Tired of the Pirates not living up to Pittsburgh standards

Another trade, another day.

The story of the Pittsburgh Pirates seems to be the in-season trade. What's bothersome is that they do it with no hope for the present, and with little thought to the future, although they would say otherwise.

I called it months ago, partly in jest, hoping it wouldn't be true, but my false prophecy proved itself tonight: the Pirates traded one of the young, promising players of MLB -- Nyjer Morgan -- the left-fielder and one of the fastest men in baseball.

He's fun to watch. He enjoys the game, and has a youthful glow as he takes the field. His stolen bases ignite the crowd, and his antics win over critics, as well as his stolen bases and beat-out bunts. But here the Pirates go again, trading away the talent that appears in front of their eyes, and right to the Nationals, a team Nyjer can't be too excited about joining.

The Pirates weren't too far below .500, a win percentage they haven't touched for a record number of consecutive years in MLB. I guess that makes us the worst team in recent baseball history. And as we do increasingly well, we continue to remove the talent that has gotten us to a nearly not-embarrassing-to-the-point-of-vomiting record. Moves like this lose fans, faith, money, and even the support of the team. Check out the Post-Gazette's article on how Jack Wilson is taking it. 

He was bonding well with up-and-comer Andrew McCutchen, the centerfielder with a knack for speed and flair similar to that of Nyjer. And these smiles were bringing hope back to Pittsburgh:

When will it end? Because before we return to the storied days of old, we need to make sure we're not trading away the next Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente or Honus Wagner.

Basking in the glow

The road is long and difficult. Longer and more difficult than any other road in sports. The silver chalice is storied -- more so than any other professional trophy. In the middle of the season, nobody would have been caught dead predicting the Penguins in this position right now.

One year later. One lost, prima donna winger later. One coaching change later. One year older, wiser and more experienced, but still young with excitement. Young enough to fully appreciate this opportunity, but skilled enough to actually take advantage of it.

The Penguins showed their depth, the same kind of depth that announcers, sports writers, coaches and players have bestowed upon the Red Wings. Nobody talked about Max Talbot, or Jordan Staal. Everybody talked about Marc-Andre Fleury, but it wasn't positive. Ruslan Fedotenko, Tyler Kennedy, Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz -- the smaller-named hockey players -- were the ones who vaulted this team led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin beyond the team they were last year. Losing Marian Hossa freed up finances to pay Guerin, Kunitz, Brooks Orpik, all the players who played a significantly better game than Hossa did for the other side.

We all knew this day would come. Sidney Crosby was meant to write history. There's a reason he's been slated to win the Cup since his teenage years, a reason he's the face of the league, a reason he gets all those commercials. He may not have been the playoff MVP (an honor which deservedly went to Geno), but at 21 years old, he's the youngest captain to ever hoist that shiny cup. And words can't describe his face, and the feelings every Penguins fan felt as they watched his expressive and childlike smile spread to his teammates, with the Stanley Cup lifted high.

Until next year, boys.

Friday

Lord Stanley's Cup will be in Joe Louis Arena. This time, both teams have the opportunity to hoist it high, this time the series is tied, this time the Penguins can enact revenge. It's a waiting game. It's a patient game. It's a beautiful game. But only one team truly wins, wins it all, wins the chance to get their names immortalized on the Stanley Cup.

Nobody will pick the Penguins. This I know. But they know it, too, and so do the Wings. The Wings have always been the favorite, even before we'd played a shift.

But the game 5 shutout doesn't mean a thing. The two dominating games in Pittsburgh don't mean a thing. Neither team's season means a thing. The only game that matters comes on a late Friday evening, in a run-down city that claims the title of Hockeytown. Nobody needs to be reminded what's at stake.

Always believe.

Gather your troops

This guy, the wonderful Evgeni Malkin, has thrust himself into the 8th place spot of the most points in a single post-season. The list is impressive, including greats such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey. Malkin currently has 35 points -- 14 goals and 21 assists. If the Wings can't find an answer for him, and Crosby and Zetterberg keep canceling each other out, these next few games could be interesting. But with Crosby finding ways to score, too, the Penguins are dangerous. And young. And healthy.

Game 4 was amazing beyond words. But I'm not just saying that -- I literally have no words to describe the magic I saw on that ice in Mellon Arena, and it won't be the last time Pens fans will see their beloved boys on home ice, thanks to the win.

The road will be difficult, even though it shortens by the hour. And those hours tick by slowly, as we replay Marc-Andre Fleury's amazing saves, Tyler Kennedy's well-executed goal or Sidney Crosby's game-winner. We have the talent, that we know. But we also know that Detroit has been here before, many, many times. But they haven't played against this Penguins team. Sure, they beat us last year, but this team isn't the same team. You can feel the electricity from the players and the fans, the fans that came by the thousands to sit outside the Igloo where they couldn't even see the game, just to be a part of it.

It. Will this be "it?"

Imagine how long it will take them to edit this video to fit Sidney Crosby's smirking face hoisting that 35-pound hunk of metal.

Not going to think about it

Purposefully not talking about the Pens. Because I can't think about it. It's too scary. I will say that if we play all game every game like we played the third period last night, we'd win this series easily. So that sounds like a plan.