Pirates Lack Resemblance to ’08 Rays

57 wins.  Multiple NBA teams will win more games than that in their current 82-game season; however, the Pittsburgh Pirates settled on that number at the end of their 162 game season in 2010. 

Coming off the worst season since the league expanded to a 162 game schedule in 1961, Pirates fans shouldn’t expect much in 2011.  Yet, as the annual tradition goes now, comparisons get drawn with the Pirates and the 2008 Rays who went from worst to first for the first time in MLB history. 

Opening Day is such a beautiful occasion because as the age-old saying goes, “hope springs eternal”.  Fans believe the stars will align for their team this year and all the question marks on their roster will vanish.  That’s one of the great things about baseball and I would never want to take away those wishful thoughts from a Pirates fan.

With that in mind, the Pirates simply do not have the talent to compete in 2011.  Their 18-year losing-record streak is due to three main reasons, and until those change, the Pirates won’t share any resemblance to the pennant winning Rays. 

1.   Poor Drafting

A dramatic difference between the Pirates and Rays is their ability to draft well.  Since the Rays inception in 1997, the two teams draft histories look extremely different:

Rays vs. Pirates: First Round Picks Since 1997
Year	Pick #	Rays	Pick #	Pirates
1997	31	Jason Standridge	8	J.J. Davis
1998	None		15	Clinton Johnson
1999	1	Josh Hamilton	8	Bobby Bradley
2000	6	Rocco Baldelli	19	Sean Burnett
2001	3	Dewon Brazelton	8	John VanBenschoten
2002	2	B.J. Upton	1	Bryan Bullington
2003	1	Delmon Young	8	Paul Maholm
2004	4	Jeff Niemann	11	Neil Walker
2005	8	Wade Townsend	11	Andrew McCutchen
2006	3	Evan Longoria	4	Brad Lincoln
2007	1	David Price	4	Daniel Moskos
2008	1	Tim Beckham	2	Pedro Alvarez
2009	30	LeVon Washington	4	Tony Sanchez
2010	17	Josh Sale	2	Jameson Taillon

Tampa’s picks include three All-Stars (Hamilton, Longoria, Price), a Rookie of the Year (Longoria), and an MVP (Hamilton).

I’d be willing to bet, that even if you call yourself a baseball aficionado, the only Pittsburgh names that jump off the page at you are Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, and Paul Maholm.  Those names probably sound familiar because they all not only made it to the big leagues, but will be on the Pirates 2011 Opening Day roster.  

2.   Low Payroll

Again, the Pirates will begin a season with the smallest payroll in baseball with a projected Opening Day payroll of $34,933,000, according to ESPN.com.  Tampa Bay also struggles with payroll issues as exhibited by the departures of Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Carlos Pena, and Rafael Soriano during this past offseason. 

However, the Rays management still boasts a $72,323,471 payroll entering this season.  Both teams have low attendance; however, the Rays realize that the only way to win baseball games is to put a team on the field. 

Scouting and good drafting are large parts of the reason the Rays rose to the top; however, they would never have been able to reach the World Series if they traded the likes of Crawford, Longoria, and B.J. Upton before they reached the majors.  Who knows what the Pirates could have done without trading Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, Jose Bautista, and Xavier Nady. 

3.   Neglected fan base

Ultimately, I have trouble seeing the Pirates win in the near future because I believe they have owners who don’t care about the standings.  PNC Park, with the beautiful Roberto Clemente Bridge stationed in the skyline beyond the outfield, could hold it’s own in an argument over most beautiful baseball parks.  Pittsburgh has a loyal fan base that would come watch winning baseball.  There’s a key word in that last sentence: winning.  There’s a reason the Steelers and Penguins draw large crowds each year.

Fans attempted to show their displeasure with a walkout during the 2007 season.  Pirates fans showed up for the game and then got up and left their seats after the third inning.  Unlike most Pirates games, the event made SportsCenter the following morning; however, owner Robert Nutting seemed un-phased and no changes resulted.   

Is there anything good to say about the Pirates?

Yes.  Pirates’ fans in 2010 enjoyed the debut season of Pedro Alvarez, who raked up 16 homers 64 RBI while manning the hot corner.  Andrew McCutchen proved he’s not a believer in sophomore slumps (.286 / .365 / .449) and seems poised to put up similar numbers this season.  Left fielder Jose Tabata hit .299 en route to an eight place NL Rookie of the Year finish while Neil Walker hit .296 with 12 homers and 66 RBI before finishing 5^th in the voting. 

Another bright spot is the addition of new skipper, Clint Hurdle.  Hurdle managed the Rockies to a 2007 World Series and was the hitting coach during the wild Rangers season a year ago.  Colorado and Texas were synonymous with sub-500 seasons before their recent October surprises.

I won’t pretend to know the least of the Pirates farm system; however, if it resembles their current plethora of young stars such as Alvarez, McCutchen, Tabata and Walker, Pittsburgh fans may be more inclined to come out and show pride in the black and yellow during the Summer months.  That is of course, assuming GM Neal Huntington does not ship the talent to bigger and better places.  

2011 NL Central Preview

Can the Reds repeat as NL Central Champions in 2011?

This could be the year folks.  The NL Central Champ has not won a playoff game since 2006, when LaRussa led his boys to the promised land.  4 straight years of October broomsticks waving in their faces is bound to end this year, right? 

The order below is according to their 2010 finishes.  I think the Brewers will win the Central, but my name isn’t Tim Kurkjian so nobody really cares what I think. 

Cincinnati Reds

2010 Record: 91-71

Projected 2011 Record: 89-73

The Reds are coming off of a season that featured a lineup that scored the most runs in the National League (790) and a defense that yielded the best fielding percentage in baseball (0.988) including three Gold-Glove winners in Brandon Phillips (2B), Scott Rolen (3B), and Bronson Arroyo (P).  Despite impressive runs by young pitchers, the Reds ended the season with a lowly 4.01 ERA, the worst among NL playoff teams, and part of the reason the Reds found themselves swept out of the offseason. 

Reds GM Walt Jocketty needed to add some sort of staple to a rotation filled with question marks if he wanted to take Cincinnati to the World Series like he did while working as GM of the Cards in 2006.  Instead, Jocketty added lefty Dontrelle Willis and lost longtime ace Aaron Harang.  Now the Reds are left looking to add solid starting pitching and a team psychologist.  

St.Louis Cardinals

2010 Record: 86-76

Projected 2011 Record: 83-79

As if the whole Pujols fiasco looming over their shoulder for the whole season wasn’t going to be enough, the Cardinals now have to try and win the NL Central without the latter part of their 1-2 rotation punch.  Although the Cardinals certainly have some impressive pieces on their roster, including 20-game winner Adam Wainwright, a catcher in Yadier Molina who has a streak of 7 straight gold gloves going, slugger Matt Holliday in left, and what could quite possibly be the greatest the player of all time in Albert Pujols at first. 

With that said, I think the Cardinals have too many holes in their lineup to do much this year.  Lance Berkman has an injury record long enough to make your body ache and the Cardinals aren’t helping his case by moving him from first base to right field.  Ryan Theriot   

Milwaukee Brewers

2011 Record: 77-85

Projected 2011 Record: 92-70

When he suits up for Opening Day next month, Ron Roenicke will become the third member of Mike Scioscia’s coaching staff to land MLB gigs, joining the likes of Joe Maddon (2006, Rays) and Bud Black (Padres, 2007).  Brewers fans have reason for optimism with a potential impact manager joining the club as well as two workhorse pitchers joining the rotation with 2009 AL Cy-Young Zack Greinke (Kansas City) and 2011 13-game winner Shaun Marcum (Toronto).  Ufortunately for the Brew Crew, Greinke thought he signed a pickup basketball deal, not an MLB contract.  Classic mixup. 

Houston Astros

2010 Record: 76-86

Projected 2011 Record: 72-90

Houston Astros fans are going to repeatedly hear the two worst words in any sports fans vocabularly thrown at them by analysts all year: transition phase.  Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt both departed Texas at the end of last season with trades to the Yankees and Phillies respectively.  Carlos Lee is the only pawn that GM Ed Wade still has to play with from the 2005 World Series team, but some youngsters on the team like Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn indicate that the future could be just beyond the horizon.  The Astros won’t finish last in the NL Central, but that’s only thanks to the Pirates.   

Chicago Cubs

2010 Record: 75-87

Projected 2011 Record: 89-73

Chicago received a dose of Tampa Bay this offseason with additions of starter Matt Garza and first baseman Carlos Pena.  Quick, name all four Cubs with the first name Carlos: Zambrano, Marmol, Silva and Pena.  Garza hopes to help a rotation that struggled mightily last year and lost Ted Lilly, while Carlos Pena needs to fill the shoes of Gold Glover Derek Lee who was traded to Atlanta last August after 7 seasons on the North Side.   Bottom line for this Cubs team, the stars need to play like stars.  Although the little things need to fall in place too, the reality is that the Cubbies will spend October on the links unless Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano perform like their contracts indicate they should.  You can’t call a team with a payroll above a million dollars a dark horse; however, not many people are picking the Cubs and quite frankly they could surprise their skeptics. 

Pittburgh Pirates

2010 Record: 57-105

Projected 2011 Record: 162-0

Just making sure you guys are paying attention there.  The Pirates endured their 18^th straight losing season in 2010 and will certainly not be #biwinning any championships in 2011.  I’d like to sit here and write that they have a lot of young talent on their roster and could surprise some people this year.  Realistically, the 2011 Pirates aren’t drastically different from the 2010 Pirates, who failed to produce a single player with a batting average above .300, a homer total above 25, an RBI total above 90, and here’s the kicker, no Pirate starter finished the season with double digit wins.  I always feel sympathetic for Pirates fans, but then I pause and remember Pittsburgh has the Steelers and Penguins too. 

10 days until Opening Day: the greatest day of the year.