Bucs take on Beer Men

The Pirates are in Milwaukee tonight to start a three-game series with the Beer Men. Tonight is the Yankees Futures game with Ben Sheets and Kris Benson facing off. Tomorrow the well-rested Wes Obermueller goes against the well-rested Oliver Perez. On Sunday, left-handed Doug Davis matches up with Ryan Vogelsong.

The Brewers are coming off a two-game sweep of the Reds. They battered Paul Wilson and Cory Lidle and scored nineteen runs in two games. In the second game, they rallied from nine runs down to win in extra innings.

The last time the Pirates went to Milwaukee (last August) the Racing Sausages beat the Pierogies in the relay race. The Bucs lost each game of the three-game series by one run.

A win tonight would have the Bucs finishing one game below .500 in the month of April, which we consider pretty good and in line with expectations. If they lose tonight, I'll be thinking about the two games they squandered in the first week of the season.

As our team settles into a groove I expect they'll start to play better, on defense and at the plate. Many roles are up in the air right now. Nothing is easy and things won't get easier with the Bucs scheduled against Houston and Los Angeles after this weekend's series. One good thing about McClendon's Pirates team is that they don't play down to their competition. They more or less scrap it out against everyone. They'll play the Brewers the same way they'll play the Astros and the Dodgers.