Relax. The hits will come.

Yes, I'll concede the Pirates hitters are colder than a toilet seat in an igloo .. however, it's extraordinarily early.  In fact, we've only played 3.7% of the games, and we're 2-4.  One game from .500!

April 2012 (6 games) .199/.241/.293

April 2011 (27 games) .230/.303/.340

Yes, 11 runs in 6 games is awful, no getting around that.  And professionals shouldn't make excuses for bad performance, but I'm no pro.  The media has made much ado about the Pirates hitting woes, while at the same time conceding that the Bucs have the toughest April schedule in baseball (this is where I would have linked Buster Olney, but I don't pay for internet content, sorry ESPN, your content isn't worth it).  How tough?  The opposing pitchers:

Roy Halladay (2.55 ERA last 5 Aprils, 2010 Cy Young)

Cliff Lee (2.66 ERA last 5 Aprils, 2008 Cy Young)

Vance Worley (2.81 ERA last year, 3rd for NL Rookie of the Year)

Clayton Kershaw (2.28 ERA last year, 2011 Cy Young)

And then they faced Chad Billingsley and Chris Capuano, who aren't exactly 4/5 starters.  So the competition has been fierce.  What other team would have fared that much better against the same rotation?  Would the Tigers still be hitting .304 as a team?  Would the Cardinals be slugging .514?  Would the Padres have 35 walks?  No, no, and no.  Fortunately this year, just like last year, the Pirates pitching is keeping them close:

April 2012 ERA 2.25

April 2011 ERA 3.64

So looking ahead for the rest of the month, we face these supposed juggernauts:

San Francisco Giants (.245/.314/.421 and 5.58 ERA)

Arizona Diamondbacks (.215/.308/.400 and 2.95 ERA)

St. Louis Cardinals (.301/.371/.514 and 2.93 ERA)

Colorado Rockies (.251/.309/.412 and 4.15 ERA)

Atlanta Braves (.212/.271/.340 and 4.32 ERA)

Of these opponents, the only one that scares me right now are the Cardinals (who should be coming back down to earth soon anyhow).  We should expect to take 2/3 from San Francisco and 3/4 from Atlanta, and see more nail-bitingly close games against Arizona and Colorado.  Hopefully with a little luck against those teams, the Pirates could end the month near .500 (I'll guess 10-12) which would be great for a tough month.

Beat Em, Bucs!