Pittsburgh Pirates: Another Test on the Heels of the Past One

Here's another test for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who failed their first one by going 0-5 against the Milwaukee Brewers, but who passed another one, although not with flying colors, with a 5-2 tally in the two past series against cellar-dwelling teams.

The next "heat" is against the two Chicago teams, White Sox and Cubs, against whom they were all of 4-17 in 2008. They need to do better this year in order to even have a shot at .500.

Of the two, the Cubs series will be more important, because the Pirates will be seeing them again. Win or lose, the series against the White Sox will be a one-shot (interleague) deal.

Here are reasons to hope. Against the White Sox, the Pirates are pitting a rejuvenated Zach Duke and two "imports" from the New York Yankees as starting pitchers, Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens. Karstens made a sensational Pirates debut last year with six innings of shut-out ball last year in a 3-0 victory against the other Chicago team. 

Fifth starter Karstens will face top of the rotation Mark Buehrle in the third game, but the other two (de facto) top of the rotation pitchers will square off against the bottom of the White Sox' rotation in a baseball version of the Chinese "three horse race."

Against the Cubs, the Pirates may benefit from what fellow writer Marino Eccher calls "the Cubs' dirty little secret." As a group, they are getting older, which is to say that the much-younger Pirates can win endurance contests against them. Two of the Pirates' four wins against the Cubs in 2008 were in extra innings.

Individual Cubs are better than individual Pirates, but injuries prevent the Cubs from fielding their best team most of the time.

All in all, the Pirates are facing tougher competition than in the recent past (although not as tough as Milwaukee). As such, it will be a better test of where the Pirates now stand.