The second half

Ian Snell takes the mound for the Buccos today, looking for win #8 and to sneak a series win out against Zach Miner and the Tigers. A win for the Pirates coupled by a loss by the Cubs will shrink Detroits' lead in the AL Centreal to 1/2 a game, while pulling the Bucs to within 1 game of the Cubs for last place in the NL Central. Today is also the second game of the second half of the season. In order to avoid 100 losses, the Pirates need to go 36-45 in the second half (and remember, they're now 1-0 in the second half of the season). That doesn't sound too hard on paper, but remember that they were 27-54 in the first 81 games. Of course, to abolish their near decade and a half long losing streak, they would need to go 54-27 in the second half, which would be better than any team except our current opponent played in the first half, who just played their 81st game yesterday to close the half at 55-26. Focusing on the short term is much less depressing. If we win today we will have gone 3-3 against the White Sox and Tigers. That doesn't seem too bad.