Light at the end of the tunnel

"I don't know if everybody's seeing the end of the tunnel or what, but it just seems like the whole atmosphere around here has changed a little bit over the last 10 days," veteran reliever Rick White said. "I guess you can attribute that to the fact we're playing playoff-contention teams."

As I get over the disappointment of this season, I'm agreeing more and more with those who think the Pirates could contend one of these next few years.

Paul Meyer, who reported that quote, found an even more optimistic scout:

A scout last night suggested "the Pirates are closer to winning than people think. If [Oliver] Perez comes back like he was last season and the kid [Zach Duke] is for real, they have a chance to have the best pitching staff in the league."

Rotation?

"Staff," the scout said. "They have two left-handers [Mike Gonzalez, John Grabow] in the bullpen who are in the top 10 percent in the major leagues."

Food for thought -- at least.

Link here.