Is it over yet?

Talk about a rough day in the wide world of sports.  The Bucs got trounced, and the Steelers are looking to make it a double dip on the North Shore as the Bears kick them around.

Jeff Locke is one of my favorite players on the team, at least partially inspired by an extended conversation we had about my beard at Piratefest.  But it has become pretty clear that he needs more than just an extra day or two of rest after rough start after rough start.  The starting rotation is quickly thinning out, even if the Pirates did make it out of the Wild Card round.

But with the way this weekend has gone, I'm not feeling great about the chances of seeing a home playoff game.  And it isn't just about the way the Pirates haven't performed as much as it is about how the Reds have. 

Living in Ohio for the better part of this season and last, I got to see the Reds on a daily basis.  It's a good team, and it's a team that has experience late in the season.  That matters when you hit this point in the season.

Hopefully the club can finish strong, let the playoffs take us where they may, and field a team that can do it all over again next year.  But after saying "wait til next year" every single season, it sure would be nice to see a strong finish.

Hopefully this should end the raving essays, and we can get back to pretty pictures of baseball cards for the rest of the week.  And by hopefully, I mean assuming the team doesn't continue to implode their way out of the division race.