50-YARD LINE

Woop, woop, woop! Rumor alert!

Word on the street is Jonathan Dwyer may get the start to carry the rock in Denver over Issac Redman. Dwyer has a history of injuries but has avoided the injury bug this preseason. Red Zone, on the other hand, has not. I'll continue to keep my ears and eyes open and let you know what I know, when I know it. Go Steelers!!!!!!

THE 50-YARD LINE

 7 PRESEASON OBSERVATIONS

1)Chris Rainey was the darling of preseason. He's  triple-threat with kickoffs, rushing, and pass-catching.

2)Injuries have left the depth charg paper-thin. Waiting around for players like Harrison, Worilds, and Mendy to heal is going to make the 53-man roster seem like it's cut in half.

3)The O-Line is still a big question mark. The injury to David DeCastro has put a big hole in the O-Line that may be difficult to fill.

4)We fired the special teams coach but holding penalties continue to make special teams not so special.

5)Where's the quality control coach? Still getting penalties for 12 men on the filed. It's little details like this that can bite you during the regular season. I'll gladly take this gig. I can count to 11 and tell time.

6)Last round-up? Take a good look at some of the veterans. You may not see them next year: Harrison, Thampton, Keisel, Batch...

7)Magic Mike? #17 should have been paying attention while he was away. You show up and do your job, you get paid like Timmons, Woodley, AB, etc. If you don't, you get shown the door like Santonio. Considering all the swag he was sporting when he, finally, showed up, he can't be hurting for cash that badly. Will the real Mike Wallace please stand up? Will the playmaker show up all season or will he pull his disappearing act in the second half?

No matter how it shakes out, I got a feeling, Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl! Go Steelers!!!!!!

THE BULLPEN

Put me in coach! Your Pittsburgh Pirates and I have new life (mine is computer-wise). The Bucs begin a weekend series in Milwaukee tonight. Keys to the game. 1)Petey is 11 for 19, batting .579, in his last 5 games. He has 3 homers in his last 2 games. Someone needs to tell Petey that Milwaukee is the St. Louis of Wisconsin! 2)The Pirates have held opponents scoreless for the last 21 straight innings. Goose eggs all around! 3)Pirates starter Jeff Karstens got a win vs. Milwaukee last time out, a 4-0 victory. Let’s get that déjà vu, again! The Bucs are only ½ game back of St Louie for the second wildcard spot. The Codgers are 1 ½ back of St Louie. They both lost last night. Good time to make up some ground this weekend. Go Bucs!!!!!

THE BULLPEN

Let's go, let's go, he can't hit, he can't hit! The Pirates look to sample a little of the local cuisine in St Louie today and serve up some Meatloaf because, in this case, 2 outta 3 wouldn't be bad. Keys to the game. 1)St Louie starter Jaime Garcia gave up 10 runs over 8 innings in his last 2 starts. This is his first start since coming off of the DL. Welcome him back by knocking him around! 2)Pirates starter Jeff Karstens beat St Louie at the Busch on 6/30. He held them to 2 runs and 4 hits over 7 innings. We could use another quality start like that today! 3)The Pirates were 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position yesterday. You can't win ballgames like that. How about a little of the old Hit, Run, Score?!?! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!

SWEET SIXTEEN

Remember, sweet sixteen is the Bucs' magic number to secure that ever elusive winning season. Everything else is gravy. Go Bucs!!!!!

THE BULLPEN

Hey batter, batter, batter. Your Pittsburgh Pirates continue their series in St Louie today. Get your keys to the game here! Get 'em while they're red hot! 1)The Pirates have won 4 of the last 5 vs St Louie, all at the Bucsh. Our home away from home! 2)St Louie starter Lance Lynn has give up 16 runs in 22 innings over his last 4 outings. Kick him while he's down! 3)Lynn has given up 3 runs in the first inning in 3 of those starts. The Bucs have scored first in 2 straight games. Sounds like a recipe for success for the Buccos. Score early, score often, score BIG! Last night the Bucs managed 2 runs in a 2-1 victory. One came on a wild pitch, the other a passed ball. It's the good teams that are able to scratch out a win like that. But try to remember to Hit, Run, Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!

I REMEMBER IT WELL.....

I just read a terrific article called Cursed: Yinz and Losses in Pittsburgh. It explains all the loss and heartbreak Pirates fans have endured lo, these past 20 years.  October 14, 1992, oh how I remember it well.....I was at my sister's house. We were waiting for the game to end to call and order World Series tickets. Everyone remembers Sid Bream scoring from second on a single by Francisco Friggin' Cabrera. To this day, I can't stand Tim McCarver because he was broadcasting that game. Plus, any time he's worked a Pirates game since then, the jagoff has the audactiy to continue to twist the knife in Pirates fans' collective backs. But am I the only one that remembers that our gold glove second baseman, Jose Lind, let a ball bounce off of his lead glove in that inning? Or that the homeplate umpire continued to call balls on pitches that Stan Belinda threw for strikes? How about that fact that we had MVP Barry Bonds in left field? He couldn't throw Sid out with Sid's bad wheels?! My grandmother could have nailed Sid at the plate for crying out loud! Which leads me to the fact that I think it was all a conspiracy. Remember, Mr. Moneybags, Ted Turner, owned the Braves then. Who's to say there weren't some envelopes with thank-you gifts in them for some of these perpetrators after the game? And to make matters worse, this season the Braves had a bobblehead commemorating the infamouse slide. Ugh! I think it's time to bury (or Barry) this curse once and for all. We're 65-53 with 44 games to go. Oh, how I want to make it to the postseason so I can finally purchase those World Series tickets. I'd settle for just getting this monkey off our backs. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!

THE BULLPEN

The Pittsburgh Pirates take their show on the road and begin a weekend series in St Louie. They're looking to build off of yesterday's 10-6 win over LA. Keys to the game. 1)GI Jones blasted 2 3 run homers yesterday. He has hit in 17 of his last 22 games. Lock and load, GI! 2)Clint Barmes has found the light at the end of the tunnel. He is 13 for 40, batting .325, in August. I wish every month were August! 3)Yesterday was the first time in the past 10 games that the Bucs scored first. What's that tell us? Score early, score often, score BIG! And don't forget the ever important: Hit, Run, Score, Oh My! The only PED I want to see is Prepare, Execute, Dominate! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!

SHORT HOPS

Is Neil Walker's dislocated finger a tough break for the Pirates? This is a team that could finally use a good break, not a bad one. Travis Snider is already hurting and with the team's lack of hitting, of late, they can't afford to lose one of their most reliable bats. Or can they? Perhaps this will force the Bucs to put someone on the DL and either work a trade or bring someone up from Indy. Tabata has been hot. Clement's name has been tossed around lately. I even heard Alfonso Soriano's name come up today. Hopefully, Walker won't be out of the lineup for long. If he is, it could be an opportunity to inject some new energy into the lineup. it may just be the "break" the Pirates need. Go Bucs!!!!!

The Bullpen

Take me out to the ballgame! AJ Burnett and the Pirates try to stop the bleeding against LA today. We're only 18 games games away from a winning season with 45 to go. Keys to the game. Looking for some bright spots in last night's game. 1)Clutch hit a homer and Sanchez hit 2 doubles, his first extra-base hits as a Pirate. Let's build off of that foundation today. 2)AJ struck out 10 in his last outing. He is looking to become the first Pirate pitcher since Todd Ritchie in '99 to win 15 games. In AJ we trust! 3)This one is VERY important: HIT, RUN, SCORE, put some runs on the board. Go Bucs!!!!!

Pot Shots

A few random thoughts: at the start of baseball season, I would have been happy for the Pirates to break the streak and finish with a winning record. But after getting a taste of the good life last year and most of this year, I caught a case of pennant fever. Now the Bucs are mired in a slump and slipping down the standings. Sorry I got greedy. A winning record is still the goal. Anything after that is gravy, delicious gravy. That said, I still have faith. Let’s Go Bucs!!!!!

With a few weeks of camp remaining, Ike Taylor and Antonio Brown got into another catfight and had to be separated by camp counselor, GM Kevin Colbert. Maybe the talk shows are making a bigger deal out of this than they should so they can heat up the phone lines. But I think there may be something to this. After all, Ms. Wallace is crashing at Ike’s place in FLA while she trains for her big payday. Meanwhile, the Steelers signed AB to a fat contract with money that was earmarked for Wallace. Coincidence? I think not. Let’s just hope they all kiss and make up before the season starts. Go Steelers!!!!!!

What are my thoughts on the Penguins? I don’t really have any right now. Apart from pursuing Parise and Sutter and the Jordan Staal trade, the Pens have been off the radar of late. Hope that changes with some moves, soon. Did Shane Doan ever sign anywhere? Let’s Go Pens!!!