THE BULLPEN

Take me out to the ballgame! Your Pittsburgh Pirates open the 2013 campaign versus the Chicago Scrubs this afternoon at PNC Park. Is this the year the Bucs finally get over the hump and have a winning season? Let's take it one game at a time. These are your keys to today's game. 1)Scrubs starter Jeff Samardzija was 9-13 last season with a 3.81 ERA. He did one-hit the Bucs over 8 innings last July. Get to this kid early and often! 2)Pirates starter AJ Burnett is making his first career opening day start. AJ was 16-10 with a 3.51 ERA last year as he went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA versus the Scrubs and tossed his own one-hitter against them. Mow 'em down! 3)Since AJ is the starter, we'll go with his motto for the 3rd key: "preperation for domination". Let's see our Buccos hit, run and score. Oh my! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!