Pittsburgh Pirates
 

There were a lot of mixed emotions for the Pirates to open this season.  On the one hand, it was the first official game at their new ballpark, beautiful PNC Park.  On the other hand, Pirate great Willie Stargell passed away that morning after a long struggle with several illnesses.  In the end, the Pirates lost the game.  This year promises to be a lot like that first day: some ups, some serious downs and ultimately, the Pirates losing.
 

Offense

The Bucs' offense wasn't too bad last year, finishing in the middle of the NL pack with 793 runs scored.  Three players were largely responsible for that production: Brian Giles, Jason Kendall and John VanderWal.  Giles is a dead ringer for Phillie great Len Dykstra - in his looks, the way he gets on base and the way he plays the outfield.  The big difference between the two is that Giles can hit the long ball.  In terms of OPS, he was the 9th best hitter in the National :League.

Last year, Kendall returned from a gruesome ankle injury suffered in 1999 without missing a beat.  His OPS was 28th best in the NL.  His combination of superior defense and good offense makes him a perennial All-Star and one of the top 3 or 4 catchers in the game.

VanderWal was somewhat of a revelation as the Pirates traded for him to become a 4th outfielder and pinch hitter.  He holds the major league record for pinch hits in a season with 28.  However, by the end of the season, it was clear he was the Pirates second best option in the outfield behind Giles.  And while his numbers were slightly beyond his career norm, there was no reason to expect that he wouldn't outperform any of the second and third tier talent, like Derek Bell, that was available on the market this offseason.  This made it all the more difficult to understand why the Pirates then signed Derek Bell.  Bell doesn't deserve the whipping boy status he's been accorded by the statistical elite, but he's clearly not an upgrade over VanderWal.  Why a small market team would spend millions on a player who's not as good as the one he's replacing is something only the Pirates front office can answer.

The other outfield spot will be filled by Emil and Adrian Brown.  Emil is 26, Adrian, 27.  Emil's career OPS is .595.  Adrian's is .707.  John VanderWal's is .797.  But for whatever reason, the plan is to again have VanderWal surrender at bats to other inferior hitters while he plays substitute.

New manager Lloyd McLendon did promise that VanderWal would see time at first base, giving regular first sacker Kevin Young an occasional day off.  Young's career OPS is .780.

Also among McLendon's spring training decisions was to send second baseman Warren Morris (OPS .735) to the minors so that veteran utilityman Pat Meares (OPS .684) and rookie Jack Wilson (.749 OPS in AA last year) could get regular at bats.  About the only thing  McLendon decided that did make sense was finally giving the third base job to Aramis Ramirez.  Ramirez has been toying with AAA pitching off and on for 3 years now.  Hopefully McLendon will stick to his guns and allow the young slugger to go through his growing pains without fear of being sent down the next time he makes a mistake, as the previous administration did.  Given a full, unimpeded season, Ramirez is certainly capable of posting major league average numbers at third, unlike his current infield teammates, and possibly move into the elite in the next few years.

As long as the Pirates continue to give regular at bats to ineffective hitters while decent ones sit on the bench, they will never score enough runs to compete.  RATING: 45
 

Defense

The Pirates do have one thing going for them and that's defense.  Both Wilson and Meares are very good fielders.  Wilson has been spectacular early this season and his reputation coming in is that his performance to date is no fluke.  Kevin Young also has a reputation for being a good fielder.  Kendall might be the best defensive catcher in the NL.  Ramirez doesn't have great range but possess a strong arm.  The Pirates outfield, however, is below average at best.  As long as the batted balls are on the ground, the Pirates will be OK. RATING: 55
 

Starting Pitching

Kris Benson was one of the most dominating starters in college baseball history just 5 years ago.  He pitched so well at the beginning of last year many were saying he could win the Cy Young award.  Well, it didn't work out that way as he faded down the stretch.  His spring training didn't get much better as he sprained a ligament in his pitching elbow.  These kind of things are always a concern long term, but if he gets healthy, there's every reason to think that he'll be among the best starter in the NL over the next decade.  However, given the nature of his injury, that kind of performance probably should not be expected this year.  Also on the shelf for the Pirates are their numbers 2 and 3 starters, Jason Schmidt and Francisco Cordova.  Big things have been predicted of Schmidt ever since he was a Braves minor league farm hand.  However, inconsistency and injury have prevented him form being anything more than an innings eater who gives an occasional brilliant start.  Cordova was signed out of Mexico in 1995 and was the team's closer by the end of the year.  The following season he was moved into the rotation and for 2 years was one of the National League's best starters.  Injuries derailed his 1999 campaign and he's been battling them ever since.  He's listed as 29 years old and when he's healthy, he still gets great movement on his sinking fastball, so it's still possible that he will be a significant part of the Pirates' future.  Benson, Schmidt and Cordova could conceivably be back in the Pirates rotation by May.  Todd Ritchie seemingly came out of nowhere in 1999, but the fact is that he was simply a late bloomer.  He was the 12th overall pick in the 1990 draft, so everyone knew he had talent.  It just took him a decade to figure out how to pitch.  Last year's downturn was dramatic enough to inspire cries of "fluke".  However, he was victimized by poor defense, an inconsistent bullpen and fairly poor run support.  Even Greg Maddux would suffer under those conditions.  Veterans Ramon Martinez, Terry Mulholland and young Jimmy Anderson will start until the top 3 return.  Martinez pitched reasonably well for Boston down the stretch last year, a year off surgery but has not shown the ability to go deep into games as he once did.  He and Anderson are the most likely to vie for the final rotation spot, as Mulholland is best suited for the bullpen.  Once Benson, Schmidt and Cordova return, the Pirates will have a fine rotation, one that was voted second best behind the Braves last spring by opposing players and scouts.  The trick will be keeping them healthy and scoring enough runs for them so they can showcase their talent.  RATING: 60 
 

Bullpen

The Buc bullpen does not suffer from the abundance of talent that their rotation does.  Mike Williams has been their closer in each of the past 2 years and has faded badly down the stretch in each.  No one has pitched well enough to take the job away from him.  Jose Silva has the talent, but has a knack for giving far more hits than anyone with his stuff should.  Rich Loiselle was the Pirates closer before Williams but he too has inconsistency issues, as well as problems staying healthy.  Scott Sauerbeck and Josias Manzanillo have both pitched well in spells recently, but neither figures to solve the Pirates long term closing dilemma.  No one in this pen inspires dread or gives opposing hitters something extra to think about.  Basically, they are all just a bunch of guys who just happen to pitch at the end of the game.  RATING: 40
 

Management

This is Lloyd McLendon's first year as a major league manager, so he has an excuse if he overmanages a lot this year.  However, his personnel decisions so far have been questionable at best.  Upgrading the defense was a good idea, but this current line-up could get shut out a lot this year.  Hopefully, he'll change his tune by the time his best starters return.  GM Cam Bonifay has a very spotty record.  His offseason signings haven't been what one could call inspired and his in season trades haven't done much to raise expectation either.  He has made deals that have improved the club, like trading for VanderWal, but the result was due to using him in a different way than what he was traded for.  In other words, it looks like Bonifay just got lucky.  He'll need more than luck if he wants to get the Pirates back in contention any time soon.  RATING: 40
 

Conclusion

The Pirates were the only team in baseball that did not spend at least one day in first place last year.  This year doesn't well to change that.  With the injuries to the rotation and Lloyd McLendon's insistence on playing offensively ineffective players on a regular basis, the Pirates are almost certain to finish last in an improved division.