How the Pittsburgh Pirates Could Have Avoided 16 Consecutive Losing Seasons

We've discussed this to death every since the Atlanta Braves walked off the field as the 1992 NLCS Champions. 

How could the Pirates have avoided this scary flirtation with the wrong kind of history?

Well, I did some digging through the Pirates' transactions before Neal Huntington came to town after the 2007 season. 

I've come up with a team of Pirates castoffs who I believe, if they had gotten the chance to play together, might have been able to, if not make the playoffs, at least save the Pirates the embarrassment of history.

Note: I tried as hard as possible to keep players in their natural positions and also create a team the realistically could have played together at some point. There are no transactions from the 1992 season or the 2008 season.

Starting Rotation

1. Jason Schmidt

2. Bronson Arroyo

3. Chris Young

4. Oliver Perez

5. Tim Wakefield

Analysis- Schmidt was a legitimate ace after leaving Pittsburgh, pitching at the top of the Giants rotation until he signed with the Dodgers and flirted with arm trouble.  Arroyo was a success for the Red Sox and now the Reds. He's a solid No. 2.

Young has ace stuff and if not for Jake Peavy would be the Padres number one.  Perez, though quixotic, is still a quality pitcher and (as we found out after he left Pittsburgh) good for 10-15 wins with a supporting cast. 

Wakefield rounds the group out just as he does for the above average Red Sox rotation. 

This group, pitching together, would at least keep the Pirates in most games. I think that this group could average 10-15 wins each. You're telling me that this alone couldn't put the Pirates in consideration for 82 wins? Okay. Let's move on.

Bullpen

Closer: Mike Gonzalez

Setup: Joe Beimel

Setup: Duaner Sanchez

Middle: Mike Lincoln

Middle: Damaso Marte (traded twice)

Middle: Leo Nunez

Long: Jon Lieber

Analysis- Gonzo, once fully recovered, should be a fine closer in the majors. At worst, he'll be a good setup guy. Joe Beimel has carved out a name for himself with the Dodgers and now is taking his act to Washington. 

Sanchez, until he ran into arm trouble, was a fireballer. 

Lincoln has resurrected his career and is a serviceable middle reliever. Marte pitched well in two stints with Pittsburgh and the Yankees thought enough of him to resign him this offseason. Nunez is a rising star with the Royals. Lieber could be a starter or reliever but he probably is at his best as a long man in this group.

This bullpen might not be baseball's finest, but they could get some outs and hold some leads. The back end, when healthy, is top notch.

Still not enough? Take a look at the lineup.

Offensive Lineup (in order of defensive position)

C-David Ross

1B-Ryan Howard (Former GM Dave Littlefield could have had Howard for Kip Wells OR Kris Benson, but turned it down)

2B-Tony Womack

3B-Aramis Ramirez

SS-Brent Lillibridge

LF-Barry Bonds

CF-Gary Matthews, Jr.

RF-Brian Giles

Analysis- The most egregious errors here were not taking Howard for what amounts to a song and letting Bonds walk. The Ramirez trade was bad, but was ordered by the brass. Lillibridge hasn't broken in yet, but he'd be a better fix than Brian Bixler has been so far. 

You could put Jack Wilson in that spot if Littlefield had had his way. Selling Matthews for cash to the Mets was a major gaffe. Trading Giles netted a nice return, but keeping him may have made sense, too.

He's probably the most palpable of the group. Ross isn't a star, but he's steady, which the Pirates didn't have after Jason Kendall left town.

Howard and Bonds back to back in the order with speed guys like Giles (in his prime), Matthews, Jr, and Lillibridge and steady hands at second and catcher combined with the pitching staff above should be enough.

Just in case, here's the bench, too. Some of these guys could slot in as starters even on this team, meaning there is even room to make a trade (that makes sense).

Bench

INF-Ty Wigginton

OF-Jody Gerut, John Vander Wal, Jose Guillen, Kenny Lofton

Analysis- Okay, the biggest error is the lack of a backup middle infielder.  But take a look at these guys just as hitters. Wigginton and Guillen have decent power and the other guys all are pretty good with a stick.

Lofton could still steal bases when the Pirates had him and Gerut has been decent after finally recovering from his injury.

Put it all together and add in manager Jim Leyland, run out of town by Cam Bonifay. If you gave them a few years together, my bet is that somewhere between the powerful tandem of Bonds and Howard and the stellar pitching of Schmidt, Young, and Arroyo that the team could have found a winning season.

Next up is a companion article: The All Bust/Bad Contract Pirates Team (further evidence that Littlefield and Bonifay really blew it!)