Pirates Look to Exorcise Another Demon

So far this young season, on their way to an 11-7 start, the Pittsburgh Pirates have received excellent starting pitching, good relief pitching, clutch hitting and solid defense. The Bucs rarely have 2 of these going at the same time, so having all 4 certainly explains their start. Well, if the Pirates' odds-defying season is to continue, they must start beating the Brewers.

In 2008, the Pirates lost 14 of their 15 games against the Brewers, including all played in Milwaukee. The Bucs also lost 10 of 16 in '07. Speaking of just the previous 2 seasons, the dominance by the Brewers, along with an 11-22 record against the Cubs and the decade-plus-long struggle in Inter-League play, has been a key contributor to the Bucs' awful win-loss records. Taking at least 2 of 3 this week in Milwaukee would be nice. The Brewers, who got off to a slow start this year, have been playing much better of late. However, the Marlins were the hottest team in baseball one week ago until they visited Pittsburgh, so...

In other news: The comic strip Mallard Fillmore look at jab at the Pirates today. See it for yourself. I'm not a fan of this strip; it's like a quieter version of Lewis Black, or a less (ironically) funny version of Andy Rooney. Anyway, it's also not very timely, since the Pirates currently reside in second place and are off to their best start in 9 years. Plus, if you're three years behind Jay Leno, of all people, with your jokes, maybe humor's not your thing.