Who Am I? To Stand and Wonder, to Wait?

The Pirates of Penance and the Buccin' Ear, absent for a few days, will assume a Pirates-like role today and play catch-up.

When we last looked in on our heroes, they were languishing under the dome in Arizona. After wasting a fine effort from Oliver Perez in the series opener, the team went on to lose two more to the D-Backs, who completed a sweep. The brooming left the Bucs with a horrifying road record of 4-22 and sent them limping home with a 14-33 mark to PNC, where a long-time tormentor, the Houston Astros, awaited. Certainly not a hope-inspiring scenario.

The series started unpromisingly on Friday night as Ian Snell put the team in a 4-1 hole by the fourth inning. Listening to the game on XM as I drove, I have to admit I mentally filed the game away under "L." Returning a couple of innings later, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Pirates had dropped a big 7 on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, an inning that included yet another blast from Jason Bay, who continues to solidify his standing as one of the game's outstanding young players. The Bucs went on to an unexpected rout, winning 12-5.

That set the stage for Saturday's game, which turned out to be two games. Bouncing back from defecits three times, the Pirates won an 18-inning epic that stretched across nearly six hours, 8-7. The game included Bay's ninth homer in nine games (five games in a row currently) and a mad dash home on a short fly from Jose Batista in the 18th. The ball arrived ahead of Bay, but he ran over the Astros catcher, who dropped the ball and the game. The Pirates were the proud owners of a two-game winning streak and a chance to get a three-game sweep for the first time since -- get this -- 2004.

The Pirates spoke euphorically after the game about this win, some of them predicting that it might help them turn the corner. Let's not begrudge them that optimism, even if we remain skeptical. This is a team that has had about everything that could go wrong this year do so. If any team deserves even a pinch of good fortune from the Baseball Gods, it's this one. The question is, are there signs of progress with the team?

Yes and no, but let's focus on the yeses for now. First and foremost, there is Jason Bay. The quality of his play in the most difficult of situations for players can't be overstated. After enduring a slump for a couple of weeks in late April and early May, he has been an offensive terror in a lineup that provides him precious little protection. During the nine-game stretch noted above, he has driven in 22 runs, while hitting nearly .440. No one can accuse him of giving up on the season.

Next to Bay, the biggest plus for the team has been Freddie Sanchez, whom the Buccin' Ear continues to strongly support over the injured Joe Randa. He hasn't been a big factor in the Astros series at the plate, but he is still hitting over .330, and productively. He's solid defensively, and he is a player who has earned his playing time, which can't be said of everyone on the Pirates' roster.

Saturday's unsung hero was Ryan Vogelsong, who ate up five innings, saving the bullpen for today and giving a huge boost to the team. Here is a guy who easily could have given up on himself after a career-threatening injury and lots of bad outings for the Pirates in a starting role. But he seems to have taken to his middle relief role and has, like Bay, displayed a great deal of professionalism.

The Pirates are above .500 at home. That is a modest achievement for most teams, but most teams haven't lost 17 more games than they have won. The team is competitive at home. So the question, of course, is why they are abysmal on the road. But we're focusing on positives, so we'll leave that one aside for now.

The focus of today's game is Perez. He has put together two good starts in a row, and a third one would be a huge boost both for him and the team. And there are signs that he can do it. By all accounts, his long-missing velocity is returning.

Put simply, the Buccin' Ear's take is that Perez needs to assume the same role on the pitching staff that Bay has assumed as an everyday player. The Pirates desperately need a pitcher who can consistently keep the team in games. Perez did that in 2004, but he has been largely missing in action since. Perez has an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the Pirates' struggling staff. (Ian Snell picked up the win Friday after struggling through five uninspired innings and Paul Maholm fell victim to a four-run fifth last night after throwing four impressive innings. Zach Duke pitched poorly in the season finale at Arizona and so far has shown few signs that the promise of last year was justified.)

And finally, the Buccin' Ear notes the slow ascent of Jeromy Burnitz, the recipient of a few (well-deserved) shots in this blog. Burnitz hit a big pinch hit home run last night and his pushed his average up about 40 points over the last two weeks. The Buccin' Ear will not become a Burnitz convert, but if he can begin contributing offensively, it will not only help the team, but raise his worth, which is important, because the Pirates would do well to trade him and his salary at midseason.

On those notes of sunny optimism, the Buccin' Ear leads the cheers: Bring out the brooms!