Playing Pepper 2010: Pittsburgh Pirates

It's been a long time since there was much in Pittsburgh to cheer about.  Over a decade and a half of losing seasons will wear on you, I'd imagine.

Still, there are glimmers that, perhaps, Pittsburgh's day as an automatic doormat are over.  I got in touch with Pat from Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? to give us a look at the Bucs and their 2010 season.

AVS: Looking at the off-season from the standpoint that the team wanted to spend money and do so without blocking any of their developing young players, I think it was a fairly successful winter. They did manage to fill the one true gaping hole in their starting lineup by trading for Akinori Iwamura without giving much up (that's not to say that they don't have holes left, but the lineup is full of guys like Lastings Milledge and Andy LaRoche that have to play so the front office can figure out what to make of them) and while Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby are unspectacular, they do provide some nice depth. The one head-scratching move was the decision to non-tender Matt Capps, but by adding Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, Javier Lopez, and DJ Carrasco on the cheap, the bullpen is probably better now than it was at the end of last season, especially with the news that Joel Hanrahan's elbow is OK. If I had to give it a grade, I guess I'd go with a B or maybe a B-. Certainly nothing earth shattering, but besides the Capps release every move they made was a solid move that should improve the team a bit in 2010.

C70: What is the key to success for 2010?

AVS: Weirdly enough, given the way I answered this question last year, I'm pretty sure it's the pitching staff. I really, really like Charlie Morton and think he could have the kind of breakout the team waited for Ian Snell to have for years. Ross Ohlendorf is still a bit of a puzzle, but he made some big strides towards the end of the season last year in re-gaining some speed on his fastball, and Zach Duke and Paul Maholm are both solid, middle-to-back end rotation guys. Of course, strength is relative. When you hope that a team can win 75 games, there's not much good going on. 

C70: What could be their Achilles' heel?

AVS: Young players not improving. The team's best hope to be respectable is to get steps forward from Charlie Morton and Lastings Milledge and Jeff Clement and Andy LaRoche. If that doesn't happen ... it's gonna be a long year. 

C70: Who will be the team's MVP?

C70: Will a rookie make a significant impact on the team in 2010, and if so, who?

C70: Who will be the breakout player for the team?

C70: Which player will drop off the most from 2009?

C70: Who is the most likely player to be dangled as trade bait?

AVS: I'm going to take the positive outlook here (relatively positive, of course) and say the Pirates will win 74 games and finish in fifth place, just above the Astros. Though really, they're probably more likely to win 67 games and finish in last place again. But no! It's spring and I WILL have a positive outlook!

It's always good to hear from Pat and I appreciate him taking the time to answer these questions.  For so long now, we've taken Pittsburgh for granted.  I think the time is coming, and coming relatively soon, where that won't be such a slam dunk anymore.