The Sports Monitor

Do you believe the Pirates are jinxed? That thought has to be going through Bucco fans' minds after Tuesday night's 4-3 loss in 14 innings to the Cardinals. That's the Pirates' fourth loss in a row. The Pirates had the game locked up when Starling Marte got lazy and dropped a lazy fly to left. It would have been the second out of the ninth inning. The Cardinals tied it, thanks to Marte's error, and won it in the 14th, thanks in part to the Pirates' inability to score Andrew McCutchen from third base with no outs. In the 14th, Clint Barmes couldn't handle a grounder by John Jay, who scored the winning run. The Cards are now just two games behind the Pirates in the National League Central. Let's get back to being jinxed. You have to think that after going through the last two seasons. It's hard to fathom the Pirates not getting to 82 wins this season. After what's happened so far, just a winning season won't cut it. The ...

There comes a time when a team believes in itself. Then there are times when a fan starts to believe in a team. For me, I think that happened last night after the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0. It took me 130 games, but I'm there. I admit it, I fully expected the Pirates to crack this series against the Cards. Nothing changed after the Bucs lost 4-3 Monday. Well, I thought they might get swept. Instead, the Pirates responded with back-to-back shutouts of one of the teams they're trying to chase down for a wild-card playoff berth. Today, before they enter a series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates are just one game away from that coveted spot. I'm not sure they'll reach it, but I have faith they won't utterly collapse either, which was a big fear before the Pirates bounced back and beat the Cardinals 9-0 Tuesday. Maybe Pedro Alvarez will stay hot through the end of the season. If he does, then I think the Bucs ha...