirates' player do something noteworthy in the Midsummer Classic. I'm talking something on par with Fred Lynn's Grand Slam or Reggie Jackson hitting one off the transformer.

I've been watching the All Star Game for nearly 30 years, and I have never witnessed a Pirates' player truly impact the game. You might say it's because Pittsburgh has been pretty awful over the past two decades, which would mean mostly token Pirate players getting invited to the game and not having many opportunities to shine. And while that's mostly true, from the late 80's into the early 90's, Pittsburgh's baseball team was represented quite nicely at the All Star Game, with the likes of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla making annual trips. However, they did nothing in those games (a nice prelude to how they would perform in the NLCS later in the fall). And after a bit of a resurgence over the past three seasons, the Pirates have been represented quite nicely in the exhibition game--five Pirates were named to the 2013 squad--but nobody wearing the "P" on their hats has taken advantage of the moment and given the nation a glimpse of the new and improved Bucco baseball.

Maybe it will happen Tuesday night. If not, I'm sure I'll be writing a similar piece next July.

The Pirates should be given credit for their consistent improvement

The Pirates have reached the 2013 All-Star break with a 56-37 record, it's their best start to any season since 1972. One would think that would make for a great story in Pittsburgh, complete with feverish excitement. And for the most part, there has been great excitement surrounding the team this year. Most fans have Bucco Fever and are really into the players, the games and even everything else that's going on in the major leagues--"What did the Cardinals do?"

However, there's still that underlying and very real fear for most Pirates fans that the team will disappoint again and suffer a third straight collapse--last season's collapse was historic, so MLB may have to open up a special wing in Cooperstown if the franchise goes ahead and "three-peats."

As I've said many times on this blog, I can certainly understand the trepidation among fans. And for many, they simply won't be able to enjoy what's going on until the Pirates finish the job and, at the very least, finish with a winning record.

But, in the meantime, what about giving the Pirates' ownership group and front office a little credit for the consistent improvement over the last three seasons? Two years ago, Pittsburgh was 47-43 at the break. A year ago, the record stood at 48-37.

A 56-37 doesn't just show marked improvement for a third straight season, it tells me that the plan put in place when owner Bob Nutting became a more prominent figure and hired team president Frank Coonelly who in turn hired gm Neal Huntington is actually working.

When Huntington was put in charge of the baseball operations five seasons ago, the farm system was almost completely barren of talent, save for Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and a few others. In fact, Stan Savran, a long-time Pittsburgh media personality, said that an anonymous baseball executive told him that he felt sorry for Huntington because he had virtually nothing in the system to work with.

Things weren't working. Players like Jason Bay, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez were productive and fan favorites, but the team was still in last place, and something had to be done--the organization had to be re-built from bottom to top.

Huntington has done that. Not every trade and acquisition has worked out--the Pirates have nothing of note to show for the Bay trade in the summer of 2008 even though he was their top trading chip at the time--but a good deal of them have.

Today, not only do the Pirates have a talented major league roster, with McCutchen, Walker, Pedro Alvarez and A.J. Burnett leading the charge, they have a much more respectable farm system--Gerrit Cole and Starling Marte are just two of the latest examples of players who Pittsburgh acquired, developed and are now making significant contributions to the major league team.

For reasons that only they really know, a lot of fans still resent Nutting and have held him to mistakes that he and former majority owners once made. But sometimes, it's nice to just forget about the past and concentrate on the present, and hopefully the future.

Whatever mistakes Nutting and Gang made in the past is the past. It has nothing to do with what's going on at PNC Park today.

Speaking of the Pirates' beautiful ballpark, the most significant team accomplishment since the building opened was when Sanchez won the 2006 National League batting title. Even though Pittsburgh was a last place team, many fans followed the batting race all throughout the summer because they wanted something, anything to be proud of.

The past three seasons, especially 2013, the fans have been paying attention to the division and wild card standings, and for me, that's much better than a batting title.

And the reason we're able to do that is because the plan is working.

Pirates are 45-30 and even winning against American League teams

Pirates fans are currently wondering if their team is for real this season--after two straight late-season collapses, it's hard to blame even the most die-hard fan for being a little leery. While I can't say with any real certainty that this will be the year Pittsburgh finally clears the Clint Hurdle and has at least a winning season, there is some tangible evidence the Buccos are indeed for real in 2013.

For starters, the Pirates are 15 games over .500, and it's only June 23rd. A season ago, Pittsburgh didn't reach its high mark of 16 games above .500 until early August--shortly before its historic collapse.

Another reason these Buccos may actually do it this year is their depth, especially at pitching. Staff ace A.J. Burnett has been on the disabled list with a calf injury, and the number two starter, the very efficient Wandy Rodriguez, has also missed a few starts due to injury. The past two seasons, when the club was dealing with similar injury issues, this would have probably sent things into an irreversible tailspin. However, Jeff Locke, one of the pieces in the controversial Nate McLouth trade from a few years ago, has been as solid a starting pitcher as any in baseball and leads the National League with a 2.01 ERA.

The other pitching prospect to come from Atlanta in the McLouth trade, Charlie Morton, has made two starts since coming back from Tommy John surgery and has been more than respectable, going 1-1--including a huge effort last Tuesday in Cincinnati, where he not only pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Reds, he plunked Shin Soo Choo with the first pitch of the game after Cincinnati pitchers had taken liberties with Pirates hitters the night before.

And what about Francisco Liriano? Since making his season debut in May after recovering from a broken hand, he's 6-3 with a 2.30 ERA and 61 strikeouts in nine starts. Liriano would probably be this year's Burnett if he had the same presence. However, if he can just continue to pitch at his same efficient level, I"m sure the folks in Pittsburgh's clubhouse would be satisfied with that.

And what more can you say about the young phenom, Gerrit Cole? Cole made his third start in Anaheim Friday night since making his MLB debut two weeks ago and won his third game, going 6 1/3 innings in a 5-2 victory over the Angels.

There's talk that Cole will be sent down to avoid "Super two" arbitration status, and I'm sure that would outrage a lot of fans, but really, what other choice is there? Once Burnett and Rodriguez come back, what's Cole supposed to do? Sit in the bullpen? The Pirates aren't going to take Locke out of the lineup, same with Liriano. I suppose there is a possibility that Cole can stay in the rotation if Morton doesn't pan out, but even if Cole is sent down, I don't think the front office should suffer much in the way of poor publicity. Would it be financially motivated? Almost surely, but with the arms that gm Neal Huntington has cultivated over the years--don't forget Jeanmar Gomez and James Mcdonald, who have also been down with injuries--the team now has pitching options and the luxury to do whatever it desires with Cole.

In terms of offensive depth, the Pirates certainly seem to have that this year. Take the catcher spot, for instance, where they're light-years ahead of where they were a season ago, when Rod Barajas was the starter and Michael Mckenry was his back-up. While both certainly had their moments in 2012, neither was great offensively, particular Barajas, and both struggled mightily at throwing out baserunners. This year, with the signing of Russell Martin, Pittsburgh has something it hasn't had since the days of Jason Kendall--a true number one catcher. As for Mckenry, he's settled into his role as the back-up catcher a lot better now that he's not expected to carry more of the bulk of the load and has even contributed a couple of key hits--including two home runs in a comeback victory over the Reds in April.

At shortstop, Jordy Mercer has finally surpassed Clint Barmes. If Mercer's defense continues to be consistent, the obvious offensive upgrade could pay huge dividends moving forward.

At first base, Garrett Jones and Gaby Sanchez have quietly combined for 11 home runs and 52 RBI in a platoon situation.

At third base, Pedro Alvarez is slowly becoming one of the top power bats in the game and has paced the offensive attack with 18 home runs and 50 RBI despite his .234 batting average and habit for striking out.

At second base, Neil Walker continues to provide solid play, and if he can stay injury free this season, he has the look of someone who could come through in clutch situations down the stretch.

In the outfield, Andrew McCutchen might not be having the MVP-like year he had in 2012, but his numbers are still more than solid, and if he heats up like he did around last year's All-Star break, well, that would be just another reason this might be the year Pittsburgh finally reaches the Promised Land--even if that ground is just a winning record.

And if Starling Marte ever truly harnesses his raw talent (he's only 24), he could be every bit as good as McCutchen and would give the Pirates one of the more talented outfields in baseball.

And let's not forget the bullpen. The Shark Tank has been one of the best pens in baseball, behind closer Jason Grilli and set-up man Mark Melancon.

The bullpen has been so good, when I see that Pittsburgh is up by a run or two after six innings, I almost put the "W" in the win column.

I believe the talent is there for these Pirates. If they can stay healthy and continue to get key contributions from key players, they should, I say SHOULD have a very successful final three months to the 2013 season.

Heck, the Pirates have taken two in Anaheim so far in a weekend series against the Angels, an American League team. The Pirates are winning on the West Coast AND against an American League team? If that's not a watershed scenario, I don't know what is.

Glad to see the Pirates take care of "business" against the Reds, Tuesday night

It looks like the Reds have become the new "Brewers." What I mean by that is, there are several players on Cincinnati's roster that Pirates fans cannot stand. The first one that comes to mind is Brandon Phillips. Despite this rather cool and endearing story of Phillips' showing up to a kids baseball game a couple years after he was invited to on Twitter, apparently, the Reds' second baseman is a phony and a jerk.

A second player that comes to mind is Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman is probably the most hated of the Reds players in Pittsburgh because of his habit of buzzing Pirates batters around the head.

Last season, in a crucial August showdown in Cincinnati, Chapman nailed Pirates star outfielder Andrew McCutchen with a 90plus mph fastball in the ninth inning of a 3-0 Reds' victory. McCutchen was reportedly very upset, as were most of the Pirates players, but not much was done in the next game because the Reds came out throwing at Pittsburgh batters early-on, and both benches were warned, thus nullifying any chance of  retaliation.

Fast-forward to this past Monday night in Great American Ballbark. Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake hit McCutchen with a pitch in the fourth inning. In the ninth inning, with Cincinnati ahead, 4-1, Chapman buzzed Neil Walker with another 90 plus mph fastball.

As you might expect, there was talk of whether or not the Pirates would/should return the favor in Game 2 of a very important four-game series between the two teams. The overriding sentiment by Pirates fans and the Pittsburgh media was that something definitely should be done to show Cincinnati that the Pirates simply were not going to be pushed around. With Pittsburgh ahead, 3-0, in the bottom of the first inning, Charlie Morton, of all mild-mannered people, nailed Shin-Soo Choo in the leg with his first pitch. This angered the Reds players, namely starting pitcher Mat Latos, but there was no payback on Cincinnati's part.

The Pirates went on to win, 4-0, and perhaps earn a little respect from the Reds' clubhouse. I guess that all remains to be seen, of course. The way these two teams have been throwing at one another over the past two seasons, I smell a benches clearing brawl in the very near future.

Either way, it's great to be talking about rivalries and bean-ball wars this time of year rather than what is going on in the Pirates minor league system.

Pittsburgh has spent the past five seasons re-stocking its farm system, and now it appears to be paying dividends in the form of a 5.5 game lead in the National League wild card standings and a competition-fueled feud with the Big Red Machine.