It’s a time of uncertainty for Pittsburgh sports fans.

Early April is the only time of the year when none of city’s professional teams is in the midst of a regular-season grind.

In these times of transition, fans are faced with an age-old question: Is the glass half full or half empty?

Life is all about perspective. It’s easy for two people to have completely different feelings about the same situation, especially when it comes to sports.

For example, the Pirates’ 2-2 start to the season can generate two conflicting viewpoints.

There are some with unflappable belief in their beloved Buccos and couldn’t be more encouraged by the first four games of the season. After all, the Pirates have seen arguably the three best pitchers in baseball — Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw — in four games and still managed to win a couple.

Of course, there are two sides to every coin.

For the Pirate fans who have had their heart stomped on one too many times, it’s just as effortless to be discouraged by the season’s first four games.

Despite allowing just eight runs in the early season, the Bucs offense has sputtered to the same number and their two losses have come by a combined 3-1 score. The pessimist would argue the Pirates have missed a golden opportunity to start 4-0 and the pitching will eventually falter.

It’s hard to blame a sour attitude after 19 consecutive losing seasons. With the Pirates’ perennial struggles, Pittsburgh’s attention is usually set squarely on the Steelers when August rolls around.

The NFL Draft is approaching and the Steelers are still trying to find a way to field a competitive team while staying under the salary cap.

The pessimist looks at Mike Wallace dangling in restricted free agency with immense fear and despises the departure of veteran leaders Hines Ward, James Farrior and Aaron Smith. It’s fair for Steeler fans to be concerned with those issues, along with a shoddy offensive line, lackluster secondary and Rashard Mendenhall’s torn ACL.

However, if you see the glass as half full, there’s no reason to sweat. The Steelers have proven to be one of the most consistent franchises in football and management can be trusted to make the correct decisions.

Even for a pessimist, it’s tough to argue the Penguins aren’t the most complete team in hockey entering the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The talent of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury speaks for itself. Add in James Neal’s 40 goals and Pascal Dupuis’ 17-game point streak to end the season, and it’s hard to spot a chink in the armor.

If there’s a reason to doubt the Pens’ chances, it’s the high degree of difficulty that awaits in the playoffs.

The Penguins will see the rival Philadelphia Flyers in the first round and will likely have to beat the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins to reach the Cup finals, where the Western Conference champions will await.

Aside from the Penguins, there were nine 100-point teams in the NHL this season. The Pens will probably have to beat four of them to raise the Cup, so there’s at least some reason to see the glass as half empty.

But from the Penguins’ perspective, the glass doesn’t matter. All they care about is the Cup.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.