The Pirates have their work cut out after All Star break

It's easy to get caught up in the emotion of our hometown Pirates leading baseball in wins as we head into July. And rightfully so. After 20 years of losing, it's pretty awesome to see the Buccos continue to pile up the wins.

Emotion aside, most Pirate fans are cautiously optimistic after experiencing the late season melt-downs in recent years. Taking a look ahead at the schedule after the All Star break validates the cautious optimism.

July - Post All Star Break

@ Reds - Although the Reds have dropped 7 of their last 10 games, they should continue to contend for the remainder of the season. They are far better when playing at home.

@ Nationals (4 gm series) - The Nats are beginning to play to the potential that most people expected before the season. They are currently a game over .500 and getting Bryce Harper back soon. They also play well at home (22-16 home record is the same as St. Louis).

@ Marlins - For most of the season, the Marlins have been terrible. That said, they are one of the hottest teams in baseball (7-3) over their last 10 games and they've played well in June. In the month of June, the Marlins have series victories against the Mets, Cardinals, Giants, Twins, and are on the verge of taking 3 of 4 from the Padres.

vs Cardinals (5 gm series) - The Cards are 2 games behind the Pirates in the NL Central, but most "experts" believe the Cardinals are still the favorite to win the division. The Cards are struggling recently, but it would be hard to imagine they will struggle for an extended period of time.

In August, the schedule lightens up a little bit as the Pirates play NL West teams 17 times. Every team in the NL West is within 5 games of .500 and nobody is dominating to this point. The greatest challenge will be playing the Cardinals 6 times, but the Pirates could conceivably come out of August unscathed.

In my opinion, the first 4 series after the All Star break could have an impact on the direction the club goes for the rest of the season. Two division rivals, an under-performing quality team, and a shitty team riding a hot streak makes it tough to come out of the gate strong. But if they come out strong, it will be #BUCN awesome.

Let's Go Bucs!