Soaring Pirates are dreaming big
The Pirates are touching heights unseen since Barry Bonds' final year in Pittsburgh, 1992, also the franchise's most recent winning season. And they'd love dearly to keep the story going this time.
Their record is 48-37, a stunning 11 games over the .500 mark they haven't achieved in 20 years.
They're atop the National League Central.
They've won 28 of the past 41 games.
Can it possibly last?
"The days of us looking down at the ground after a tough loss or falling apart with a three-game losing streak ... that's over," second baseman and Pittsburgh native Neil Walker said after his five hits, including a monster home run, powered a 13-2 blowout of the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at PNC Park. "We take the field every single day believing we should win."
The Pirates have enjoyed surprisingly strong offense in June and July, batting .278 with 50 home runs in that time. But it's had a fluky feel in the context of an April and May in which they batted .181. The pitching remains paramount.
Both could use reinforcing, which is why the Pirates are in a buying mode, manager Clint Hurdle reiterated Sunday. They'll be looking for a corner outfield bat and maybe another starting pitcher, and they won't be shy about paying with prospects and/or cash to make it happen.
"Our focus is to exhaustively search for all opportunities to add to this club and to execute the right moves to make this club better," general manager Neal Huntington said.
It's already a summer to remember in Pittsburgh, where PNC Park has sold out nine times and attendance is up 12 percent. But much more could be on the way.
