Pittsburgh Pirates: What We've Learned So Far

A dozen games into the still-young 2009 baseball season, we've learned a lot about those usually bumbling, stumbling, battling Buccos of Pittsburgh.

Several things have come to light as the season has unfolded.  Several new questions have come to light as well. 

Here's a snapshot of what we know and what we want to know after the first dozen of 162 games on the Pirates journey to avoid a record for futility.

What We Now Know...

1. We were wrong about Nyjer Morgan

Everyone was rather down on the young speedster at the end of Spring Training.  Morgan, who didn't show off much of a bat during spring ball, was probably the most questionable of those retained for the 25-man roster for Opening Day. 

Andrew McCutchen, the organization's top prospect, was certainly the more attractive option. But the coaches and front office staff chose Morgan to open the season in the departed Jason Bay's old spot in left.

Good luck getting it back from him now.

Morgan is hitting at a torrid pace, propelling the top of the Pirates batting order by being an on-base fiend.  We have yet to see the speed on the basepaths because of a strange, almost pathological fear of allowing runners to steal, but we have seen Morgan beat out some close throws.

Not only is he hitting, he's providing offense where no one else has (besides Nate McLouth for most of last year) for several seasons: the leadoff spot.

McCutchen? He's doing just fine in Triple-A.  But who really has thought much about him as a replacement for Morgan?

No one.

2. We were also wrong about Andy LaRoche

I won't say I didn't see it coming.  I will say I didn't think it would be quite that bad. 

Andy LaRoche was arguably the teams biggest weapon in Spring Training.  More than one baseball analyst said that LaRoche finally "had figured it out."

Twelve games in, not so much.

LaRoche opened with a 0-for-19 hitting slump and made three errors in the first two games at third base, prompting manager John Russell to put LaRoche on the bench until he practiced his defense.

Don Long, the team's hitting coach, also made a tweak in LaRoche's swing, keeping him from staying closed up when swinging.

Suddenly, LaRoche is both hitting and fielding with great alacrity. Will it last? Who knows. But we've found one of our top weaknesses in the lineup.

The biggest mistake of the early lineups was letting the brothers LaRoche bat consecutively.  I termed them twin-killing for awhile since they were usually two automatic outs.

It's getting better, but LaRoche would do well to figure things out fast.  There are two highly touted third sackers waiting in the minors.

3. Is that Adam LaRoche in a holding pattern above the Mendoza line?

I won't go so far as to say that Adam LaRoche has learned how to hit in April.

What I will say is that he's learning to at least be a little more streaky in the season's first month.  LaRoche is hitting around 100 points higher than his career April average, good news for a team struggling to find some offense.

LaRoche's power is intact and his strikeouts are down, but he has developed a really ugly swing at some pitches.  He's either getting fooled more often on bad pitches or he's trying way too hard.

Either way, it's great to see Adam (in a contract year nonetheless) getting a little hotter in the season's coolest months.

4. Offense and Pitching, but not every same day.

Some days, the Pirates lineup pounds out upwards of 10 hits and six or more runs.  Some days, the pitchers throw near-shutout performances.

The biggest problem is that we can't seem to get both on the same track each day. 

Some days, one is the problem and the other is not.  More often than not, however, both are a problem on the same day.

For example, in the first seven games of the season, the Pirates had 30 runs on 54 hits in their four victories.  In their losses?  Four runs on nine hits.

The pitching has been just as strange.  Paul Maholm is the only starter without a bad start (yet).  Zach Duke was lights out in his first two starts and then was lit up yesterday against the Braves. 

Ian Snell was awful in his first start, okay in his second, and lights out two days ago against Atlanta.  Ross Ohlendorf was stellar through six innings in his first start but couldn't find his control in his second.  Jeff Karstens was rusty in his only start so far.

The bullpen hasn't been much different.  Outside of Matt Capps and John Grabow, every reliever has struggled and succeeded at different points.

The team continues to hide Donnie Veal from hitters because of his control problems.  Eventually, this exercise might cause them to lose some games because they don't have that extra reliable arm available.

5. Joe Kerrigan was the team's biggest offseason acquisition

The team acquired a smattering of contributing players, but their biggest catch in the offseason was the much-heralded pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

Kerrigan has put the Pirates pitching staff back in a respectable light. The staff leads the majors in ERA and the top three starters are well on their way to much-improved seasons from 2008.

Kerrigan is a tinkerer, but not in the detrimental way that Spin Williams was in the early 2000s. Instead, Kerrigan battles with small things and end results. 

The even better side effect of his arrival?  He might have made Paul Maholm even better than he was last year and he might have finally put Zach Duke and Ian Snell on the road to consistent success.

He will be judged on how this team finishes, but its hard to imagine a more impressive start.

6. A healthy Freddy Sanchez makes all the difference

If there is anyone who can match Nyjer Morgan's torrid pace at the plate, its the guy hitting directly below him in the order.

Sanchez has been matching Morgan almost hit for hit this season, proving that being healthy again makes all the difference.

Last season, with an ailing shoulder and continual pain, Sanchez struggled through the season's first half. 

Now, he's poised to join the batting race once again.  If Morgan and Sanchez can keep hitting, the Pirates will score many more runs from the top of the order, a place that was death for them in 2008.

7. Paul Maholm is for real

Anyone who thought Maholm couldn't come out and keep getting guys out effectively was proven wrong.  In Maholm's first three starts of the season, he is 2-0 with an ERA under 1.00.

He looks comfortable and has been steady.  Maholm gives Pittsburgh something it hasn't had in years: a dependable ace arm at the top of the rotation.

If Maholm can keep up his pace, he could be a dark horse Cy Young candidate.  No one expected Tim Lincecum to lead the Giants the way he did.  Why not Maholm?

What We Still Want to Know...

1. Where's the power?

The Pirates have several power threats in the lineup.  The problem is that Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Adam LaRoche have been anything but consistent.  None is batting above .300 and none has emerged as the team's top home run threat.

The team has found some top of the order threats.  Now, the Pirates need someone to emerge as the power threat in the middle.  Only one Pirate has a multi-home run game in the middle of the order.  That would be platooning outfielder Craig Monroe.

2. Is Brandon Moss a bust?

Moss hasn't hit well in Pittsburgh and has been steady defensively.  He's in a platoon with Craig Monroe in right, but it hasn't served his numbers very well.  Instead, Moss looks a little lost and uncomfortable at the plate.

Moss supposedly has a nice power swing and the ability to be an effective platoon player.  If we don't see it soon, fans will be clamoring for Monroe full time or even Andrew McCutchen to replace Moss in the outfield.

3. Are Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens the answer?

Both Karstens and Ohlendorf have had success in their brief Pirates tenure.  The problem is that its not consistent.  If the rotation is to stabilize, these two need to step up and play ball.

Ohlendorf looked sharp in his first start.  He went six strong before a sudden failure to locate in the seventh inning.  In his second start, he looked uncomfortable and out of sync.  He walked the leadoff hitter and struggled to get through his innings.

Karstens was rusty in his first start and is still tinkering with a new arm slot for his delivery.  The results were mild at best.  Karstens will have to show soon whether or not he can be the team's fifth arm in the rotation after winning a narrow battle with Virgil Vasquez and Jason Davis.

4. Will this team find its stride?

The Pirates obviously (with a 6-6 record) can play .500 ball.  The question is can they do it over the long term?  The maddening inconsistency eventually will play out into some sort of pattern.

Which way that pattern goes is going to go a long way to determining if these Pirates are better than the last sixteen incarnations of doom.

The encouraging news is that the Pirates seem to have three locks in the rotation and a great back end of the bullpen.  They also have top of the order threats and the potential for good power through the middle of the order.

The trick is now for John Russell and company to hone these advantages into a consistent product on the field.

If the Pirates can win two or three out of every five from here on out, they will win 100+ games.  If they can win two or three out of every five most of the time and avoid some of the long slumps that have defined previous Pirates rosters, they have an easy chance to get to 81, the magic number for the fans.

So, for now it's six down, 75 to go to avoid history.

Maybe, just maybe this team has the potential to make 81 just part of the process.