The Pirates finished the first half of the season strong, and there seems to be a lot of optimism about their prospects of not just winning a wild-card berth, but perhaps even the National League Central Division.
The Pirates won 12 of their final 16 games before the All-Star break, including two of three against the Cubs, have a 46-43 record, and their pitching — particularly their bullpen — is on a roll.
This is all nice, but the worst thing people do when it comes to baseball is view it in small samples and ignore the big picture.