Jayson Stark's latest column on the offseason takes some of the usual cheap shots at the Pirates:

I kept a daily log book on every team's transactions all winter. And even I couldn't correctly identify the Pirates' entire prospective Opening Day lineup this week.

The Pirates' lineup isn't tough at all to identify, actually. There aren't any real position battles, and every lineup spot is occupied by either an up-and-coming youngster or by an established player. They're listed as the "least recognizable team," which just seems strange, given that most of the moves the Pirates made this offseason made them more recognizable, not less. I certainly hope Stark knows who Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz are.

The Pirates are also listed as the National League's third "most-unimproved" team. I can't really argue with this, because I thought the Bucs' offseason was a mess, so if that's what the people who Stark polled were trying to say, then that's fine. Ironically, though, it wouldn't be a shock to me if the Pirates actually turned out to be one of the most-improved teams in the National League this year, simply because they only won 57 games last year. I find it very hard to believe the 2011 Bucs could actually be much worse, and easy to believe they could be better. If they end up winning 70 this year, that would surely be one of the three biggest improvements.

Thanks to Only Bucs.