April 30, 2007.

Pittsburgh, PA - After a rough start to the season the Pirates are sitting at .500 with a 18-18 and sitting 2nd in the NL Central, three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The Bucks have been plagued with inconsistency especially with they're pitching as the additions of guys such as Charles Chouinard and Steve Cain has not helped. Both pitchers started the season in the starting rotation and have now found their way to the bullpen. Tom Willis, the other Pirate pitcher addition this season, has been a bright spot in the staff posting a 3.42 ERA with a 2-2 record. Ty Chapman may have been the biggest disappointment of September. Having signed a big contract before the 2006 season Chapman recorded a career high 37 saves. So far in the first month of the season he has 5 saves to go along with the 4 times he has blown a save and an ERA of 9.00. Weldon Murphy, who was one of the bullpen's leaders last season, has also disappointed as he has posted a 9.39 ERA and there has been word that he may be sent down to AAA in May.

Not everything has gone wrong the Bucks though. Even though the offense hasn't put up the runs as much as they did last year, they are still ranked high as a team in categories such as Batting Avg (10th), On Base % (5th), and Slugging % (11th). Johnny A. Brady has continued his high level of play batting .317 and tied for the team lead with 20 runs. Other bright spots at the plate this September have been Don White and George McGuire who both are on pace to reach 100 RBIs for the second straight season.

The season had a tough start to it as they were matched up against the Los Angeles Dodgers for 8 straight games. After winning the first game the Dodgers preceded to beat the Pirates in 6 straight games. The have now gone 13-8 after starting the season with a record of 1-6. Coming up the Bucks will go into St. Louis to meet the division rivals Cardinals for the first time this season. The Cardinals put together one of the best pitching staffs in baseball over the off season but have struggled coming out of the gate with a 12-16 record.