THE BULLPEN

     Mrs. Black-N-Gold is feeling nostalgic as America said good-bye to late night host David Letterman last night. Yes, the Pirates just lost 2 in a row to the Twins but you gotta believe. Going with a Dave theme today, she gives you The Top 10 Reasons Our Pirates Will Win The World Series.

10) 1B Pedro Alvarez is ready to go on a tear. Petey found the Allegheny in Tuesday night's game. Ok, he actually found someone's boat. Forget finding the fence, find the river!

 9) INF Jung Ho Kang is fitting in nicely, thank you very much. Thanks to his nifty .320 batting average and .848 OPS, the Korean import has hit his way into the everyday lineup. Kang ho!

 8) RH AJ Burnett is back. The Pirates weren't giving AJ much run support in the early going. But AJ has found the win column lately. He's now 3-1 and is 2nd in the Majors with a 1.38 ERA. The Dark  Knight returns!

 7) CF Andrew McCutchen is awakening. Cutch has been clutch as he's 2nd on the team with 22 RBI. He came through in last night's extra-inning loss with a home run to tie the game, while going 3 for 5.  His gimpy knee seems to be coming around, too. Cutch happens!

 6) C Francisco Cervelli has found a home. Frankie C has settled in behind home plate. The pitching staff is comfortable with him, he's shown an ability to throw out baserunners and he can get on base. Welcome home, Frankie C!

 5) RH Gerrit Cole has taken a step towards becoming the Pirates ace. Cole Train's 5-2 mark and 2.40 ERA show he's turning into the Bucs #1 starter before our very eyes. Cole is our ace in the hole!

4) 2B Neil Walker is poised to explode. The Pittsburgh Kid is back in the #2 spot in the batting order and he's the quintessential #2 man. The Real Deal is on his way to coming back around!

 3) 3B Josh Harrison is kicking into gear. Harrison has raised his batting average to .245 and climbing after flirting with .100 the first month of the season. He went 3 for 6 from the leadoff spot in last night's extra-inning tilt.  JHay all the way!

 2) LF Starling Marte leads the Pirates in several offensive categories, .295 batting average, 41 hits, 8 home runs, 26 RBI and .346 OBP. Marte just has to remember to coming up gunning with his cannon of an arm so runners stop taking the extra base on him. Welcome to the Marte Partay!

And the #1 reason Our Pirates will win the World Series....

 1) Because I bleed Black-N-Gold and it's a 'Burgh thing, baby!

    Let's Go Bucs!!!!!