[Operation Shutdown]

Week 1
Okay, first off, I sent Baltimore 3.5 star prospect SP Jonathan Albakdejo to go along with the trade that I made with them. I really try to keep the trades simple, but i honestly didn't think Yan was rated that high, seeing as he was just Good in hits, poor in homers, and good in walks. The Pirates promoted 2B Jose Bautista from AA to AAA. And now, on to the first week of the season, the Pirates travel to Florida to face the Marlins in a three game series to start their season. They then travel to Milwaukee for a three game series against the Brewers.

Game 1: Pirates 3 Marlins 8
Ponson got hit hard in his first start out, giving up seven runs in 5 2/3 innings. He was taken out of the game after getting hit by a line drive, but is listed as day-to-day for the next six days, so he shouldn't miss any starts. Beckett pitched pretty well, giving up three runs, just one of them earned, in six innings for the win.

Game 2: Pirates 6 Marlins 1
Benson pitched an almost perfect game, giving up just one run, off of four hits and one walk, while striking out a career high 12 batters in 8 2/3 innings for the win. Hernandez gave up six runs, five of them earned, in just 4 2/3 innings for the loss. The Pirtates hit five doubles in the game, and Henson picked up his first career RBI.

Game 3: Pirates 5 Marlins 6 Noddin Head Doll Day at Pro Player Stadium
The Pirates jumped on the board first, scoring all five of their runs in the first inning, scoring all five off of Nate Bump, who lasted five innings. Perez pitched decent, giving up three runs in six innings, with all three runs coming in the sixth inning. Heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Pirates still had a 5-3 lead. Mann came in to try and pick up the save, but gave up a lead-off double to Andy Fox. Kelly Johnson then singled home Fox, and then Mann finally managed to get an out by getting Nunez to pop out to first base. Jerry Hairston followed with a blistering shot down the left field line that just stayed fair, hitting a walk-off two run homerun to win the game.

Series Recap: I forgot to actually set my rosters in the game before simming them, oops. Oh well, 1 out of 3 isn't too bad, as long as I can take care of Milwaukee.

Game 4: Pirates 3 Brewers 7
The Pirates' woes continue as VanBenSchoten goes seven innings and gives up six runs. Hendrickson gave up just two runs in five innings but did not get the win for the Brewers. Nance picked up the win giving up one run in two innings of work. The Pirates were leading the game 3-2, until the bottom of the seventh inning, when VanBenSchoten gave up a grandslam to Richie Sexson with two outs, to give the Brewers the lead.

Game 5: Pirates 7 Brewers 3 Fireworks Night at Miller Park
The Pirates returned the favor in this game, scoring seven runs in 6 2/3 innings off of Burnett. Williams did decent, giving up three runs in 5 2/3 innings, but did not get the win, as that went to Corey who gave up no runs in 1/3 of an inning. The Pirates were down 3-2 heading into the sixth, when Castillo hit a sac-fly that scored Nady to tie it at 3-3. Then in the seventh inning, the Pirates scored four more runs off of Burnett, including a two run homerun by Craig Wilson, to give them the lead, and they never looked back.

Game 6: Pirates 4 Brewers 0
Ponson made up for his last outing by pitching a four hit, four walk shutout to give the Pirates the win. JR House and Castillo homered for the Pirates, as they scored 4 runs, three of them earned, off of Milwaukee starter Wayne Frankling.

Series Recap: The Pirates took a much needed two out of three games from the Brewers to bring them to a 0.500 record after the first week.

Around the league, on Monday Mets' outfielder Cliff Floyd's season was cut very short as he tore a back muscle in the team's opener against the Braves. On Saturday, Boston's free agent acquisition Odalis Perez pitched a one-hit shutout against the Blue Jays, as the Red Sox won the game 4-0.

I will update the team and league pages now, and add the link to my signature. I may get to the player pages tonight, if I sim some more, but it just takes too long to get those pages up to do them very often.