THE BULLPEN

     I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps! Our Pittsburgh Pirates close out their series in New York tonight against the Mets. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)One step forward, two steps back for these Buccos. Just when it looked like RH Jameson Taillon helped right the Pirates ship on Tuesday night, LH Jeff Locke goes out and sinks it, leading the Buccos to another devastating loss last night, 11-2. Mrs. Black-N-Gold guesses that the only silver lining in this latest loss is that the Pirates refuse to be shut out. You know what they need to do? Refuse to lose! 2)The injury bug may have bitten the Bucs again. LF Starling Marte left the game after getting hit in the face with a ball on a hit to left. Next man up! 3)RH Juan Nicasio, 5-5, 5.34 ERA, returns to the rotation after a woeful stint in the bullpen last Friday. He'll face the ageless wonder, RH Bartolo Colon, 5-3, 3.08 ERA. This one has disaster written all over it. Bart throws junk, and rather successfully. The Pirates do not fare well against pitchers that rely on off-speed stuff, they feast more on fastballs. How fast could Bart's fastball be? 70 or 80 mph? Somehow, someway, the Pirates have got to find a way to make some Meatloaf in the Big Apple. 2 outta 3 ain't bad with a side of Hit, Run, & Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!