Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 5 Reasons the Pirates Will Make the Playoffs
These are the five reasons/ways the Pirates will make the playoffs this season.
If the Pirates make the playoffs, the city of Pittsburgh will go crazy. This is a city that is deserving of a great baseball team.
I have no doubt that if the Pirates were good, the seats would be full. They had a better attendance a year ago than the Rays, which is absurd.
A lot of Penguins fans jumped on the bandwagon of Sidney Crosby and the new-look Penguins.
I have no doubt that the same thing would happen if the Pirates were good.
It would seem very unlikely that the Pirates would even compete this season, but if Kevin Garnett has taught us anything, he has taught us that, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"
No. 5: Lineup Has Stability
1 of 6
Last year was a mess in Pittsburgh.
Departed manager John Russell had Ryan Church in right field playing over Lastings MIlledge for a long period of time.
Then, once Church was traded, Milledge thought he had right field to himself. Low and behold, the Ryan Doumit experiment occurred.
Doumit supposedly was placed in right field for his offense. What offense are you referring to? And this happened after he was the catcher for the majority of the season.
With Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez all gaining starting jobs last season, the lineup will finally be consistent.
Right Field: Platoon between Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz
Center Field: Andrew McCutchen
Left Field: Jose Tabata
Third Base: Pedro Alvarez
Shortstop: Ronny Cedeno
Second Base: Neil Walker
First Base: Lyle Overbay
Catcher: Chris Synder (Ryan Doumit for now because Snyder is on the DL to start season)
The two obvious holes are shortstop and catcher, but it is much more stable than last season.
No. 4: Lyle Overbay
2 of 6
His average dropped a season ago, but Lyle Overbay is known for being a contact hitter. He also has the capability of hitting 20-plus home runs.
With him playing at PNC Park and the short porch in right field, his home run numbers could be up around 25.
The Pirates haven't had that consistent No. three or four hitter in their lineup. Overbay brings experience and a better glove at first base. He is an overall upgrade from a season ago.
Even though Overbay is past his prime, he could potentially have a great year in Pittsburgh.
No. 3: Clint Hurdle
3 of 6
Clint Hurdle is a major change from former skipper John Russell. He was such a bland and boring coach, and people say that players take on the personality of their coach.
No wonder they were horrible last season.
The Pirates are a young team that needs somebody to kick them in the butt if they made a mistake. Hopefully Hurdle can bring this aspect.
Hurdle at least brings fundamentals to a team that didn't have good fundamentals a season ago. He isn't the greatest coach in the world, but he is head and shoulders above Russell.
This is a more prototypical coach for a young squad.
.png?w=256)
No. 2: The Core
4 of 6
The core of the Pirates is finally getting set to play a full season together.
Andrew McCutchen is looking for that All-Star appearance that he deserves, and it should come this season. He is a five-tool player that is ready to burst onto the national scene.
With him hitting in the No. three spot of the order, expect his HR and RBI numbers to be good.
He needs to run more on the bases, though. He might be the fastest player in the MLB, and he should use that to his advantage.
Pedro Alvarez struggled to get consistent contact with the ball at points last season. The pressure was at an all-time high when he came up from the minors in the midst of the season.
He strikes out a ton, but loves the clutch moment and is an RBI machine.
Jose Tabata is batting leadoff to start the season. He isn't quicker than McCutchen, but he is a sneaky base stealer.
He has a knack for base hits in his short time in the majors. He was second in the National League with 92 hits after the All-Star break. Hurdle loves his approach as a leadoff hitter.
Neil Walker showed he can hit from both sides of the plate last season. His defense needs work at second, but he is a great athlete. He is doing better and better with each game played.
Walker finished fifth for the Rookie of the Year award in the NL, and he showed surprising power to go along with his consistent contact. It should be interesting to see how well he does this season.
McCutchen and Alvarez are the next superstars for the Pirates. Tabata and Walker should be great pros.
These four should at least provide some excitement around PNC Park this summer.
No. 1: Pitching
5 of 6
Pitching is the most important ingredient to a team, and that is especially true for the Pirates. It won't matter how great the core is if they don't get solid pitching.
This pitching staff is below average.
Paul Maholm, Kevin Correia, Ross Ohlendorf, James McDonald and Charlie Morton are the five pitchers penciled in the rotation.
Who can you trust from this bunch? Nobody.
Maholm has the potential to be solid, but how long have we been saying that?
Correia was 10-10 with an ERA over 5 in one of the biggest parks in the league a year ago.
Ohlendorf won his arbitration case, but hasn't shown he's worth it. He was 1-11, with a 4.07 ERA last season.
The record isn't really indicative of how he pitched last season. He deserved better than 1-11. He will need to have a big year.
McDonald and Morton are the X-factors. Morton was atrocious last season, but has always had great stuff. He has been one of the best pitchers this spring. This could be the year when he finally puts it all together.
McDonald came over from the Dodgers last season and pitched well. He only had a handful of starts last season, but who knows how great he can be.
The Pirates will need Maholm to prove he is a first-round talent. Correia will need to be a .500 pitcher again, and Ohlendorf will need to be consistent.
Morton will need to learn how to get past the first four innings, and McDonald will need to build upon his starts from a year ago.
Evan Meek, Joel Hanrahan and Chris Resop are just a few names in the bullpen.
Meek and Hanrahan have power arms, and Meek was an All-Star last season. Other than these two players, there isn't another player who you can count on.
Pittsburgh Pirates
6 of 6
The Pirates will need big seasons out of their coaches, pitching, core and role players if they want a shot at competing. That will most likely be too much to ask for.
A 19th consecutive losing season is pretty much inevitable, but you never know. They will need a total team effort, and some overachieving.
Anything is possible!
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
