The late Pittsburgh broadcaster, Bob Prince, once came up with a good luck charm called the green weenie.
I don't know exactly what the thing looked like, though evidently it was shaped like a hot dog and was green. Anyway, when the Pirates needed a rally, Prince was likely to indicate that he was about to put the green weenie to use, either to hex the opposing team or bring good luck to the Buccos.
One time the Pirates were trailing in the middle innings, but mounted a threat. Prince's sidekick asked, "Bob, how about using the old green weenie here?" Prince demurred, muttering something about it not being time for that yet.
Later in the game, the Pirates mounted another threat. This time, Prince waved the green weenie at the field and, lo and behold, the Pirates rallied to win the game.
Prince turned to his sidekick and said, "Let that be a lesson to you - never waste the power of the green weenie."
I'm just as glad we didn't use the power of "Pitates" in today's game thread title. Save it for the regular season games.