Spring Training Thoughts

Spring Training opens for our beloved Pittsburgh Pirates in three days, and it occurs to me that The Grandstander has been very quiet on the subject of our favorite team this off-season.  In fact, in checking the archives, I see that I have written only one extensive post on them and that was back on December 14:
http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-tepid-hot-stove.html

Of course, others have been commenting extensively on the team's off-season, and not in very positive terms.  The comments have run along the lines of....Marlon Byrd is gone....no one to play right field....no one to play first base....what is going on with A.J. Burnett....and, the old standard, Nutting is cheap, doesn't want to win, and only wants to make money.  (As to that last statement, I will grant you that Bob Nutting does want to make money, he may very well be cheap, but I don't buy that he doesn't want to win.)  All of this hand-wringing and sturm und drang has led many to believe that (a) the Pirates have taken a step back, (b) 2013 was a fluke convergence of fate, and (c) the losing seasons will return beginning in 2014.

Well, as I have stated before, the Nutting-Coonelly-Huntington Management Team, and particularly Neal Huntington, bought themselves a lot of credibility with me last season, so I am not ready to replace my Jolly Roger with black crepe just yet.

Of course, there are questions:

Right Field. Looks like this spot will be manned by a Jose Tabata and Travis Snider.  I am hoping that the stuff being floated by the team about Snider's bad toe slowing him up last season is true, and that good things can be hoped for now that he is fully healthy.  If so, then perhaps this platoon could be an effective for the Bucs.  Maybe not All-Star caliber, but serviceable and productive.  And if not, we all know that Gregory Polanco awaits in Indianapolis and predictions of super stardom envelope him.  Even Huntington, who seems to never want to talk about bringing his prospects to Pittsburgh, has hinted that Polonco is "ready", and will probably be playing in PNC Park this season.  If nothing else, that should light a fire under the backsides of Tabata and Snider.

First base. Right now, it looks like it will be a platoon of Gaby Sanchez and Andrew Lambo.  Personally, I would love to see what Sanchez would produce playing strictly against LH pitching.  As for Lambo, well, that IS a question mark, but the guy was their minor league player of the year in 2013, so he deserves a shot to see what he can do.  Given the poor year of Garrett Jones last year, you might say that the Pirates are no worse off than they were for the first five months of last season.  That is damning with faint praise, to be sure, but I think that if most fans think this, then I am sure that NH does too, and that the situation at first base is far from a closed book, and the team doesn't play a game that counts for another 49 days.

Pitching/Burnett.  As of this morning, A.J. Burnett has not retired, has not yet signed with any other team, and will probably sign with the team who - get ready for this now - will pay him the most money.  If this surprises anyone, I can only ask, why?  He is 37 years old, and the Pirates are simply not going to give him a multi-year deal.  I know that the Pirates made him an offer of $10 million for one year.  That seems to be their limit, and they have been criticized for it, and a case could be made that they should open the vault and give hem whatever he wants.  It's easy to spend other people's money.

The fact is, however, the Pirates would be a better team on the first day of Spring Training if Burnett was on the roster, and if he does not return, someone is going to have to make up for those ten wins, 191 IP, and 209 K's. Who that might be will be a big question for Clint Hurdle and Ray Searage as they put the staff together to head North.  That pitcher could be Jeff Locke, presumably recovered from a back injury that made him all but disappear in the second half of last season.  It could be free agent signee Edinson Volquez, who everyone hopes that Searage can rescue his career as he did Francisco Liriano's last season.  It could be a healthy Wandy Rodriguez.  Or it could be June call-up Jameson Taillon, who some in the front office feel will be an even better pitcher than Garrett Cole.

No, the Pirates aren't the Cardinals or Dodgers, and perhaps not even the Washington Nationals (who, by the way, did not make the Playoffs last year), but I am far from convinced that a losing season is inevitable.  Yeah, there are questions, but those questions will make for an interesting and exciting Spring Training.

Can't wait for it to start.