THE BULLPEN

     Baseball fever, catch it! Your Pittsburgh Pirates close out their series in Milwaukee this afternoon as they battle the Brewers. These are your keys for today's game. 1)It was the great American philosopher Jerry Reed that once said "When you're hot, you're hot. And when you're not, you're not". Your Pittsburgh Pirates are definitely "not". Following last night's 8-5 loss in Milwaukee, the Bucs have dropped their last 2 to start the 2nd half of the season and in the process have lost 2 games to St Louie in the standings. Did someone forget to pack the offense and the Jolly Roger for this road trip? Thanks to 2 Milwaukee errors and a wild pitch, the Bucs were staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st last night with bases full of Bucs and no one out. However, they managed to run themselves right out of a big inning and didn't score again until the 7th, when the game was well out of reach. Today's game plan should really be quite simple. Score early, score often, score BIG with lots and lots of Hit, Run, & Score! 2)The ineptitude of the offense wasn't all to blame. Miscues and mistakes in the field have contributed to this awful showing, too. Mrs. Black-N-Gold is now going to take a page from her Steelers handbook. Put the D back in the Defense! 3)The road doesn't get any easier for our Buccos. Tomorrow they head to KC to play the defending AL Champs then come back home for a 4-game series with the Gnats. Right the ship and raise the Jolly Roger! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!