Can the Pittsburgh Pirates Get Off to a Quick Start in the 2012 Season?

We do it every year.  It’s a bad habit.  We start looking ahead.

Why isn’t enough to enjoy the fact that pitchers and catcher reported for work yesterday?  It appears that none of them were injured either.  The season is underway, the beautiful season we all love.

Baseball is back.

But we can’t stop looking at the month of April and as it does each season, it always get a little concerned for our Pittsburgh Pirates.  Did you look at the schedule yet?  The season starts with the Philadelphia Phillies.  The pitching staff of the Phillies has us a bit worried along with the fact that the Phillies outscored the Bucs by eleven runs in their four wins over the six games the teams played last season.

A nine-game road trip to the West coast follows which includes games with the Dodgers, Giants, and Diamondbacks.  Imagining the Pirates lineup facing the talent level of these pitching staffs is difficult to think about right now.   Surprisingly enough it was the Dodgers who put up 49 runs on the Bucs while they took six of eight games.  The Giants and Snakes each split six games with the Pirates.  The Bucs outscored the Giants by four runs and tied the Dbacks at 21 all.

The Bucs return home to face the World Champion Cardinals who outscored the Pirates by ten runs and the Rockies who took four of seven from the Bucs.  The team then heads back on the road for four against the Atlanta Braves.

It’s not easy being the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The offense will need to get off to a quick start against some of the best pitchers the National League has to offer.  Facing the Phillies will define put up or shut up.  Sprinkle in some Giants, Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Braves arms to face a Bucs lineup that has plenty of questions and it’s enough to make us think that the young Bucs have no time to waste waiting for April showers to bring May flowers.

There is a lot of time between now and then, we’re going to try our and enjoy it.  No.  We will enjoy it.  There is nothing like it.

But it will be there.