BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -The starting pitching should be better than a year ago – how could it not be, given the Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off their worst season on the mound in 55 years?
The power? The Pirates are searching for it, as well as a reason to be optimistic following a 95-loss season, one that followed a 94-loss season before that and a pair of 95-loss seasons before that.
What’s surprising is that, as the final week of spring training kicks in, the Pirates are happy with the direction they’re going, even if it doesn’t show up in a big way this season. Ownership wants to start winning now, but perhaps adjusting the timetable forward by one year might be more realistic.
Alvarez might start showing up, and not only for a few weeks in February and March.
PITCHING
The rotation: Paul Maholm has been as good as any starter in any camp, Zach Duke looks more confident and in command and Ian Snell was excellent for Puerto Rico during the World Baseball Classic. Hey, isn’t this the kind of rotation the Pirates expected a season ago, before their pitchers produced a dreadful 5.10 ERA?
Ross Ohlendorf, picked up from the Yankees a year ago, looks locked in as the No. 4 starter and former Yankees teammate Jeff Karstens is the frontrunner to be No. 5, if he holds off former Tigers pitcher Virgil Vasquez.
Unless there’s a run of injuries, the Pirates almost certainly won’t go through 26 starting pitchers like they did last season. There’s still not enough pitching depth in the minors, but there’s more than last year, when there was none.
The key to the staff might not be Maholm or Snell, but Duke. This may be his last shot at showing he can be the pitcher he was while going 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA as a rookie. Since then, he’s lost 37 games (in 55 decisions) and allowed a whopping 646 hits, fifth-most of any NL pitcher during that span.
never got their bullpen stabilized in 2008, one reason why they’re on their third pitching coach in as many seasons.
Right-hander Craig Hansen and left-hander Donnie Veal own lively arms and lights-out fastballs, but they don’t always know where all that speed is going. Veal, a Rule 5 pick, must stay with the team all season or the Pirates will lose him. Given his lack of command, that’s a long, long time for Kerrigan and manager John Russell to stay patient.
POSITION PLAYERS
Catcher: In one season, Ryan Doumit has gone from being an oft-injured question mark to one of the club’s most dependable hitters and their No. 4 batter. He needs to stay healthy, because neither of his backups is proven, Robinzon Diaz or Jason Jaramillo, who was picked up from the Phillies for former starter Ronny Paulino.
First base: April showers bring … Adam LaRoche strikeouts? LaRoche’s .179 career batting average in April is easily the lowest of any major leaguer who has played in the last 10 seasons, according to Stats LLC. And it’s the third-lowest of any NL hitter since 1900, trailing only Dal Maxvill (.174) and Clete Boyer (.175). Obviously, the Pirates can’t afford another spring swoon from LaRoche, whose average climbs appreciably the rest of the season.
m a year ago but, like LaRoche, his average jumped considerably after a slow start. As Russell said, if Sanchez can hit for a full season like he did while hitting .344 in 2006 and .304 in 2007, the offense is much better.
Shortstop: This is the final season of Jack Wilson’s contract, and it’s difficult to envision him staying until the end of the season. Brian Bixler may determine that. Bixler looked lost offensively and defensively after being rushed to the majors when Wilson was hurt at the start of last season, but Bixler looks much more relaxed and far better at the plate this spring. If he carries that into a strong season at Triple-A Indianapolis, he could be the shortstop by September.
Third base: Andy LaRoche’s first September with the Pirates was even worse than brother Adam’s April: a .167 average with one homer and seven RBIs in 90 at-bats. The younger brother has been the Pirates’ top hitter, for average, nearly all spring, and they can only hope he’s shaken off the post-trade jitters and is ready to settle in.
Ramon Vazquez, formerly of the Rangers, may be the Pirates’ top utility infielder in a while and figures to get regular at-bats.
and leadoff hitter. If not, the batting order will undergo a shakeup, and Eric Hinske might go from utility man to everyday player. And Nate McLouth, who seems better suited in the offense as the No. 3 hitter after his breakthrough 2008 season (.276, 26 HRs, 94 RBIs), may go back to leading off.
Center field: McLouth figures to start 135 times. The question is whether he hits first or third.
Right field: Brandon Moss looks ready to start the season despite needing knee surgery last fall. But Hinske and/or Craig Monroe could get plenty of his at-bats if he starts slowly.
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