Game 50: Pirates at Braves

Burres and Medlen at seven. Most of the Bucs are pacing themselves admirably, waiting to break out until more Prospects arrive.

Game 49: Pirates at Braves

Duke and Lowe at 7:30. A win would be meaningful.

Game 48: Pirates at Reds

Morton and Cueto at seven. If JR wants, the Bucs could probably rest another game, or until another Prospect arrives.

Game 47: Pirates at Reds

Ohlendorf and Arroyo at seven, as the waves of Prospects begin to wash ashore.

Rinku and Dinesh go to DC

Indian reality TV contest victors/Pirates pitchers Rinku and Dinesh are entertained by Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Ronaldinho. You can't blame these bandwagon Bucco fans for wanting to get in on the wild-card magic.

Game 46: Pirates at Reds

Maholm and Leake at seven in another game with major playoff implications. Advantage third place Bucs: Leake has done well so far, but the kid skipped the minors, so can't possibly know how to play the game the right way.

Game 45: Pirates at Reds

Burres takes on the Harangutan at seven. The once proud Reds are trying to end their hapless nine year streak of losing baseball. Although seemingly in the 2010 playoff mix with the Bucs, the Reds are unlikely to be playing meaningful baseball come October.

Game 44: Braves at Pirates

Duke and Medlen at 1:35. There are no scholarships in the NLCS - the Bucs need to win.

Game 43: Braves at Pirates

Morton and Lowe at seven. One can only imagine how hard it must be for Frodo McLouth to see his old team just a half game back of the Cubs, and right in the thick of the wild-card race. Especially given McLouth's hapless .208/.329/.350 effort, and the gaudy aggression, location, and xFIP of the guy he was traded for.

Game 42: Braves at Pirates

Ohlendorf and Hudson at seven. The Braves are a hapless 8-14 on the road, and since 1958 have only won one World Series. Until there's a MLB salary cap, the Bucs will always have to play lesser franchises. Hopefully this substandard 2010 Braves team is clean of infectious bad habits like taking off for third while the ball is still in the infield.

Game 41: Brewers at Pirates

Maholm and Narveson at seven, untucking at nine. The hapless Brewers have lost nine straight. Until Bud Selig figures out a way to enforce MLB team owners to actually try to win and not just stuff their pockets, gross mismatches will occur, and Benny Hill scenes like LaRoche's Matrix move will be routine.

Game 40: Brewers at Pirates

Burres and Wolf at seven. The hapless small-market Brewers are 15-24, have lost 8 in a row, and apparently are content at cashing the Yankees' and the Pirates' checks while not even trying to field a competitive team. Prepare to untuck.

Game 39: Pirates at Phillies

Duke and Halladay at seven. There's no reason JR and Neal need to tip their hand to a likely playoff opponent this early in the season. So it might make sense to save the best lineup and defensive shifts for October, and rest up one more day.

Game 38: Pirates at Phillies

Morton and Kendrick at seven. Finally, the third-place Bucs get to play another contending team.

Game 37: Pirates at Cubs

Ohlendorf and Lilly at 2:20. The Bucs are the hottest team in the division and have sole possession of third place, while the hapless Cubs are only a game and a half from the cellar. As hard as it must be for Gorzo, Grabow, Nady, and Aram to witness such a dramatic reversal of fortunes, at least they can enjoy the playoff excitement vicariously late at night, when they put on their old Pirates gear.

Game 36: Pirates at Cubs

Maholm and Dempster at one. Bucs are in third place and looking down on the hapless Cubs. If you see a thirsty Iowan in a Spin Williams jersey at the game, consider buying him a beer.

Game 35: Pirates at Cubs

Burres and Gorzelanny at 2:20. The Bucs are only a half game back of the Cubs and their resting period has paid off big-time, as their odds to win the division are now over four times higher than the wild-card.

Off day

No meaningful Pirates baseball today, as the Bucs continue to conserve energy for the wild-card race, without having to go through the motions of pretending to play baseball. The hot start of this magical 2010 Bucs team has bought one, maybe two, more weeks where this resting period could continue before everyone gets back to clinching the wild-card berth.

Game 34: Reds at Pirates

Duke and Bailey at 12:35. While three consecutive May losses might seem completely meaningless now, don't underestimate JR's strategy of conserving energy for the big October wild-card push.

Game 33: Reds at Pirates

Morton and Cueto at seven. Despite dropping a game or two, the wild-card odds of this magical 2010 Bucs team have barely changed.