A dilemma

I like to see the Pirates play well, even this late into a well-lost season. At the same time, though, I think the Reds are the one team that I wouldn’t mind winning the division in the (annual) even that the Pirates don’t. I’ve got no love lost for Pujols/La Russa, the Cubs (thanks to their fans’ regular invasions of PNC Park), or the general concept of the Astros and Brewers (don’t blame me, this is how biases work). That leaves the Reds, who were rivals of the Pirates in the 70s and the first baseball team that every crushed my heart (1990 NLCS, Darren Bragg, Chris Sabo, etc.), but they’re the best alternative in the NL Central. Which means I don’t want them to lose and collapse and help the Cardinals into the playoffs.

Anyways, as much as I’d like to see the Pirates play well I doubt that’s much of a possibility on the road against a likely playoff contender. Paul Maholm, who’s gotten shelled quite a bit lately, takes the mound tonight against Homer Bailey. Bailey’s been pretty good since his return from the DL about a month ago and his hard-throwing, strike-zone-challenged MO seems to be exactly what gives the Pirates problems (you know, as opposed to “everything”). First pitch tonight is at 7:10. The Clemente/Cangelosi scoreboard is taking the night off, but if you leave your predictions below I’ll have it updated tomorrow evening.