The Pirates rotation is led by a quartet of youngsters, any or all of whom could develop into frontline starters this year.  Left-hander Zach Duke burst onto the scene two years ago, going 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA, but last year he struggled, finishing with a 10-15 record and a 4.47 ERA.  While it’s unlikely Duke will recreate the numbers of his rookie year, he did finish last season with a 2.30 ERA in September, and the Pirates expect him to rebound from his poor overall showing last season.

Duke will be joined in the rotation by diminutive right-hander Ian Snell, who led the Pirates with 14 wins last year.  Armed with a 95-mph fastball and a darting slider, Snell has the best stuff of anybody on the Pirates pitching staff.  The Achilles Heel for Snell has been the long ball—last year he surrendered 29 of them, 7th most in the National League.  If he can find a way to keep the ball in the park and cut down on his walks, Snell has the potential to win 20 games.

Paul Maholm and Tom Gorzelanny round out the team’s quartet of young starters.  While both were selected by the Pirates in the first two rounds of the 2003 draft, and both are big lefthanders, the similarities end there.  Maholm is a classic soft-tossing lefty who gets outs with excellent control and a deceptive changeup.  Gorzelanny is more of a classic power pitcher who attacks hitters with a live fastball and sharp slider.  Both of them have had success in the major leagues—Maholm had an ERA of 2.30 in six 2005 starts before struggling last season, and Gorzelanny posted a 3.80 ERA in 11 starts last year.  The Pirates will need both to live up to their potential if the team hopes to break its losing streak. 

Despite losing their closer Gonzalez, the Pirates have stockpiled enough young arms to put together an adequate bullpen—it’s one of the few benefits of trading away your best players at the trade deadline for 14 straight seasons.  Salomon Torres went 12-13 in save opportunities late last season when Gonzalez was sidelined, and he will take over that role full time this season.  Should he struggle, 23 year-old Matt Capps (3.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) will be there to step in.  John Grabow and Damaso Marte are two quality left-handers, and on the right-hand side the flurry of players competing for jobs includes Josh Sharpless, Jonah Blayliss, Shawn Chacon, Dan Kolb, Brian Rogers, and Kevin Gryboski.  Out of that bunch two or three quality setup men should emerge who can back up Capps.

Defensively, the Pirates should be one of the better teams in the National League.  Duffy, LaRoche and Wilson are all Gold Glove caliber defenders, and Bay, Paulino, Castillo, and Sanchez are all above-average for their position.  The team’s only weakness is in right field, where either Nady or Eldred will wish they could still be playing first base.

That last time the Pirates had a winning record Bill Clinton was running for president, Barry Bonds thought a steroid was something in outer space, and I was so young I had to be woken up by my father to watch Stan Belinda blow the 1992 NLCS because it was past my bedtime.  Fourteen years certainly is a long time, but this season the Pirates have everything they need to end the longest losing streak in baseball.  They have an experienced manager in Jim Tracy, a somewhat experienced team---of all the players expected to play key roles only Sharpless is a rookie—and most importantly, they play in the worst division in baseball.  Last year the Cardinals won the N.L Central with 83 wins, and the only team in the division that drastically improved itself from a year ago is the last-place Cubs.  The magic number this season for the Pirates is 82—as in 82 wins.  The number is certainly attainable and who knows, maybe even a division title is within reach.  After all, anything is possible, even the heavy-footed Sid Bream scoring from second base on a single.

2006: 67-95 (5th in NL Central)