If teams don't want hammered, pull YOUR starters and then you can expect the other team to back off. Furthermore, sometimes your team just sucks real bad.
They will be a factor, it just depends on how much of one. However, this thread isn't a playoff thread. This thread is about pounding some copper and making some copper pans.
If you had been reading the preseason threads, you would realize that few Pirates said this was going to be an easy year. Furthermore, SP wasn't the one that said anything.
A bit offensive and defensive line will give the Pirates a work out. I said in one of the preseason threads that SP will be lucky to hunker down on the ball and snapping it would be another challenge.