Pittsburgh Pirates: Will Losing End in 2008?

There aren’t many stories about the Pittsburgh Pirates on this site.

And why should there be? The Pirates have had 15 losing seasons in a row. Fifteen. Futility like that doesn’t lend itself to much of a story, especially in May. So what if they win a few games? We all know how the tale is going to end.

But this year’s story might turn out differently. Let me stress the word might, because it would be crazy to guarantee or even suggest a team that lost 94 games last season could become a contender without adding a single important piece to its roster. That said, having followed the team closely through its first 36 games, I’ve come notice a few signs that this isn’t the Pirate team of the last 15 years.

So, without further ado, here are five reasons why the Pirates could contend either this year or in the near future.

1. Nate McLouth

Shocking, right? McLouth’s torrid start to the season—he hit safely in his first 19 games— is perhaps the only thing most people know about this year’s Pirate squad. Nonetheless, he must be mentioned, as he has continued to prove that he is not just a flash in the pan.

McLouth takes pitches, has a short, compact swing, plays an above average center field, and has power and speed to boot. He’s everything former General Manager Dave Littlefield always hoped Chris Duffy would become, but better. In a clubhouse survey conducted prior to the season, McLouth was the runaway choice among his teammates to be this year’s breakout player. It looks like they were right.

2. Pitching is the problem?

Much has been made, especially prior to the Pirates’ current winning streak, of the rotation’s struggles to begin the season. For many Pittsburgh fans, this was actually good news.

How could that possibly be good news? Well, for years, offense has been the much bigger problem. The young rotation has actually been the strength of the team, if a team that loses 90+ games each year can really have strengths.

So when the rotation is the unit holding the Pirates back, there’s at least a chance that they will turn it around. Recently, they have. Also of note, the Pirates are 17-14 in games that were not started by Matt Morris.

3. The established players are playing like established players.

Jason Bay. Adam LaRoche. Xavier Nady. Freddy Sanchez. These four are recognized as good baseball players. At his best, Bay is a perennial All-Star. Sanchez has won a batting title. LaRoche and Nady have shown that they are capable of driving in runs.

Suddenly, all four are playing well at the same time. Throw in McLouth’s tremendous start, the emergence of Ryan Doumit (the best switch-hitting catcher in baseball not named Matt Wieters), and the solid play of third baseman Jose Bautista, and you have a pretty formidable National League offense.

4. So far, management has made all the right moves.

President Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington, and manager John Russell are off to a pretty good start themselves. They didn’t panic in the off-season and trade Bay or Nady for 80 cents on the dollar. They gave McLouth the starting center field job, something Littlefield could never bear to do.

They acquired small pieces like set-up man Tyler Yates and fourth outfielder Jason Michaels for next to nothing. They cut Matt Morris instead of hiding from last season’s dreadful trade. After pitching coach Jeff Andrews met with the starters last week, the team has won five games in a row. It’s impossible to judge a management team after 36 games. But at least this group has made all the right moves so far.

5. There’s no reason this team can’t get better.

Every important player on the Pirates, except lefty reliever John Grabow, is young. Many of these players have shown what they can do, either over the past month-and-a-half or in recent years, and with good coaching there’s an opportunity for many to keep improving.

Management understands this, and has already locked up the nucleus of Bay, Sanchez, ace Ian Snell, and closer Matt Capps for several years. If McLouth continues to play like a premier center fielder, he should be the next Pirate to get a contract extension.

In addition, while the Pirates do not have one of the stronger farm systems in Major League Baseball, it is gradually being restocked. Stud outfielder Andrew McCutchen has been tearing up AAA since the first two weeks of the season, and the Pirates may also have their pitchers of the future in the minors in recent first-round draft picks Danny Moskos and Brad Lincoln. Holding the second overall pick in this year’s draft shouldn’t hurt the Pirates’ cause either.

Now that most of you think I am crazy, let me reiterate: It is very possible that the Pirates will commence their annual early summer slump soon and embark on another 90-loss campaign. But, for perhaps the first time in a while, there are real reasons to believe that this team could compete, contend, and win more games than it loses for the first time since 1992. That’s something, isn’t it?