THE BULLPEN

     As Mrs. Black-N-Gold writes this, there are less 3 weeks until Opening Day at PNC Park for our Pittsburgh Pirates. Mrs. Black-N-Gold is getting nervous. The Pirates have not been all that impressive this spring. She needs to keep reminding herself that "It's only spring training." Manager Clint Hurdle tried to stress this spring the importance of starting the season off on the right foot. And rightfully so. The Bucs have a bad habit of stumbling out of the gate every year. Today, Mrs. Black-N-Gold looks at "5 Who Can Keep Our Hopes Alive." She's shined a spotlight on some of these players in the past. But with the losses of Burnett, Happ, Walker, Alvarez, etc, it's even more important that these guys step up and lead the way this season.

1)CF Andrew McCutchen-Of course Cutch would be on this list. The Pirates go as #22 goes. That was especially evident last season. Cutch got off to one of the worst starts of his storied career. Once he made that proclamation that he was "Sick of going 0-for-friggin'-4" he turned things around. And our Buccos did, too. We're going to hear alot about Cutch and his impending free agency in the next couple of years. Mrs. Black-N-Gold suggests we just sit back, relax and let Cutch lead the way.

2)2B Josh Harrison-JHay is another player that did not get off to a good start last season. When he finally did start to catch fire, his season was derailed by a thumb injury. With the trade of Walker, JHay is expected to make the move to 2B (this may be up in the air due to Jung Ho Kang's injury). JHay has stated that he prefers 2B but will keep his other gloves handy, just in case. JHay is a catalyst for this team and needs to continue that trend.

3)RH Gerrit Cole-There will be alot of noise regarding Cole's contract status in the next few years, too. The righthander and his agent even squaked about his salary this offseason when the Bucs automatically renewed the non-abritration-eligible player's contract for just a few thousand dollars more than last year's salary (as is allowed by the CBA). Cole Train wants to put the salary tiff behind him and concentrate on the season. It would be good to see him take another big step this year and improve on the 19-win, All-Star campaign of a year ago.

4)LF Starling Marte-Marte was one of the few to get off to a good start last year. Unfortunately, that didn't carry over after the All-Star break when his play tailed off considerably. He did win his 1st Gold Glove but needs to improve on the mental part of the game both in the field and at the plate. Stay focused on the basepaths and in the field and don't go after so many bad pitches. These are the steps that Starling needs to take to put together a complete season and take his career to the next level.

5)RF Gregory Polanco-El Coffee has many similarities to his friend Marte. They both make too many mental mistakes. It's time for Polanco to live up to the hype and take advantage of all the potential we've heard about for years. Marte seemed to get the hang of things in his 3rd season in the Bigs. It's time for Polanco to push forward now, too.

      No doubt about it, the Outfield of Dreams will have to carry this team. But they're not the only ones. If the above players can find another level, these 5 will keep the Pirates' World Series hopes alive. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!