Pirates Win, Head to New York About to Start the Streak to Stop the Streak

Grab this new Pittsburgh Pirates bumper sticker and slap it on your ride.  We’re going to ignore everything that has happened before yesterday.    The Pirates are going on a winning streak….here is why.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace A.J. Burnett stopped the madness.  it’s all that needed to happen.  Grab a win.   For a few hours the discussion won’t be on the off-the-field problems surrounding the Buccos like the plague, it will be about a Buccos team that smacked hits all over a Houston Astros team filled with youngsters.  As they should.  The one player that looks like he could be a Hell’s Angel, went eight innings and struck out eleven Houston Astros in an 8-1 Buccos win.

Now the Pirates pitchers that don’t look like Hell’s Angels need to carry the torch in New York for this streak to end.

The Buccos have won three times in the past sixteen, does this win start the streak to stop the streak?  Hell yes it does.

The bats came to life with 18 hits.   Josh Harrison came into the game on a-one-for-September streak, got four knocks.  Jose Tabata drove in two riuns and now has an OPS of .889 in September.  Since the break, Tabata is hitting .282 with a .744 OPS.

Andrew McCutchen had two hits and his average now stands at .336.  Clint #AlwaysSmooth Barmes had two hits and don’t look now, but he is hitting .323 in September.  After the break, Barmes looks like an average shortstop bat with a .259 average and a .674 OPS.  Gaby Sanchez had two knocks and is hitting .346 in his past ten games.  Sanchez has a .992 OPS in September.

Most importantly, somehow the Pirates pitching backed it up (and Chad Qualls made an appearance too!)

The Bucs will have Kyle McPherson–could be a Hell’s Angel–he’s a double black, Wandy Rodriguez—could be a Hell’s Angel, I could see him on stage with the Rolling Stones, Jeff Locke—well, there is always one exception, and Kevin Correia who could definently be a Hell’s Angel.  Correia is one that just happens to be able to crush a golf ball 300 yards too.  So, we think that sounds like a winning streak coming together before the Pirates return to Pittsburgh to close out 2012.

The Reds will be waiting, and damn if the Bucs don’t owe them a beat down or three.

So it’s off to New York City with the reputation of the 2012 team on the line.  An opportunity to make a statement.  Let the Jolly Roger fly high in New York City!

Fill up that mason jar with moonshine again, honey.