The Second Best Team in the National League plays in Pittsburgh

We are officially past the half way mark of the season.
Nobody can use the "It's early" line anymore. There are fewer games left to play than they have already played.

So when a team is in first place now, you have to take them seriously.

Well the Pirates are in first place.
And if the standings stay the same for the playoffs, the Pirates would not only be in the playoffs but actually would have home field advantage in the Division Series.

They trail only the Nationals (who stole a game from the Giants today) for the best record in the National League. At this date only the Nationals, Yankees and Rangers are better than the Pirates.

Forget 82 wins and a winning record. The Pirates are on pace to win 90 games at this point.

I'm sure a lot of you went into this year saying "I bet the NLCS will be a Nationals - Pirates showdown."

I'd love for that to happen, if for no other reason than to hear people STILL try to say that it is the same teams in the playoffs every year.

Keep an eye on the Reds game tonight. The Pirates magic number is getting smaller.