No Hope In Sight For Pirates

I like to think of myself as a glass-is-half-full person. Throughout my life, I’ve always held the belief that things will work out for the better eventually. Trust me, I’ve had my share of ups and downs in my three-plus decades on this planet, but I always know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

All that being said, I wish I could tell you that the Pirates are going to have a good season in 2008, but for the life of me, I can’t.

This is basically the same team coming back that lost 94 games a year ago. There’s a new manager, a new GM and a new team president, and that’s all well and good. But, the air of losing still surrounds this team.

Their lineup doesn’t scare anyone. The pitching isn’t bad, but far from dominant. And when your biggest off-season move is signing a journeyman first baseman to a minor league contract, there’s little reason to believe things will get better for our Battlin’ Buccos.

Look, I want the Pirates to do well. I’m a big baseball fan, and I would love to see what the atmosphere would be like at PNC Park if the Pirates were in contention late in the season. But this team has done nothing to improve, and Jason Bay’s off-season comments were spot on. As always, I hope I’m wrong about the 2008 Bucs, but I have feeling consecutive losing season number 16 is on the horizon. Go Bucs!

Whitney Earns Respect

You certainly have to respect Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney.

After getting taken to task by coach Michel Therrien for a loss at New Jersey on Monday, Whitney responded with two goals and an assist in a win over the Islanders three nights later.

Whitney knows he needs to play well. He has a big contract and he’s considered one of the young leaders of the Penguins defense.

Many say Therrien was wrong to publicly criticize Whitney, but Ryan just shrugged it off and said his coach was just showing some tough love. That tells me that Ryan Whitney gets it.

There’s no sense pouting and complaining about not getting any love from your coach. Go out and show him you can get the job done. That’s exactly what Whitney did.

Whitney’s a good player and a well-respected member of the Penguins locker room. I’ll bet he’s earned even more respect for “manning up” after getting challenged by his coach.