The Pittsburgh Pirates sent out Thanksgiving greetings to fans on Wednesday morning.

It was a nice gesture, albeit a curious one, for an organization that has given fans very little to be thankful for in the past two decades. The three-sentence note, part of the E-Bucs newsletter, simply said " Happy Thanksgiving. As you prepare to get together with your family or friends, or both, the Pittsburgh Pirates hope that you have a safe, happy and wonderful Thanksgiving season. We sincerely appreciate your support of the Pittsburgh Pirates!"

There are far more important things to be thankful for other than baseball this year - family, health and employment just to name a few. But while baseball has its share of problems, there are still plenty of reasons to be thankful for the great American pastime.

Here are ten:

1. October drama - Other sports don't have the one-on-one showdowns with the game on the line that baseball does. Last year's Super Bowl and Michael Jordan's last-second shot to beat Utah in 1998 aside, there is far more late drama in the baseball playoffs than any other sport's playoffs.

2. Not replay crazy - Baseball doesn't have the long stoppage of play for replay reviews. Pro football's stoppage time for replays is terrible. College football can barely have a pass play without a booth review. The NBA can take 10 minutes to determine if it was a 2-point or 3-point shot. Baseball will likely get a little closer to these other sports' delays in the near future because of terrible calls this post-season, but it should still be able to avoid prolonged stoppages.

3. Ozzie Guillen - The guy continues to be a breath of fresh air in a game that has for too long been run by managers barely vocal with their own teams. The Ozzisms are pricelessy, and who will ever forget him gestures when calling for Bobby Jenks in the bullpen during the 2005 World Series?

4. Players let fans cheer - Baseball players do not call for crowd noise as football defensive linemen do on nearly every down. Baseball has the Fan-o-Meter for soliciting crowd noise without cause, we don't need players doing it too. When Jorge Posada calls for crowd noise on a Mariano Rivera 3-2 pitch, we are all in trouble.

5. Summer season - Baseball is the only major sport that has the majority of its games outside in nice weather. Sitting in shorts and a T-shirt on a summer afternoon at a baseball stadium is hard to beat.

6. Web Gems - A great defensive plays is greater in baseball than any other sport. ESPN's Web Gems get our attention more than another other defensive performances. A block by LeBron James just doesn't carry the same weight as a "Web Gem."

7. No icing the game - Those final outs have to be earned in baseball. You don't get to take a knee or dribble out the clock. You have to get the outs with just as much force as earlier in the game. In the same vein, teams are never out of a game. Four- and five-run innings to win games can happen.

8. Albert Pujols - The best hitter in the game is pure poetry to watch at the plate. And his quiet demeanor makes him a pleasure instead of a pompous jerk.

9. Statistics - Baseball statistics stay with us. We know Hank Aaron's, Babe Ruth's, and yes, even Barry Bonds' home-run totals. We know Roger Maris', Mark McGuire's, and yes, even Barry Bonds' single-season home-run marks. As great as they were, who remembers how many points Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored in their careers? Who knows how many points Kobe Bryant scored last season?

10. The Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's - Baseball continues to have small-market team that retool and compete with the big boys nearly every single year despite losing players to free agency. They show that with strong farm systems, success is possible at the Major League level without breaking the bank.

Happy Thanksgiving!