Tonight starts a key stretch for the Bucs. The team is playing well lately. Despite some shaky starting pitching, they are two games under .500 and on schedule, I think, for their first winning season in ages. (The formula for this, outlined in the preseason, is stay right at or around .500 until August and turn it on down the stretch.) They finished 2003 at 49-48 and stand now at 20-22 so that's 69-70 over the last 70 games. With so many players on the rise, this team will only get better as they play more games. I'm looking forward to seeing more stability in the lineup and rotation as Mac and the team settle into a groove. Also, unlike some of our rivals, the Bucs are well-positioned to deal with any injuries. Our top 10 players may not be as experienced as the top 10 of other NL Central teams, but our 40-man is as strong as any 40-man in the division.
The upcoming schedule should have the Bucs licking their chops. Up next is seven games against the dread Cubs and four games with the Cardinals. Division games count twice, of course, since a win against a division rival is also a loss for a division rival. On June 7, when the Bucs head to Texas to play twelve games against the AL West, they won't have anything to say about how many wins the Cubs and Cardinals add to their totals.
I'd like to see them win six of the next eleven.
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