BREAKING NEWS: Pirates Sign Barry Bonds

Massive news in the 'Burgh today.

Despite a double-digit run total in last night's opening day win over the Braves, the Pirates decided to upgrade their offense.

Knowing the team made little movement in the offseason free agent-market, the Pirates front office went out and signed Barry Bonds. A move like this should quiet down the constant bitching in the Pirates fanbase. We got a big name free agent! Whoopie!

Barry's agent was able to negotiate a quiet little deal with the Pirates, now that Roger Clemens is taking the worst of the steroids accusations. With the negative spotlight shifted, Barry was able to get back in playing shape and impress the team.

Bonds said he was excited to be back with his original MLB team, and wants to change the landscape that was altered when he left.

The NL Central is about to get good.

Congrats to Ron Francis

PSaMP sends congratulations to Ron Francis, the former Penguin center, upon hearing of his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Hockey Hall doesn't let just anyone in. I'm talking 4 players max each year. Francis will be inducted along with Mark Messier, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens. That's a pretty solid class. Jim Gregory, an NHL Executive, was also voted in as an NHL builder.

Ron Francis will forever be linked to the Penguins, despite also playing for the Whalers, Hurricanes and Maple Leafs. Francis helped bring back to back championships to the 'Burgh in '91 and '92.

Dude played for 23 years. People can talk all they want about Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson or any other 40+ MLB pitcher and how they've played for so long. Ron Francis took hits for 23 years. Ron Francis handed out hits for 23 years. And despite the physicality of his sport, he finished his career 4th on the all-time points list with 1,798.

With Francis and Messier, 2nd overall in career points, this year's class is pretty incredible. Penguins fans have been blessed to see so many great players take the ice in a Pittsburgh uniform. Ron Francis was one of those guys, and he deserves his place among Hockey's immortals.

Passion Win! Passion Win!

No. I'm not going to discuss the whole Pirates/Roger Clemens game. I need something else to get that bitter taste outta my mouth. How about...women's' football!

The Passion dominated dismantled crushed worked beat (I'm trying to be nice) the Philadelphia Phoenix, 40-0. The concludes the regular season for the Passion, and that unblemished 7-0 record looks damn pretty. Take that, 1972 Dolphins.

The NWFA, which usually doesn't put stats out until Monday, again has failed to provide any information about the game. PSaMP will have it covered, as soon as I find out more than the score.

Torina Henley rushed for 127 yards on 15 carries. She also scored twice.

7-0! Kickass!

This Past Weekend Sucked

I took a mini break from blogging this weekend, because, as the title points out, this past weekend sucked. After taking game 1 of the series with the Beer-Makers, the Buccos decided to lose on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Prince Fielder, who was pissed about getting beaned on the elbow on Saturday, hit a pair of homers and scored the winning run (captured in the above photo) to quell the Pirates' attempt at a comeback in the finale.

Other than those obvious reasons, the Steelers did nothing significant, and the Penguins are still out of the playoffs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. won an unexciting bout with Oscar De La Hoya. Roger Clemens announced he's coming back to the Yankees. I would have only paid attention to that story if Clemens and Pirates were in the same sentence. Some horse won the Kentucky Derby, and I had to go to college commencement practice. Nothing really controlled my interests this weekend, so I gave you, the reader, the bare minimum for the past few days.

The Buccos have the day off today, which is greatly needed. Pittsburgh's last two opponents, the Cubs and Brewers, both entered their series against the Bucs with 4 game win streaks (Which I mentioned here). The Pirates won the opener in both series, and proceeded to drop the final 3 games in each. Bummer, indeed.

The Bucs are 13-17, good for 4th place in the Central and 7.5 games behind Milwaukee. The series opener looked promising for the Bucs, who then decided to give away a bunch of runs in the next 3 games. Any chance at catching the Brewers in the near future flew out the window during the 10-0 drubbing in game 2. ADD Laroche did record 3 hits on Saturday (Whaaat?...) which hopefully kicks off his season (It is May, you know).

Little off topic, but if you haven't seen the movie Grandma's Boy, you should probably see it soon (Your ass is tanner than my face). Yeah, I'm a little behind the times, but that's what happens when you hold multiple jobs while trying to graduate from college...and while you attempt to run a kickass sportsblog. Its a typical crude humor movie from Happy Madison Productions, and that is really all I need when I want to laugh. What? You didn't like Grandma's Boy? You would if you had robot ears...I gotta stop now.

Pirates Complete 2nd Series Sweep Against Houston This Season

Two series sweeps. In the opening month of the season. A 5-3 win yesterday afternoon guaranteed that. The more the Pirates keep handling Houston, the more I'll be able to continue comparing this young Pirate's season to the past Penguins season. We tend to forget that before the Penguin's 16-game points streak that started in early January and contained two 6-game win streaks, the team had 18 wins and 16 regulation losses. The Pens were in the middle of the cluster looking for the 7th or 8th seed in the East before streaking and (at one point) holding the 2 spot in the entire conference.

That's not to say that these Pirates will have the exact kind of season that the Pens enjoyed, but it is a possibility. 10-10 is a deserving record for the Pirates, given the stagnant offense and bipolar pitchers (Armas allowed 1 run after entering the game with a 18.90 ERA). As long as our starters continue this mini hot streak, the Pirates should look to do some damage in the Central (I can't believe I just said that).

Now that the Buccos have 10 wins, I must update my 7 Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs This Season. Reasons 8, 9 and 10 are:

8. Humberto Cota is on the DL. Honestly, why is this guy still on our team? With Ryan Doumit being called up and contributing early, Cota is, at best, our 3rd catcher. He strikes out too much, that is, when he actually gets into a game. I thought he was gone last year, when Jim Tracy struggled to find places for him to play. The Bucs tried to off him by retiring Paul Waner's number 11, the number that Cota was still wearing. That didn't work, so I guess the DL is the next best place for Humberto.

9. We Play Houston 9 More Times. But not again until July 20th. Still, that's 9 more wins towards the goal of 82. If the Pirates continue to mirror the early success of the Pens against the Flyers, then Houston has no chance for the remainder of the season. Who knew that Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte had that much of an impact on the club? However, Houston has been a notoriously slow starter for the past several seasons and before you know it, they're advancing in the playoffs. I haven't completely written them off, but I like the Pirates' chances from here on out.

10. The 'Pen is Looking Good. Larry Brown Sports hit the nail on the head when he commented on the outstanding relief arms on the Pittsburgh roster. Jonah Bayliss and Matt Capps recorded the first 2 wins of the season for the Bucs, and John Grabow, who is just back from injury, was credited with the save yesterday. John Wasdin pitched 2 scoreless innings for the marathon win in the 16th, and former Yankees starter Shawn Chacon lurks in the 'Pen as well. The only big question mark is Torres (That's actually a huge question mark right now), so if he can return to form, the Buccos can rely on durable relievers to back up our relatively young starting pitchers.


Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs Archive:
7 Reasons to Keep Watching the Bucs This Season

'07 Bucs vs. '06-'07 Pens Archive:
Bucs Win in 16, Fully Endorse Adderall
The 2007 Pirates: Holding Company With John Smiley and Doug Drabek