229 0 All RJ Warner At least they're not in the East 5/6/06, 4:22am Nationals 6, Pirates 0 - 9 innings The Pirates continue their death march, er, road trip this weekend in the nation's capital. After dropping straight sets (6-love, 6-love) to the Mets and Nationals, the Bucs look to rebound before heading home. Notice I used a tennis reference and a basketball reference. Why? Because they sure aren't playing baseball! Hey, I'll be here all night. The Pirates fell to 8-23 (quickly losing count) and 1-4 on the recent road trip and 2-16 away from PNC Park this season. If this pace keeps up, they will win eight road games all year (really wish I was losing count). Oliver Perez continues to look like he has no idea how to be a major league pitcher. His fastball "topping" out at 88, he walked four in four innings, while some pitches looked as if they had the probability of reaching Baltimore if not for the sympathetic glove of catcher Humberto Cota. Jack Wilson leaked out two of the five Pirate singles and is now hitting .303. He has been the offensive spark for the Pirates this season. Enough said. Victor Santos and Zach Duke will finish the weekend on the hill in D.C. (No, smart guy, not to lobby Congress for a trade). They are coming off excellent outings against the Chicago Cubs. Stay tuned for a minor league report coming within the next few days. To paraphrase the front office: It's all about the future, baby! A quick note: I finally got a chance to listen to the podcast (It's been a busy week) and I want to thank Rob and Greg for the very kind words. I'm glad to be here and I hope to get some more bloggers over here. I know plenty of baseball freaks like myself. Now, I just have to live up to the hype they gave me. :) Go play catch with someone. RJ [RJ Warner from Pittsburgh/PA] Replies: 18