THE BULLPEN

     Happy Bucs & Pucks Day! There's no crying in baseball! Our Pittsburgh Pirates open a 3-game series tonight when they welcome Neil Walker and the New York Mets to the friendly confines of PNC Park. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)With yesterday's heart-breaking 5-4 loss to the Angels, the Pirates have lost 3 straight series and 7 of their last 9 games. You don't win championships that way. Find the win column and raise the Jolly Roger! 2)During the 3-game series this weekend, the Buccos pitching staff surrendered 21 runs. This team used to hang its hat on its pitching but no longer. Now they'll square off against one of the best starting rotations in baseball. The Mets start LH Steven Matz, 7-1, 2.60 ERA. He'll face former teammate, LH Jon Niese, 5-2, 4.36 ERA. Niese came to the 'Burgh by way of the Walker trade. Let's hope the lefty uses facing his former team as extra motivation. A win for Niese would be nice! 3)How do you battle the Mets vaunted rotation? Score early, score often, score BIG with lots of Hit, Run, & Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!