With the MLB season already past the all-star break and into the second half of the season, one of the teams that you would have to say surprised you the most is the 52-40, Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates were a team that was low under the .500 mark lasy year and now their win percentage is at .565. Young star, Andrew McCutchen is leading the way for this ball club. This all-star is currently batting .372 with 22 home runs and 65 RBIs, and by the way, he has only been in the league for three years. McCutchen looks to have a very bright future ahead of him. He will only get better from now on, continuing to improve more and more every season.

The Pirates are only 0.5 games back behind the first place Cincinnati Reds, so they definitely have a chance at taking the NL Central division.

Not their offense but their pitching has really helped them out this year. Pittsburgh is 6th overall in ERA at 3.53 and that’s pretty good for a team that was mediocre last season.

They aren’t scoring a ton of runs but hey, at least they are scoring more runs than the Philadelphia Phillies and are winning games. The Pirates really do need to work on their offense though, because if they don’t, they could slip farther back in their division. They are 21st overall in runs scored (382), 22nd overall in batting average (.247), and 28th overall in on base percentage (.302).

This year, the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing like a totally new team with totally new energy, and are continuing to improve every season and every game. If they can keep up their success, they can take the pennant.

Here are my thoughts on the Philadelphia 76ers draft picks. Their first pick was round 1, pick 15 and that was Maurice Harkless, a small forward from St. Johns. I liked this pick but I think they should have picked Tyler Zeller. The Sixers need big men and I thought Zeller would be the perfect fit, especially since Sixers center, Spencer Hawes could possibly leave. But the good thing about this is, small forward Andre Iguodala could be leaving as well, so Harkless could take his spot or be a back-up of that position. The next pick the 76ers recieved was round 2, pick 15 and that was center, Justin Hamilton. I was happy about this pick as well because as I said before, the 76ers need big men for rebounding, scoring, and defense. The last pick they got was round 2, pick 24, and that was small forward, Tornike Shengilia. Overall I liked all the Philadelphia 76ers selections because they got what they needed and hopefully they will make some off-season trades to help improve their team even more.

The Philadelphia Eagles name tag had been, “The Dream Team” lasyt year, and they were the total opposite of that. This year, they are trying to make that name a reality. With the off-season to improve teammate chemistry, the Eagles are looking to at least make the play-offs this year. For this to happen, Vick cannot get injured. Vick is very injury-prone so he cannot run outside the pocket as much. If he does, he has to make wise descisions or else he might have some more broken ribs and sit out for a few weeks. The offensive line also has to protect Michael Vick. Vick was sacked way to many times last year because of no protection. Many fans do not want Andy Reid as their head coach anymore, so this could lead to some problems as well. The coaching last year was very poorly taught. The Eagles have the weapons, now they just need to put it all together and excecute.

After two straight losses to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pirates finally pulled away with a W. The Pirates won this one 11-7 last night in a true hitting battle. Both teams combined for 24 hits. Chase Utley made his return in this game, going 3 for 5 with a homerun in his first at-bat. Andrew McCutchen had another great game, going 2 for 5. McKenry played great as well, going 2 for 4. James McDonald only went 5.2 innings after giving up 6 hits, 4 runs, (including 2 homeruns) and 2 walks. The Pirates are now 39-35, trying to climb up their way in their division.

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost another tough one last night to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4.  Although Andrew McCutchen had an excellent performance, Chooch and the Phillies were just too much to handle last night. There is no doubt in my mind that McCutchen has a very bright future ahead of him. He went 2 for 4 last night in the loss and helped his team out as much as he could. Andrew is only 25 and has a lot of years ahead of him to improve his game even more. He’s currently batting .341 with 13 homeruns and 46 RBI’s and those are some great numbers in my opinion. Erik Bedard only lasted 6 innings after giving up 4 earned runs and 8 hits, making him 4-8. The Pirates are 38-35, standing 3rd in the NL Central. Their pitching has been very good this season, averaging a 3.43 ERA, but their bats are the main concern. If they can get their offense going, they could possibly win their division, because right now, they are only 3 games back behind the first place Cincinnati Reds.