PIRATES

[raidernation]

Anybody excited that it's almost time for pitcher /catchers report date?Do you like the moves they made this winter?I can't wait to see andrew mccutcheon run the bases .He is one exciting player.I think that the Pirates will finally end this streak in the next few years.Thoughts I know you are out there Pirates fans.

[voncap]

Even though I like some of the moves they made last season, I am not as optimistic as most for this coming season. IMO this team has way too many questions marks to be anywhere near the .500 mark this season (hopefully I eat my words).

My take:
Starting pitching is average at best. I have said for years I wonder how the Pirates record would have been in the past if they would have a legit Ace at the top of their rotation. Not that he would have ever signed with the Pirates, but how good would the Pirates be if they could have put Roy Halladay at the top of their rotation this season? Out of the fantasy world and back to reality, the Pirates need Duke, Mahlom and Ohlendorf to improve on last season. Morton unfortunately reminds me of the second coming of Kip Wells and Kris Benson great stuff and lousy approach. Not sold on Kevin Hart. I expect McCutchen or Lincoln to be in the starting rotation by the end of June.

Relief pitching looks to be better, but then again I don't see how it could be any worse than last season. I like most like the Dotal signing. If he can stay healthy, he should be worth at least 5 wins. Concerned they don't have an experienced Lefty (Veal & Lopez are it at this point) in the pen, but per last seasons comments Russell doesn't worry about lefty v. lefty match ups so we will see.

The infield is a major concern. Who will be the starting first base man? This is the one position that if the Pirates are ever going to contend they must find a 'big' stick for this position. Maybe Clement is the answer in the future, but I look for him to struggle this season. He doesn't have enough experience yet. Second base and SS are filled with second tier major leaguers. Why are so many people high on Iwamura? I've heard he brings speed. He has 29 SB's in three seasons. His OBP isn't bad but it is only .010 points higher than Fred Sanchez's and people were disappointed in Freddie's performance the last few seasons. LaRoche better have a monster first half of the season or Alvarez will be the starting third basemen by the All-star break. Alvarez may be there regardless of what LaRoche does especially if the record is dismal at that point in the season and the front office feels they need something positive for the fans.

The outfield mix is good. Center is set with McCutchen, and they have options for the other two spots. The concern is that there isn't much in terms of proven commodities for those other two spots, but surely one or two those guys can step up and have a good season.

Last seasons moves laid the foundation for the future. Hopefully the FO doesn't feel the current product is a finished product. IMO they still have big concerns at first base, starting pitching and a closer for the long term. This season will go along way to see if the current roster has answers to those concerns.

For the Pirates to have any measure of success this season, they need at least four or five guys to play above expectations and 8 to 10 guys to at least meet their expectations. If this happens, I can see 70-75 wins. For most of the players, their expectations aren't high by major league standards so the Pirates can't afford to have half their roster playing below expectations. If it does, they could easily be pushing triple digits in the loss column.

[Dirt Winston]

There is always a little but of hope at this time of year, but I don't think that will last long. They've done nothing to improve their everyday line-up, banking on improvement from a lot of questiobanle guys. I'm hoping for some good things, and excited to see Alvarez and Lincoln eventually, but I really don't see them improving much from last year. In a perfect scenario, the pitching staff is able to keep them in most games, and they are able to scratch-out a lot of close wins with small-ball. Obviously they need Doumit to stay healthy and be motivated to play, McCutcheon to keep improving, Jones to not have been a fluke, Milladge to be have as good as his early hype, etc... That's a lot of 'ifs'. And I'm not sold on Russell at all.

[raidernation]

Dirt I think JR needs to get on his players every once in awhile and their is alot of ifs but i see them improving some this year. The bullpen is defintely betterbc it couldn't get any worse.

[raidernation]

I saw on WJAC thatMario Lemieux and someone else made an offer to Bob Nutting to buy the Pirates.Nutting said that they weren't for sale .Thoughts?

[raidernation]

Just read all about Mario and Ron Burkle offering to buy Pirates 4 months agoand we are just hearing about it now.go to http://www.buccofans.com toreadabout it

[Dirt Winston]

The Tribune said that Chuck Greenberg, former owner of the Curve and the new owner of the Texas Rangers had also made a bid to buy the team. But why would they sell, they are making money, according to some reports, lots of money. I don't know how they avoid scrutiny from the league. Earlier, the league came down on the Marlins for not spending enough. I guess the Bucs have thrown some money at draft picks lately, but nothing on the major league squad.

Russell is a statue. I wonder if it's his idea or managements to keep running Brandon Moss out there.

[raidernation]

Dirt i dont think that Brandon Moss will make the team this year.The pitching is better 'starting and relieving. Just hope that they get the bench players right ,Vasquez needs to go.Hopefully Crosby or Cedono will step it up.I can't wait for Alvarez,Tabata and for some of the pitchers to produce at the major leaguelevel.I think that things are lookig up if the owners keep their promise to up the payroll when the players that are here start producing on the field.

[colonelsanders]

The pirates will be the pirates awful until the all-star break and start winning then slump again. Every year is predictable. Maybe if Mario was the owner, he would not be afriad to spend money on players that can have an impact now, not 5 to 6 years later.

[raidernation]

Mario and co-owner Ron burkle if you believe the papers tried tobuy the Pirates tostart a new sports channelwhere they could controleverything.including keeping all revenue from advertising