[caption id="attachment_55" align="alignright" width="300" caption="PNC Park awaits Opening Day"]
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Here we are, less than 24 hours away from the most anticipated day in baseball: Opening Day. Major league clubs have come north from Florida/Arizona, and are just hours away from showcasing what they have been fine-tuning for the past six months. The next six months will be an exciting ride for baseball fans of all types, but the fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates are in for what looks to be a chaotic and unpredictable season. In order to have an outlook on how the next 162 games turn out, we must look at the key off-season additions made by the front office (Don’t worry, they are mostly upgrades from previous seasons).
[caption id="attachment_58" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Erik Bedard will be on the hill on Opening Day, after winning the starting job in Spring Training"]
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The biggest additions to the team were made through improving the starting rotation, as the Pirates added Erik Bedard and AJ Burnett, two decent arms coming from the brutal AL East (Boston and NY, respectively). Bedard, 33, signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal, and will be the only left-handed pitcher in the starting rotation. Since 2005 when he posted exactly 4.00 as his ERA, he has not had an ERA over 4.00, a huge advantage to a team that has difficulty creating offense at times. Bedard replaces LHP Paul Maholm in the rotation, who had been fairly inconsistent in past years and was always at the top of the Pirates rumor mill. We can only hope his inconstancy follows him to division rival Chicago. Despite the advantages he offers, Bedard has had multiple year-ending injuries. If he stays healthy, he will be a solid #2 starter in the rotation. The other “big-name” starting arm added to the team was former Yankees pitcher and two-time (pivotal in only one, though, due to season ending surgery with Florida in 2003) World Series champion AJ Burnett.
[caption id="attachment_59" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="AJ Burnett enjoys life as a Pirate. He will return in Late April-Early May. (Thanks to Mceffect.com for the picture)"]
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Burnett was acquired through a trade with the Bronx Bombers, giving up only two low-level prospects and $13 million towards Burnett’s $32 million salary to acquire the right-hander. In the past three seasons with New York, Burnett averaged a 4.79 ERA, but when comparing his AL stats with his NL stats, he averages 0.66 earned runs less in the National League (4.39 in the AL, 3.73 in the NL). Even though it has been six years since he pitched in the National League, he still possesses a fastball in the low-90’s and a decent breaking ball that still has the power of baffling batters. Burnett will not start the year with the team, due to fouling a ball right into his eye during a bunting competition and breaking his orbital bone. Look for him to return in late April. Burnett is an innings-eater, and will pitch deep into games, something that the Pirates pitchers have not been able to do in quite a long time. This will take the pressure off of the weak bullpen and put more emphasis on Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan. The AL East is arguably the hardest division to pitch in, playing against NY, Boston, Tampa, and the (cough cough STEROIDS cough) Blue Jays, and with the move to a newly weakened NL Central with the loss of Prince, Pujols, Pena, and Braun (oh, wait, no, his steroids were just HERPES), Bedard and Burnett will be facing considerably worse batters, and will have drastic improvements this year.
[caption id="attachment_69" align="alignright" width="191" caption="Rod Barajas joins the team, and will have starting catching duties."]
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On the offensive side, the Pirates made marginal additions to the lineup. In the offseason, the team lost a decent bat in Ryan Doumit, as he took his talents to Minnesota. However, his loss will not be felt, due to his incredibly inept defensive play. Former Mets and Dodgers catcher Rod Barajas was signed to one-year deal, replacing Doumit with better defensive play and a bat of comparable power. Barajas is known for his ability to catch a solid game, as he was trained by Curt Schilling, and knows how to adjust to each different starter, something that Doumit could not do. With fan-favorite Michael “The Fort McKenry”, the catchers are solid defensively. The substantial addition to the starting nine was Clint Barmes, former Rockies and Astros shortstop. Barmes (who will from here on out be referred to as “The Fish Who Saved Pittsburgh”) replaces offensively and intellectually inept Ronny Cedeno on the left side of the diamond, yet his offensive presence leaves something to be desired. PNC Park has a deep left field, and does not offer much consolation to a shortstop that had trouble hitting home runs in a dome and a mile above sea level. However, he does offer a lot more than Chase d’Arnaud, because every ball will not end in the 4th row behind 1B Garrett Jones. Early in the off-season, the Bucs traded relief-pitching extraordinaire (snicker) Jose Veras to Milwaukee for 1B/3B Casey McGehee. McGehee, who had a decent season in 2010, exited 2011 with what was a forgettable season. If he plays as he did in 2010, he has a decent bat and can hit in over 100 RBI’s, but if he plays like he did last year, he will be a bust. McGehee will see time at both first and third, and will play a few games a week. The final notable addition to the squad was former Pirate Nate McClouth. Nate’s offense declined drastically in Atlanta, but the Pirates grabbed him on the cheap. Nate will mostly be a backup outfielder/pinch hitter who will see about a game a week, yet remains excited to be back with the Bucs.
[caption id="attachment_70" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Starling Marte will start the year in the minors, but he will be up very soon. (Thanks to Rumbunter for the picture)"]
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The team has a few young offensive options to go along with the off-season additions. Spring Training phenom Starling Marte was sent to the minors (for some ridiculous reason that only GM Neal Huntington knows) after going 13-25 (.520) with 4 RBIs, 3 home runs, and 7 runs. Expect Marte to be brought up in June/July and start right away, most likely replacing Alex Presley in left. The other Spring Training monster was Matt “Hit Collector” Hague. Hague left Bradenton with a .400 batting average (22-55), 14 RBIs, 10 runs, and a Grapefruit League-Leading 7 home runs. Today, it was announced that the Hit Collector made the 25-man roster, and will play backup to Garrett Jones at first. Both Marte and Hague offer a different dynamic to the offense: Marte with his speed and hitting ability and Hague with his hitting ability and decent amount of power. If used correctly, they could both have a meaningful impact on the team this year and in years to come.
The team definitely made improvements all around. With these improvements, I believe that the team will be better, yet we will not reach that forbidden fruit that is called .500, finishing 77-85. It will once again be a fun year to watch, but we are still one year away from reaching the looming winning season. The starting pitching and offense are definitely improved, but the bullpen is still an abomination, and will be mocked as the “Wreck of the Bullpen Fitzgerald” until improvements are made. Now for a few other bold predictions. Andrew McCutchen will become part of the 30/30 club, and will be an NL MVP candidate. Joel Hanrahan will be traded before the trade deadline. Starling Marte will take Alex Presley’s job and make an immediate positive impact.
Baseball finally returns to Pittsburgh tomorrow. The Bucs will square off against NL-favorite Philadelphia Phillies in front of a sold out crowd at 1:35. Let’s hope the boys in black and gold Raise the Jolly Roger overlooking the Allegheny River for the first time. Also, if you are going to the game, don’t bring an umbrella. The wind from Pedro Alvarez’s strikeout whiffs will just blow them away.
[caption id="attachment_71" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Not steroids. Herpes."]
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Ryan Braun has Herpes. Go Bucs.
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