The 2007 Pirates: Holding Company With John Smiley and Doug Drabek

aided by a four-run 5th inning, the pirates prevailed 5-4 over the astros, and swept the first series of the season. considering that the buccos havent swept the astros in houston since 1991, at the astrodome, i consider this sweep a massive positive to build on for the rest of the season. in 1991, the pirates ruled, so equalling a feat by the buccos of my childhood is commendable. the pirates started 0-6 last year. right about the time of the 4th or 5th consectutive loss, i actually wondered if it was possible to go winless! thats not even a possibility this year.

sweeping the astros in the opening series between the two teams got me thinking. this reminds me of the pens sweeping the flyers in philly this hockey season. the pens were a young group of guys, playing in an arena where wins have been hard to come by, against a divisional foe that the pens have struggled against in the past. crosby and company ended up exercising some demons and making a run to the playoffs. the pens beat the flyers 8-2, 5-3, 5-3 and 5-4 in philly. the pirates are a young group of guys, playing in a ballpark where wins have been hard to come by in the past, against a divisional foe that the pirates have struggled against in the past. hopefully, this means bay and company can make a meaningful run to the playoffs, and not a bs run like the one by the 1997 "freak show" pirates (although that pitching staff was pretty sweet).

i think the pirates can make some waves in the national league this year, and although ive said that every year since that other sid crushed my dreams in 92, i honestly think these buccos can be legit.

more later...