On Deck (Game 59): Buccos at Yanks

I consider myself a fanatical baseball fan. On most nights, I’ll watch the Yanks play, then fire up MLB.tv and watch a late game from the left coast. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every team play at least one game this year, every team but the Pittsburgh Pirates, it turns out.

After tonight, I will have seen every team in the majors play at least part of a game this year. Yay! It’s no accident that the Pirates were the last on my list, they’re horrible. Jason Bay is their lone “star” and I use that term loosely. Tom Gorzelanny, the Pirates starter du jour, is having a fine season. Ian Snell has nice numbers as well. Beyond that, who the F are these guys?

Pittsburgh is another once proud city who suddenly became “small market” at around the same time they started sucking. This franchise hasn’t been relevant since Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke were wearing the yellow and black. The good news for Pittsburgh fans is that they play in the worst division in baseball.

In a nutshell: If any one of these games is even close, the Yanks should be ashamed of themselves.

Keys to the game: Pettitte has been the tough-luck pitcher of the year. Last time out, he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. It’d be nice if he could go 7 innings tonight, odds are Clemens won’t go that deep in his debut tomorrow.

Pirates blog-of-the-series: Mondesi’s House