For those of you Pittsburgh fans who are still nursing a Stanley Cup hangover, I have some alarming news. The Pirates aren't doing so hot so far this year, and it is rather frustrating to watch, painful at times actually. However, after enduring two decades worth of losing, hovering around .500 for the first two and a half to three months of the season is likely just a bump in the road for the 2016 Bucs.

Anyway, let's take a look back at how they fared this week. We started the week by losing the finale against the Cardinals on national television as Jonathon Niese surrendered a couple of homers and eight earned runs in 5.1 innings. Ouch. Following an off day on Monday, Jameson Taillon threw a gem against the Mets, taking a no-hitter into the 8th en route to a 4-0 win. The next two in the series didn't go as planned. When a starter gives up three runs in the first inning, he doesn't set himself up for much success. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Jeff Locke did on Wednesday on the way to getting the loss in an 11-2 game. The same goes for giving up a double to the opposing team's pitcher and three homers in a start. Juan Nicasio was the guilty party Thursday as the offense just couldn't catch up after being put in an early hole. Arrieta had his war with the Bucs on Friday, and although they couldn't pull out the win on Saturday, they played a very respectable and competitive ball game in a 4-3 loss.

My first takeaway from this week is that the starting pitching is wildly inconsistent and does not come close to the rotations of the previous three years, all of which ended in playoff appearances. The bullpen isn't doing too badly, but it is awfully difficult to pitch effectively when the starters have a difficult time making it through the 6th inning in most starts, or manage to hold the other team to 2 or 3 runs maximum. All in all the pitching aspect of the Bucs needs some serious help if they hope to make this season a fourth consecutive one in which they make the playoffs. That help might come in the form of Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow, but we will just have to wait and see.

Secondly, although the offense isn't pounding out six or seven runs a game, they have been holding their own despite facing somewhat insurmountable deficits early in ballgames. They aren't hitting home runs at the same rate as they have previously, but they don't have the top heavy lineup they ran out in previous years. There's more balanced production top to bottom when they are healthy, and that's helping immensely as Cutch wavers in and out of producing at the rate he is capable.

That brings us to yet another point, and that's injuries. Pittburghers have been spoiled in recent years with relatively healthy teams, but we have caught the injury bug at a bad time as Fransisco Cervelli, Gerrit Cole, and Chris Stewart all have been battling their respective maladies which haven't helped in the slightest. Hopefully, next week treats the Pirates a little better.