THE BULLPEN

Play Ball! Those words will ring out at PNC Park today for what is expected to be a standing room only crowd for your Pittsburgh Pirates home opener against the Chicago Scrubs. These are your keys to today's game. 1)Comeback Player of the Year, LH Francisco Liriano, is on the hill for the Pirates. Filthy Frankie was 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA last season for the Bucs. Shut 'em down, Frankie! 2)The Cub have finished under .500 the last 5 seasons. Meanwhile, the Pirates ended 21 years of futility last year when they finished 94-68 and took the St Louie Cardinals to game 5 of the NLDS. It's important for the Pirates to get off to a fast start as they play all of their games versus division opponents for the first month until April 29-30. Bring plenty of Hit, Run, & Score! 3)The Scrubs start RH Jeff Samardzja who was 8-13 with a 4.34 ERA last season. He faced the Bucs on Opening Day last year and tossed 2-hit, shutout ball for 8 innings on his way to a win. Score early, score often, score BIG! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!