Pittsburgh Pirates: Outlook Across The National League Central Division
By Larry Snyder
While the temperatures outside are frightful, the oddsmakers at Bovada Online Sportsbook have been keeping the fires burning on Major League Baseball proposition bets including the Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of the National League Central Division on their web site.
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You can bet the over/under on how many victories each team will obtain this season, and they have set the bar for the Bucs at 84.5 wins. Let me know what you think in the comments section below on the number of victories you think the Boys of Summer at PNC Park will achieve along the North Shore.
For the rest of the NL Central, the over/under benchmark for the St. Louis Cardinals is 88.5; the Chicago Cubs at 82.5; the Milwaukee Brewers at 78.5; and last, but not least is the Cincinnati Reds at 77.5.
Remember to mark on your calendar, that after a Black and Gold intrasquad contest Monday, March 2, the Pirates take on the Toronto Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. in their first Spring Training contest Wednesday, March 4 at McKechnie Field in Bradenton.
Grab your favorite hot beverage that your warm up with, and let’s check out the NL Central to see what the Buc’s opponents are up to this week.
Nicholas D. Blazek over at Cubbies Crib takes a look at how pitcher Jon Lester is helping to manage the Cubs’ new found expectations of winning this season.
Meanwhile, the Cubbies Crib Andrew Fair takes an early look at the NL Central in “Knowing Your Enemy” on the diamond.
The Blog Red Machine‘s Jesse Borek interviews former Reds reliever Bill Bray and covers a variety of topics on today’s game.
In the land of polkas and cheese, Reviewing The Brew‘s Steven Jewell projects right-hander Wily Peralta as a solid No. 2 in Milwaukee’s starting pitching rotation this season.
From along the Mississippi River, Michael Pollock at Redbird Rants examines how the Cardinals Power Outage could be changing in 2015.
The Bucs are assembling in Florida this week, and it is time once more to see what people are reporting about the crew of the Jolly Roger.
Rumbunter‘s Jason Rollison feels the Pirates need to make a decision on outfielder Jose Tabata and if there is still a place for him on the 25-man roster.
The guys at Forbes To Federal gather up the early 2015 Spring Training story lines going on in Bradenton.
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Now that the Bucs are contenders, Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects looks at some of the tough roster choices they are facing in the bullpen this season.
Pat Lackey of the Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? blog, previews left-hander Tony Watson for 2015 in fewer than 500 words.
From the top step of the Bucs Dugout, Charlie Wilmoth looks through his notes and wonders if Korean first baseman Byung-Ho Park could be a fit for Pittsburgh next off-season?
The Pittsburgh Sporting News‘ Travis Berardi has the latest on the new logo for the West Virginia Black Bears, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Pirates.
Karl Buscheck’s report at Bleacher Report has Pittsburgh as the fourth most intimidating bullpen in Major League Baseball going into Spring Training.
That wraps up this go around Pirates fans. We will review what is happening around the NL Central again next week. Take care and stay warm.