There are a number of Pirates articles in the Post-Gazette today. This list of questions about the Pirates is the most interesting. A few thoughts here:
-Jack Wilson is not a #2 hitter even when he's hitting well, which is almost never. Forget his 200+ hits in 2004 - he got those mostly because he never walked. His on-base percentage was only average in that one good year, and it has been abysmal every other year he's been in the league. If he has a strength as a hitter, it's the surprising power he showed in 2004. That power would be better utilized at the bottom of the lineup. Historically, Wilson is about equally bad in the second and eighth slots anyway. Joe Randa in the second spot would be a pretty good idea.
-I don't know about the idea of Sean Casey hitting behind Jason Bay. Bay draws tons of walks, which means he'll wind up on first base a lot. Casey is extremely slow and hits into tons of double plays. Then again, Casey hits for a high average and is the best bet on the team to lead everyone but Bay in on-base percentage - except Craig Wilson, who isn't even in the starting lineup. Jeromy Burnitz, who will hit somewhere in the middle of the order, is probably a worse option in the cleanup spot than Casey because Burnitz doesn't get on base or make contact much. Boy, is this team messed up.
-Rookies Matt Capps, Jonah Bayliss and, if he's healthy, Josh Sharpless should all get a serious look in the big-league bullpen. It doesn't appear that will happen, even though none of the options for the last couple of bullpen spots are very exciting, except for Ian Snell.