Yes, Pittsburgh still has a baseball team

So, call me a liar.  Not an intentional liar, but a liar nonetheless.

I lied to myself and most everyone around me, and, although I am not sorry for it, I feel like I have some explaining to do.

It has been 16 years since the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a winning season.  The last time was in 1992 when I was five years old. Mark Whalberg was still Marky Mark and the Power Rangers were to debut on TV in a year.  That was with the pre-soap opera Bonds who played with a wealth of talent around him on a team led by the great Jim Leyland.

Since then the Pirates have seen their share of transfers in ownership, management and coaching. This, teamed up with a great deal of trades involving rising stars whom the team can no longer afford, horrible draft picks and acquisitions of veterans for just the short-term, has made the Pirates the laughing stock of Major League Baseball.
These results also yielded a horrible farm system and continued pathetic season after season.  The brightest moments for the team in recent years have been the construction of beautiful PNC Park and hosting the 2006 All-Star game.

Pittsburgh really has never given me reason to be a devout fan.  They never win, parking and concession prices are way too high and management never really made me feel like they were trying their best to work for the long haul.  With each passing year I lied, saying that there was a fighting chance for the Buccos to get over .500, although, deep down I knew that was not true.  But maybe that is why I still like them so much, I can not remember them as winners, I was too young, so when, or better yet if, they become winners, I can enjoy it even more.

The more I grew up and followed the team the more I realized how ridiculous my lies were.  It got to the point where this year I almost decided to just not care.
But I just could not.

Maybe not this year, but within the next couple of years the Pirates will have their long sought-after winning season.

I am putting my faith in Rob Nutting, Frank Coonelly and Neil Huntington, the team’s owner, president and general manager respectively.  These three have finally shown the city of Pittsburgh that they are devoted to developing a winning system, not just a season.

Huntington comes from years in Cleveland, another small market team with a history of drafting well and having a nice farm system.  He has made tough trades to acquire some young talent as well as, most importantly, drafting and signing third baseman Pedro Alvarez out of Vanderbilt.  In Pittsburgh, Alvarez is already garnering comparisons to Hall-Of-Fame Pirate great Willie Stargell at the plate.

Huntington also spent money on only one veteran who will serve as a backup in Eric Hinske. Hinske spent last season with Tampa Bay and has already compared this year’s Pirates to last year’s remarkable Rays.  The Pirates will not come anywhere close to the accomplishments of Tampa, but hopefully they will not be seen as another fluff series on an opponent’s schedule.

It could happen.  Hinske will back up a relatively young, but talented, lineup.  Catcher Ryan Doumit displayed his power as he became a regular in the second half of last season.  If Adam LaRoche can shake off his notorious slow starts, and play a full year of good ball, he could crack over 30 home runs again for a team desperate for power.  Nate McLouth could play a full season like last year’s first half as he earned an All-Star trip and a Gold Glove in center field.

Pitching, however, will be the key to the Pirates success.  New pitching coach Jim Kerrigan, known for his work around the league, was brought in to help a rotation that sported the lowest ERA in the NL last season in which the relievers won more games than the starters.

Paul Maholm is solid, and Zach Duke had a spring training reminiscent of his rookie season, in 2005, in which he was exceptional.  The bullpen has only two really dependable pitchers in John Grabow and Matt Capps, but expect the younger guys to get better as the season progresses.

Pittsburgh has bats in the farm system at many positions, especially with rising star Andrew McCutcheon in center field in AAA ball.  McLouth could be used as trade bait to bolster up pitcher in the farm system.

So call it wishful thinking, but the Pirates seem to be coming together, finally.  They will become successful in a few years, this is no lie.

But can you really tell when a liar is telling the truth?