So it’s the beginning of April 2009, and there was nothing but hope and optimism for the Pirates.  They had a gold glove CF, two former All-Star middle infielders, and had just come off a great spring.  The infamous streak should have been broken this year and that in itself could have equated to the feat the Steelers and Penguins had accomplished just months before.  It’s now October and that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. They've done it Pirates fan, broke the record for most consecutive losing season by a North American sports franchise.  In a year where the Lombardi Trophy and Sir Stanley were celebrated in the Steel City, the Pirates managed to kill all hopes of the coveted sports hat trick and be out of the race by June.  But I will not go so far as to say that this season was a complete failure.   Yes, finished last in the Central once again. Yes, these Pirates were sometime unbareable to watch.  Yes, I too am sick of seeing my favorite players get shipped out of Pittsburgh year after year after year.  But there is hope that this will all stop and once again we can get back to the “We Are Family” era.  The World Series ring has eluded us since 1979 and a winning season has been invisible since Sid Bream broke our hearts in the 1992 NLCS.  We all threw things at the TV when we heard the Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Doug Drabek, etc, were being shipped out of town due to financial reason.  We have been “rebuilding” ever since and this “rebuilding” has been nothing short of a joke.  But I will say this year has brought me hope in the face of embarrassment and the future does look bright for the Pirates.  Huntington has put the pieces in place and the potential is there to bring winning baseball back to the Steel City.

                Neal Huntington came to the Pirates from a Cleveland Indians team who were in the same situation as the 2008 Bucs.  They had a plethora of talented, expensive veterans but had absolutely no shot of making the postseason.  That Cleveland Indians team traded away these vets and got such players as Matt LaPorta,Chris Perez, Carlos Santana, and that’s just naming a few.  This was, also, the management team that drafted Travis Hafner, who before injury looked like the next Jason Giambi in his prime.  That Cleveland Indians team made a playoff appearance in 2006 due to the moves made years before by that management team.  So Neal had the pedigree and the resume for us as Pirates fan to be excited about a GM that actually knew how to run a franchise.  Coming off 10+ years of Dave Littlefield, we saw our GM run our franchise into the ground by not signing draft picks (at one point he drafted Daniel Moskos instead of Matt Wieters), trading away legit prospects for over the hill veterans (Pick any trade he made in his tenure as GM), and signing the most overrated and expensive free agents that would never help the Pirates win (Jeromy Burnitz is one of MANY examples).  The only good trade he made was for Jason Bay and even then he never gave the Pirates enough pieces around him to produce a winning ball club.  So finally rid of the fiasco that was the Littlefield era, now we are upon the Huntington era.  2009 brought a challenging year for Huntington.  He opened the year with baron farm system with only one legitimate MLB prospect, Andrew McCutchen.  Also, he had a group of guys that “weren’t the 1927 New York Yankees” and weren’t going to win.  So 2009 brought another year of heartbreak and crushed all hope of finally shaking the ghost of losing past.  Or did it?  Trading Nate McLouth, as disappointed and angry as I was, will turn out to be a brilliant trade.  McLouth was costing the Pirates millions of dollars to hit 25 hrs and hit .275.  While those are great numbers, McLouth’s value was very high on a team that wasn’t going to win.  So Huntington made a smart move and acquired three players to help retool the farm system.  Charlie Morton has been with the big league club for a better part of three months.  He has electric stuff and has potential to be a solid #4 starter for us.  His 5.00+ era this year will be lower once he’s had a full spring and off season to work with one of the game’s best, Joe Kerrigan.  Also, acquired was a solid future Major League outfielder in Gorkys Hernandez.  You can project him as a solid lead off hit that will be a Jacoby Ellsbury-type player if he pans out.  He can hit for average and has lightning speed.  He entered the season as one of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects.   The last piece of this trade was Jeff Locke.  As unimpressive as he has been this year in A ball, he has the potential to be a big league pitcher.  He’s a project in the making and still is about 3 years from being a MLB caliber pitcher.  I look for Locke to someday be in the mix for the 5th starter or be traded away to help the Pirates gain a veteran to help us to

the playoffs.  Both of which are win/win situations for the Pirates. 

   The McLouth trade brought outrage to the fan base and people in Pittsburgh were calling for Huntington’s head.  The words “here we go again” were muttered all through PNC Park.  But what Huntington knew that none of us did was that we already had a better player than Nate McLouth at AAA.  Andrew McCutchen has been a godsend and has shown that he is a legitimate major leaguer.  He hit .286 with 12 hrs and stole 22 stolen bases after his call up.  He has more speed than McLouth and definitely has more power potential.  He is a Carlos Beltran-type player and we haven’t had a player like him since Barry Bonds.  He will be a perennial All-Star Pirates and will help the fans forget McLouth.  The Nyjer Morgan-Sean Burnett trade was a great decision by Huntington.  Needless to say I was never a fan of Nyjer Morgan and still don’t think he is as “great” as the people think he is.  One of my biggest knocks on him was he 30 years old and he hit like a 12 year old little leaguer.  He had speed I will give him that but he had zero power and his defense was suspect.  Sean Burnett was a decent relief pitcher and it was sad to see him go.  With that being said the return with this trade was very good.  We got two Major Leaguers, Lastings Milledge & Joel Hanrahan.  Milledge is 7 years younger than Morgan with just as much speed and A LOT more power.  He will hit for a better average than Morgan will ever and will have a heck of a lot more extra base hits.  He is not as good in the field as Morgan but with work he could be just as good.  Hanrahan is a fireballer who will be the Pirates set up man for years to come.  He pitches in the mid 90s and he projects as a Billy Wagner type.  In Washington, he had the closer role yanked from him and it hurt his confidence which is why his era ballooned to almost 7 before the trade.  The closer role is not right for him and since he’s been in Pittsburgh he’s been our best reliever and shown he can handle the setup role in Tyler Yates's absence.  Pirates fans should give Huntington credit for this trade because the value we got in return was great.   

After the McLouth & Morgan trades, Jack Wilson and other vets knew they were on their way out of Pittsburgh.  The looming July 31st trade deadline brought fear and anxiety to many Pirates fans.  To be perfectly honest, it was time for these trades to happen.  While I vehemently disagreed with the McLouth trade, I was ready for LaRoche, Sanchez, and others to finally be gotten rid of once and for all.  The Wilson and Snell trade was I think was a gem.  We got rid of a head case starting pitcher whose 5.00+ era was killing us and we got rid of an AVERAGE major league shortstop.  I know that last line is going to anger the Pirate faithful but be honest Pirates fans Jackie Wilson wasn’t that good. Yes he was a wizard in the field but he hit .254 with barely any homeruns or rbis.  He had no speed and was an automatic out most of the time.  So that’s worth 7.5 million dollars?  I think not.  Snell was a head case and his comments left me to believe he was another Jay Cutler. He was a whiny pre-madonna who had no business thinking of himself that highly.  He never proved himself enough to justify the whining and sure as the sun rises did not deserve the contract he was getting.  The return in this trade was the best it could have been.  Jay Clement has the power potential to hit 25 hrs a year in the major leagues.  In his very brief stint, he has not shown this but I think it was more of being rushed to the majors rather than how much talent he has.  Not calling him up this September was a great move by the Pirates because its allowing him to develop like McCutchen.  Ronny Cedeno has really made us Pirate fans forget Jackie Wilson.  He hit more homeruns with the Bucs than Wilson did all year and has hit around .258.   Also, Ronny has shown he can flash the glove just like Jackie.  The minor league pitchers we got in the trade I think were more about adding depth to the farm system rather than getting prospects.  To be honest, the only one we may ever see in Pittsburgh is Aaron Pribanic and he will have to be converted to be a reliever for that to happen.  It does, however, provide even more depth to our system which was a barren wasteland when you are talking about potential MLB pitchers in the minor league system.  The Freddy Sanchez for Tim Alderson trade was absolutely one of the best trades of the trade deadline.  The Pirates got a future top of the rotation start for a veteran, often hurt middle infielder.  Now I know that we did not have a second baseman waiting but as I will later explain, this role is certain to be filled by Andy LaRoche when Pedro Alvarez is ready.  Getting rid of Freddy and his inflated contract for a doubles hitter was genius and the return can’t be matched.  The scouts have said that Alderson has lost some of what had made him a top Giants prospect next to Madison Bumgarner.  Since the trade, he’s been almost unhittable and has shown that his stuff is still there.   Look for him to tear up AAA ball and perhaps be in line for a starting job come 2011.   If anything else, it adds another arm and depth to our farm system that had neither.  The Adam LaRoche trade was a typical salary dump.  Argenis Diaz is not ever going to be any good at the major league level and I project him as a bench player at best.  Aaron Strickland, the other piece of this trade, is another arm to the system and another pitcher that is only going to put on a Pirates uniform if he’s converted to a relief pitcher.  But this salary dump allowed us to spend big on the draft and we got plenty of quality prospects now in our system because of it.  The Grabow-Gorzellany trade I like because we got Kevin Hart.  Jose Ascanio and Josh Harrison are nothing but addng depth to the system and Ascanio will probably be a reliever that jumps from AAA to MLB on a regular basis or is traded away later.  Kevin Hart excites the heck of me because he is a power arm.  While I think he is better suit for the a potential set up role because of his power arm, he is a legitimate starting pitcher and with a little work with Joe Kerrigan, this trade could look like a steal.  With Daniel McCutchen likely to win the 5th starter job out of Spring Training next year, I look for Hart and Hanrahan to be a very good set tandem for Matt Capps for years to come.  The trades made by Huntington in the last 18 months have retooled our farm system and allowed the Pirates to sign the type of draft picks that have eluded us for years.  It was great to see that money being put back into the team instead of into Bob Nutting’s pocket which is a big change from the McClatchy/Littlefield era.

The draft this year has really helped Neal Huntington’s cause.  Tony Sanchez was projected as a good hitting catcher on the fast track to the big leagues.  Now Huntington took a lot of heat for drafting Sanchez so high, but I think a lot that was unwarranted.  In his first 3 months of professional baseball, Sanchez has torn up A ball pitching and has already risen to the Pirates 4th best prospect.  I will not go into the other draft picks due to the fact that I could write an entire book on that.  But there is one thing that Pirates fans should know about this “record-breaking season”, the Pirates broke a record for the most money spent on draft picks in Pirates history.  For those that are nah sayers consider this, smart market teams like the Pirates must invest heavily in the draft to win (Tampa Bay Rays).   Look for players like Tony Sanchez and Zach Von Rosenberg to be wearing Pirate uniforms sooner rather than later.

While the transactions and the draft were the story of 2009, the Pirates themselves had a couple other story lines.  The best one and I think the most surprising story line was the performance of Garrett Jones.  A 28 year old rookie who was a minor league free agent had a very strong spring.  In his first few months in AAA, Jones feasted on pitching and was well on his to being to an AAA All-Star selection before his call up on June 30th.  Then came his call up and he began his second half tear that would see him hit 21 hrs and would earn him the nickname “the legend”.  In Jones, the Pirates can have a formable cleanup hitter and, with Jose Tabata on his way to the Majors, Jones can be the Pirates 1st baseman for a long time.  Let’s face it Steven Pearce has been awful and his time to prove himself is almost up and Jones would be a great fit at first for the Buccos.  Delwyn Young and Andy LaRoche have been nice surprises this year also.  Young hit .266 and has vastly improved his defense.  Andy LaRoche has done a complete 180 and has really been a solid player for the Bucs.  He hit .258, although he was around .300 at times this year, and even batted cleanup with success a few times.  Ryan Doumit, the lone 2008 Opening Day Starter left, had another injury riddled season and even was benched by JR for 2 games this year.  Its understandable that Doumit was frustrated between the injuries and the team basically being dismantled.  But in 2010, it will be interesting to see if Doumit can put that behind him and be the veteran leader this team needs to succeed.  If he can, the Pirates will continue to head in the right direction with a full head of steam.  If he can’t, expect the Pirates to make a deal next year while his value is still high.

The pitching staff in 2008 was absolutely terrible and posted one of the worst eras for such a promising staff.  In 2009, it wasn’t too much better.  With that being said, there were many bright spots in our rotation.  Ross Ohlendorf was acquired for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte at the trade deadline in 2008.  In 2009, he was the Pirates best starter.  He ate up innings and was tied for the most wins on the staff.  He pitched great in his first full season as a starter and is a lock to be in the rotation next year.   Paul Maholm signed a lucrative extention before Spring Training with the hope that he would be the staff ace.  While Maholm has had his moments, he has been hugely disappointing this year.  It will be interesting to see if Maholm can rebound from this season as he is almost certain to retain his role as the staff ace and Opening Day starter.  Zach Duke wins the award as the most improved pitcher on the staff.   Last year he won only 4 games and had a 5.00+ era.  This year he has a era around 4.00 and earned his first All-Star selection.  Duke showed what a value Joe Kerrigan is to the Pirates and just how good Kerrigan is.  The bullpen showed some promise but also hugely disappointed for most of the season.  Yates has barely pitched due to injury and Matt Capps had the season from hell.  In the spring, if you would have told me Capps would have had a 5.00+ era I would have told you, you were crazy.  But that’s exactly what happened to the “Mad Capper”.  I look for him to rebound next year and return to the Capps we all know and love.  Jesse Chavez had a wonderful rookie season and really looks to be one of those pieces along with Hanrahan and Karstens to really shore up the bullpen next year.  While the Pirates pitching staff was vastly improved over 2008, 2009 can be counted as disappointing.  But there should be an overwhelming amount of optimism going into the spring and it will be very interesting to see what will happen because 2010 will be a year that the Pirates have pitching depth, which hasn’t happened in quite sometime.

The 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates will be the new look Pittsburgh Pirates.   There will be a new attitude, new sense of urgency, and most of all there will be new faces and quasi new faces in the Opening Day lineup.  Andrew McCutchen should continue to be the All-Star caliber player he has been.  This is the kind of ball player he is so I don’t expect 2009 to be a fluke year for him.  He has the 5 tool talent that made him a first round draft pick.  I think he will continue to get better and have a breakout season in centerfield along with an All-Star game selection.  Garrett Jones will start the 2010 season as the favorite for the 1st base position.  If the Legend can continue his power surge and hit for average, the Pirates will have a formable 3 – 4 with Doumit, granted Doumit has a return to form.  The biggest question is whether or not Pedro Alvarez will be ready to take over at third base.  He will be with the Pirates in Spring Training and will get a legitimate chance at proving he is ready for major league pitching.  His 2009 minor league stats show that he might be ready to make the jump but more than likely he will begin the year in AAA.  That means the 3rd base job is going to go to Andy LaRoche until Alvarez is deemed ready.  That means Delwyn Young will be under a microscope and likely will have to hit close to All-Star like numbers to keep his job.  When Alvarez is ready, Andy LaRoche will be the starting second baseman and Perry Hill will have another  project for 2010.  Ronny Cedeno will be the Opening Day shortstop and I look for him to really have a breakout year in his first season as a full time starter.  Barring Milledge getting injured or his attitude getting the best of him, he will be the Opening Day LF but MUST improve his hitting in the spring and show that he the power potential turns in to power in the big leagues.  With Gorkys Hernandez and Jose Tabata on the way, Milledge will need to prove he belongs or else he may not be there in 2011 when the ETA for Tabata and Hernandez comes.  Right Field is going to be a bit of a conundrum for the Pirates.  They still have Brandon Moss and Steve Pearce who are capable but I really think that Moss and Pearce are bench players at best.  I look for the Pirates to get a veteran free agent to take this spot.  Now don’t expect a Matt Holliday but I think the Pirates could go after a Type B Free Agent to add a little pop in right.  Now that is not unlikely, and the most likely scenario is that Jones will end up in right and yet again Pearce will get the nod at 1B.  I don’t like this for two reasons. The first is that Pearce is absolutely terrible at the plate and has not warranted a spot in the 2010 lineup this season.  The second is that Brandon Moss is not an everyday major leaguer.  The bench is going to consist of Neal Walker, Ramon Vasquez, Jason Jaramillo, Brandon Moss and expect the Pirates to add another veteran bench player through free agency.  The rotation will be the same minus Kevin Hart and add Daniel McCutchen as the fifth starter.  This means the Pirates will likely see return on all 4 players acquired in the Nady/Marte trade to the Yankees, something rarely seen.  The bullpen will consist of long reliever Jeff Karstens, Middle relievers Ascanio, Hart, Chavez, setup men Yates (when he returns from injury in June) & Hanrahan and Capps will retain the closer role.  So what about Tim Alderson and Brad Lincoln?  Alderson will likely begin the season in AAA ball and pair with Brad Lincoln to be Pittsburgh’s starters in the waiting.  I DON’T expect the Bucs to make any trades unless the following happens.  If Alderson and/or Lincoln are unhittable up until the July 31st deadline, you can expect Duke and/or Maholm to be traded to make room for one or both of these kids.  However, if the Pirates are in the race you can expect Lincoln to be traded for a bat to carry the Bucs to the post season.  That however is highly unlikely and I expect no trades to happen.   The most likely scenario will be that Alderson and Lincoln will be call ups in September while Virgil Vasquez will be cover for the starters who are injured and put on the DL.  The Indianapolis Indians will be a team to watch next year.  Hernandez, Tabata, Alvarez, Shelby Ford,  and Miles Dunham will all start the season in AAA and it will be exciting to see the Indy team play this year will all that promise.

2010 will hold all the promise and pressure of breaking the record breaking 18th straight losing season.  With the pieces in place, can 2010 be the year that they FINALLY put it all together in the Steel City?  That is a question that the Pirate faithful will be waiting to answer and find out if its going to be another “here we go again” year.