And So It Ends....

As it did in 2014, the Pirates 2015 season ended with a Wild Card loss.  This time, it was 4-0 to Jake Arietta and the Chicago Cubs.

Much of the pre-game strum und drag  centered around Clint Hurdle's decision to start Sean Rodriguez and first base and sit Pedro Alvarez.  In what was thought would be a tight pitchers' duel, Hurdle and the Pirates' advanced metrics boys went with defense over offense.  Of course, the Cubs jumped to a 3-0 lead, and all of a sudden the Pirates had to play for offense, and Alvarez pinch hit for Rodriguez on his first turn in the order.  Alvarez responded by going 0-for-3 with three strike outs.  Of course, no one else in the line-up hit either, as the Pirates recorded only four hits, and Arietta continued his almost unprecedented streak of pitching excellence.

The game was also sparked by a benches clearing brawl in the seventh inning when Tony Watson hit Arietta in the butt with a pitched ball.  The back story here is that Arietta had previously plunked two Pirates, one of whom, Francisco Cervelli, had to quickly fall backwards as the ball was headed right for his face.  Anyway, Watson responded by hitting Arietta in his left ass cheek, about the least vulnerable spot to hit a batter.  Instead of taking first base, Arietta had to start jawing at Watson, and that led to the benches clearing.

I found it interesting that announcer Ron Darling, a pretty good pitcher in his day and a smart guy (he has a degree from Yale) to boot, said, and I am paraphrasing here, if you hit two of the other teams batters, you have a nice lead, and then you get plunked in the butt by the other team's pitcher, smile and jog down to first base.  If Arietta had done that instead of jawing with Watson, there would have been no incident.

Right now I am betting that Tony Watson is the most popular guy in the clubhouse amongst his teammates.

Back to Alvarez.  What we all saw last night was surely Pedro's last appearance in a Pirate  uniform.  How he was used by the Pirates this season made it apparent that the team had  lost their patience with such a one dimensional player, and the decision to not start him yesterday surly reinforced that notion.  I have always been a Pedro backer.  Many times over these last six seasons, and as recently as just this past Sunday afternoon, I have been in awe of how far he can hit a baseball.  Last night, however,  truly encapsulated the Conundrum that is Pedro Alvarez:  Over the course of 162 games, he will hit a lot of home runs, but when it comes down to any one specific game, he is far more likely to do what he did last night - strike out three times - than he is to launch one on the river walk.

I am sure that I will be writing a lot more about Pedro over the course of the off-season that started at about 11:00 last night.

It was certainly a disappointing end last night, but I am going to try, really try, not to let that sour finish mar what was a pretty terrific season for the Pirates.

How many days 'til pitchers and catchers report?

The Pirates Regular Season Ends

Back on April 3, I wrote a post on The Grandstander called "How I See the 2015 Pirates".  It consisted of 17 points concerning things I DO WORRY and I DO NOT WORRY about the Pirates as the season began.  You can go look it up if you care to do so, but on balance I think I did pretty well.  For example, I stated that I DO NOT WORRY about the top of the rotation, and "that Gerrit Cole is poised to become an elite pitcher in the National League."  

I believe I had that one.

I also said that 

"I DO NOT WORRY about Pedro Alvarez.  I believe that he will adapt well to his new position at first base, and I believe that he will hit between 28 and 36 HR's this year, and if he can somehow manage to hit in the neighborhood of .255 to .260, he will drive in 110 runs, give or take a half dozen."

Oh, well, you can't win 'em all.

As to the bottom line, I had this to say:

"I say that this all adds up to seeing this guy (the Jolly Roger) fly 91 times this season, and, what the hell, an NL Central Division Championship, edging out the always strong St. Louis Cardinals."

Wrong on both counts.  The Pirates did not edge out the Cardinals, which was not good, but they did win 98, not 91, games, which was fantastic.

Changes lie ahead for the Pirates following the post-season, and there will be plenty of time to ruminate on that when the time comes.  What is important to remember now, I think, is what an absolutely terrific season the Pirates gave us in 2015.  I said to my companions, Dan Bonk and Len Martin at the season finale yesterday, that I honestly believe that this 2015 team was one of the very best and most exciting Pirates teams that I have seen in my now fifty-seven seasons of following the team, and that includes three World Series winning years.  I truly mean that.

Regardless of whether the post season lasts one game or twenty games for the Bucs, this one was an absolute blast!

The Trade

The unofficial second half of the season started disastrously.  A 1-5 road trip, an injury to SS Jordy Mercer, which, coupled with the earlier injury to Josh Harrison, had forced the Pirates to play bench guys like Sean Rodriguez on a regular basis, and plug Quad-A (at best) players like Brent Morel and Pedro Florimon into the starting line-up.  Pirates naysayers were heading to the Clemente Bridge to leap off because, surely, GM Neal Huntington was never going to be able to pull the trigger to make a deadline deal that would help this team.  And the first place Nationals, who swept the Pirates last month were coming to town.  Armageddon was certainly upon us.

Then, late yesterday afternoon, news came of the trade that Huntington pulled off with the Brewers to land Aramis Ramirez.  And what did he give up?   Prized prospects like Josh Bell, Alen Hanson, or Tyler Glasnow?  Nope.  Relief pitcher Yhonathan Barrios.  Now, Barrios may turn out to be a good pitcher for the Brewers someday, but in my mind, when you get an every day player, especially one with Ramirez' credentials, for a relief pitcher, and a minor league one at that, you have made a good deal.

And while he money aspects of trades don't interest me - these teams have the money - the Brewers are still going to pay half of the $6 million salary that is due Ramirez for the remainder of the season.  How did Huntington, who was in a desperate buyer's mode, manage to get the Brewers to agree to that?

Yes, Ramirez is now 37 years old, and has indicated that he will retire after this, his 18th season in the majors.  He is not the dangerous slugger he once was, but even today, after a horrid first month of the season, he has 11 HR, 42 RBI, and a .725 OPS.  Put him in the batting order behind Andrew McCutchen, and he is an improvement over every other guy who has been in this slot this season.  He will fill the gap at third to allow Jung Ho Kang to play short and cover for the injured Harrison and Mercer.  He is exactly the kind of pick up the team needed at this point in the season.  And he has now been taken from a team going nowhere and put on a team in the middle of a pennant race.  You would think, you would hope, that this will rejuvenate him and motivate him to make this final half season of his career a stellar one.  We shall see.

Finally, there is the delicious karma of Ramirez coming BACK to the Pirates in the midst of a pennant race.  No need to recount the painful circumstances of the horrendous salary dump deal in 2003 when Kevin McClatchey forced Dave Littlefield to get rid of perhaps the team's best player and brightest young star in years for a collection of used jock straps and batting practice baseballs.  (Someday, I hope Dave Littlefield will write a book and explain HIS side of that awful transaction.)  If A-Ram can manage 8-10 home runs and 30 or so RBI's over what time he has here, it will be one terrific story.

Seven days remain before the trade deadline, and reports are that the Pirates are in the hunt for another pitcher.  I have full confidence that GM Neal is working the phones diligently to pull of something that will help this team down the stretch.  He proved yesterday that he can make things like that happen.

The Was The Weekend That Was

Some closing thoughts on what was an astonishing weekend of Pirates baseball.....

• As hard as it might be to believe, the ten inning 6-5 win on Sunday may have been even more improbable than the 14 inning 6-5 win on Saturday.
• Two weeks ago this morning, the Pirates were nine games behind the Cardinals.  today they are two and one-half games behind.  Making up 6.5 games in fourteen days is almost unbelievable.  If something  like this happened in, say, the last two weeks of September, it would be deemed to be historic. Of course, the Cardinals are STILL in first place, so this is a long way from over.
• Ace Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal gave up more runs this weekend - four - than he had in the entire season leading up to this weekend - three.
• After listening to a polished national Fox broadcast by Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz, last night we were treated to the folly of the three man booth used by ESPN.  Play-by-play man Dan Schulman is okay, but you also have to deal with John Kruk in his role as the Fat Guy Buffoon and the endless bloviations of Curt Schilling, a man deeply in love with the sound of his own voice.
• For all that, Schilling did say two things of note in the tenth inning last night.  As the Pirates were mounting their rally, he noted that, and I am paraphrasing here, "if these guys come back and win again tonight, it might be the springboard for something really special this season".  And when the game ended, he said, that no matter what the score might be in any game for the rest of the season, the Pirates will never again feel like they are out of the game.
• Remember the cries in the not so distant past that Gregory Polanco should be returned to the minors?  In the last seven days, in 26 at bats, he is hitting .308 with 4 RBIs, 3 Runs Scored, 7 walks (against only 3 K's), and sports an OPS of .878.  And three of his hits were game winners.
• Remember the cries at the end of Spring Training that Jung Ho Kang should start the season in Indy and that someone like, say, Steve Lombardozzi (who did out hit Kang in the Grapefruit League) should come north with the team.  How might that have worked out?
• The Pirates return form the All-Star break with series in Milwaukee and Kansas City, and then a home series against the Nationals.  As a friend of mine might put, that's a lot of grass to mow.
• As great as the recent 8-2 home stand was, it should not be forgotten that Josh Harrison is out for the foreseeable future.  That loss is going to be felt eventually, and I am sure that it will factor into whatever trade deadline machination Neal Huntington will try to pull off.
• Have you watched the highlights of the last two games synced with the radio play-by-play of Greg Brown?  It is classic, but I truly fear for the man's health if this keeps up.  Hope an EMS guys is standing by with the paddles for the rest of the way.

As far as what to expect once the second half begins on Friday, I can only offer the following advice:

Oh, What A Night....Pirates 6 - Cardinals 5 in 14!

With all due respect for the win in the 2013 Wild Card Game against the Reds, the Pirates 14 inning win over the Cardinals last night surely must rank as perhaps the most strange, weird, exciting, and (perhaps, time will tell) important Pirate win in the fifteen year history of PNC Park.  I am pleased to say that I put an ass-groove in my sofa by staying with all fourteen innings and all five hours and four minutes of it.

If you care enough about this sort of thing, you already know what happened, so I'll give no play-by-play recap here, but I will say that this is the kind of game that makes baseball the best sport there is.  Consider.....

• Horrendous umpiring
• Second inning ejections of Francisco Cervelli and Clint Hurdle
• Some innings where the Pirates looked totally impotent at the plate with some god-awful at bats
• Key hits when it counted from unlikely sources (AJ Burnett and Chris Stewart)
• Great pitching from seven Pirates pitchers (same with the Cardinals)
• A triple and continued great defense from Jung Ho Kang
• Stewart picking Yadier Molina off of first base
• A key hit from Pedro Alvarez against a left hander
• The possibility of Gerrit Cole being used as a pinch hitter
• A key hit by Neil Walker to lead of the bottom of the fourteenth
• And, of course, that walk-off home run by McCutchen

What a game, and it gives the Bucs a chance to take three of four against the Cardinals with a win tonight.

Let me take detour from the game itself to talk about the Fox Network telecast of the game last night.  If you were watching this game with an eye on The Faceboook, it is apparent that most people take the knee-jerk reaction to dislike the national announcers before a pitch is even thrown.  However, I really enjoyed the Fox broadcast team of Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz.  Vasgersian did a smooth job of play-by-play and Smoltz is really smart and offers great insight into the game.  He has taken all the smarts that led to a terrific career and a spot in Cooperstown right into the booth with him.

No, paranoid Pirates fans, I do NOT think that they favored the Cardinals, and, yes, I felt they were equal in their praise of the Pirates and their players.  (There's a reason that broadcasters "slobber" over Yadier Molina, folks - he really IS that good.)  I loved how the fact that Vasgersian has to be in Cincinnati this afternoon to broadcast the Futures Game became a comic thread of the broadcast as the game went on and on and on.  This is entertainment, folks, it ain't hearts and livers, as we used to say at Highmark.

I also liked how Vasgersian and Smoltz spoke of another subtext of the game, Andrew McCutchen's 17 game hitting streak.  Despite an 0-for-3 start followed by three bases on balls, how Cutch was STILL getting chances to continue the streak, which he ended up doing in a most spectacular fashion.  It should also be noted that as soon as Walker led off the fourteenth with that single, Smoltz immediately noted that you could "not underestimate the importance of that hit.  Now the Cardinals have to pitch to McCutchen."  That's pretty keen analysis, and, of course, McCutchen made him look like a prophet.

So, I say, I'll listen to a telecast from Vasgersian and Smoltz anytime!

One cool thing about the Internet is that this morning you were able to watch the replay of Cutch's home run in three different versions: Vasgersian's call on the Fox telecast, Greg Brown's and Steve Blass' call on the Pirate radio network, and the Cardinals call on their radio broadcast.  Fabulous stuff.

As the headline says, Oh, What A Night!

On the Fourth, Smart Phones, Collins, the Pirates, St. Vincent College, and Go USA!!

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box.....

Happy Fourth of July, everyone (one day late).  Hope you all had a safe and happy day with family and friends.  Our day ran late yesterday, so we were sorry to have missed out on seeing a Holiday Tradition - watching A Capitol Fourth from Washington DC on PBS.  I saw today that the featured performer was Barry Manilow.  Didn't feel quite so bad then.  Actually, I wouldn't have minded listening to Manilow perform.  He's just hard to watch these days after all that bad plastic surgery.

********

There was another Fourth Tradition that we did not miss - the Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island.  In case you missed it, eight time defending champion Joey Chestnut was upset by young Matthew Stonie, 62 dogs to 60.  The King is dead; long live the King.

I saw in the paper that both Chestnut and Stonie are from San Jose, CA.  What, if anything, to made of that?

********

After years of resistance, Marilyn and I finally succumbed to inevitable progress and purchased smart phones last month.  I swore up and down that I would never become one of "those" people, but since getting the gadget, I confess to having done the following:

• Taken selfies on the golf course
• Taken a picture of a pizza I was eating for lunch and posting it on Facebook
• Having my cute ringtone ("My Girl" by the Temptations) go off during a meeting I was having with some executives at Highmark
• "Checked In" while eating at a restaurant
• Texting.  Lots of texting. Including pictures.
• Probably several other things that I said I would never do, but can't think of at the moment.

I will admit, however, that while I could live without it, it is a nice thing to have.

********

I have often written about one of my favorite authors, Max Allan Collins.  The last time I did, I gave a less than favorable review of the last book of his that had read.  Well, in checking out Collins' website (www.maxallancollins.com) a few weeks ago, he mentioned and hyperlinked my Grandstander post of the review.  I was stunned!  I responded to him on his site, and we had an interesting and thoughtful exchange.  He mentioned that he pays close attention to less than favorable reviews (unless they are just all out, hate filled hatchet jobs).  It was a very interesting experience.

The lesson here is that authors, DO pay attention to what is written.  Also, they very much value reviews that readers post on sites such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble,  Goodreads, and other such sites.

********

As I am typing this, the Pirates are playing their 81st game (the literal halfway point of the season), and are leading the Indians 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Should the score hold, they will have a record of 47-34, and be either 5 or 6 games behind the first place Cardinals.  Seven games will remain before the All-Star Break, including a four game series with the Cardinals next weekend.

There is not  a lot to complain about (although plenty of people ARE finding such things).  The team has the second best record in the NL and the fourth best in all of MLB.  Unfortunately, the team with the best record, the Cardinals, are in the same division.  All the more reason that series next weekend looms large.

The pitching has been outstanding.  The hitting could be better, and it will be interesting to see what Neal Huntington will do as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.  In the past, it has often been pitching that the team has sought, but it seems to me that the acquisition of a hitter, or "a bat' as the current lingo goes, would be the priority.

I will probably reflect more on the first half performance over the Break.

********

Marilyn and I did something a little different this past Wednesday night.  We drove to Latrobe, specifically St. Vincent College, to take in a play at their Summer Theater program. The play was "Tuesdays with Morrie", Mitch Albom's one act play based upon his best selling book of the same title.  If you are not familiar with the book, it is about the weekly visits that Albom made to Morrie Schwartz, his college sociology professor who was dying form ALS.  Like the book, the play was a very profound and moving experience.

********

This was my first visit to St. Vincent College since, I am going to say, 1980 or -81, when I visited a Steelers training camp.  The campus has changed A LOT in those thirty-plus years, and it is one of the most beautiful ones that you will find anywhere.  

A visit to Steelers Training Camp used to be a regular summer trip for my Dad and I, but since those days, it has become a real extravaganza, and I have really never had the desire to fight the crowds and do it again.  I did, however, pay proper homage to the Hallowed Ground before entering the St. Vincent Theater:

Memory can be selective, but I can definitely say these practice fields were NOT this nice back in the early 1980's.

Those photos, by the way, were taken with my new smart phone.

********

I am looking forward to watching the Championship Game tonight of the Women's World Cup.

Go USA!!!!

The Pirates - 31 Games In

I have been fairly quiet, at least on this Blog, about the State of the Pirates in 2015.  It was my intention all along to wait until about 30 games, or approximately 20% of the season was in the books.  The conclusion of a weekend series with the Cardinals allowed for the perfect demarcation point.  Thirty-one games, almost twenty percent of the season.  

So, here we go.

The team sits at 15-16, tied for third in the NL Central, and seven games behind the Cardinals.  Certainly not what we had hoped for, but not worth jumping off of the Fort Duquesne Bridge, either.  (In case you were wondering, the 2014 team was 12-19 and the 2013 team was 17-14 after thirty-one games).  Here is one thing about this first fifth of the season that does raise a red flag for me, though.  The combined record for the Pirates against the Cardinals, Reds, and Cubs stands at 6-13; they are 11-14 in the division overall,  thanks to a 5-1 record against Milwaukee.  Still early, still a small sample size, but it is a continuation of a disturbing trend from last year when the team went 22-35 against the Cardinals, Reds, and Brewers, and 36-40 in the Central Division.  Perhaps that two-of-three series win against St. Louis this weekend will signal an upward trend going forward.

As for individual performances, the starts of Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison, and Jordy Mercer have been disappointing.  Up until a week ago, all three carried batting averages below .200.  McCutchen seems to have righted the ship.  In the last seven days, he has batted .333 with an OPS of .885 to bring his numbers up to .223 and .658.  Harrison and Mercer remain at .173 / .491 and .194 / .481, and, if anything, their "last 7 days" numbers appear to the trending down.

I have no concerns, none, that McCutchen will be the MVP caliber player that we have seen over the course of his career.  We have also seen this before with Mercer.  In 2014, he was awful at the plate through mid-May, but was solid from that point forward.  The team can only hope that that happens again. As for Harrison, many people had to wonder about the breakout season he had in 2014.  Was it real, or was he a One Hit Wonder who would regress to being the utility guy he had been throughout his career?  The jury is still out on that, and I am sure that the people who made the decision to give him that big contract are rolling their rosary beads over the outcome on how this one will play out.

As for others, Starling Marte looks like he will have a big breakout season, Gregory Polonco is still learning, and Neal Walker is having a solid year at .287 with a .767 OPS (and his "last 7" numbers, .389 and 1.059, are off the charts)

And then there is Pedro Alvarez.  He seems to be handling the move to first base reasonably well, defensively.  His offensive numbers, however, sit at .217 with 5 HR, 14 RBI, and a.753 OPS.  Oh, and 27 K's in 92 at bats.  Alvarez has now accumulated over 2,100 at bats in the major leagues.  We can probably draw some conclusions.  He's going to hit 25-30 HR's in a season, drive in about 90 runs, hit about .235, and strike out 180 or so times.  He will make our jaws drop with some of the blasts that he will hit, and he will drive us totally nuts when he looks completely impotent at the plate swinging and missing while striking out in key situations.  Love him or hate him, what we have seen is what he is.

As far as the pitching is concerned, I will only say this: if the starting pitching continues to perform as it has over the first 31 games, I will sign up for that right now and take my chances with how the team will fare in the standings when 162 games are in the books.  Gerrit Cole has been a real ace, A.J Burnett has been a revelation, Liriano has been solid, and even the back end of the rotation, Worley and Locke have been serviceable.  The back end of the bullpen, Hughes, Watson, and Melancon (after a shaky start) are getting the job done, and there are a couple of other guys in the pen who are intriguing, particularly Arqueimedes Caminero.  I want to see more of him as the season rolls on.

And how about that guy pictured at the top of this post?  The decision to bring Jung Ho Kang north with the team caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth among some Pirates followers.  Heck, even the decision to sign him in the first place out of the Korean Baseball Organization was questioned.  Not so much today.  Granted, questions remain, but as of this morning, Kang is hitting .333 with 2 HR, 9 RBI, and .898 OPS in only 48 at bats.  He is arguably the hottest hitter on the team.  Clint Hurdle has done a great job in finding playing time for him, and he must absolutely, one would think, continue to somehow keep him in the lineup while his bat remains hot.  He has also looked quite good in the field at both 2B and 3B.

In conclusion, yeah, you wish they were doing better, but it is early.  A well placed hit in any of those three games in St. Louis last week would have meant a three game sweep for the Pirates against  the Cards, and a record of 18-13 today, and talk of ordering playoff tickets for October.  It didn't happen that way, and we will all just see how it will even out, or if it will even out, over the course of 162 games.

There is no definitive answer as to when "Hey, it's still early" turns into "Hey, these guys better start moving here" which turns into "Hey, this season is a goner".  We just have to sit back, enjoy the action day by day, and, dare I say it, take it one game at a time.

How I See the 2015 Pirates

Well, the time has come to forecast how our favorite baseball team will do in 2015.  I can honestly state that I am as excited for and as optimistic about the Pirates chances for success in 2015 as I have been since the halcyon days of Bonds, Bonilla, Van Slyke, Drabek and the Leyland teams of the early 1990's.  However, before I come down with a prediction for the season, I thought I would structure this post a little differently than I have in past seasons.  Instead of painting-by-the-numbers in a position by position analysis, I thought I would list the things about the Pirates that I DO NOT WORRY about and the things about which I WORRY.  That way, I can always say that these are only my opinions so no one can point out how wrong I was at the end of the season.

That said, here we go....

1. I DO NOT WORRY about the outfield.  The trio of Marte-McCutchen-Polonco will be one of the best in MLB this season.  McCutchen and Marte will be All-Stars. Polonco will be by 2016.
2. I DO NOT WORRY about Pedro Alvarez.  I believe that he will adapt well to his new position at first base, and I believe that he will hit between 28 and 36 HR's this year, and if he can somehow manage to hit in the neighborhood of .255 to .260, he will drive in 110 runs, give or take a half dozen.
3. I WORRY about injuries.  The loss of players like McCutchen, Cole, Walker, Cervelli, or Liriano for any significant length of time could render all predictions moot.
4. I have heard enough good things about Francisco Cervelli that I DO NOT WORRY about the catching position, however, all such reports contain the caveat "if he can stay healthy", something that he has not been able to do throughout his career.
5. I WORRY about the catching position if Cervelli reverts (see #3 above) to form and cannot  catch 135 - 140 games for the team.
6. I DO NOT WORRY about the top of the rotation.  I think that Gerrit Cole is poised to become an elite pitcher in the National League.  I think that Francisco Liriano will be just fine.  I think that Charlie Morton could be okay, but will concede that he remains, in large part, an unproven front line starter over the course of a 162 game schedule.
7. I WORRY about which A.J. Burnett will pitch this year.  The one who, it can be argued, played such a large role in turning this team around in 2013-14, or the one who may have been the worst starting pitcher in the NL in 2014.  He is 38 years old.  How much is left in the tank?
8. I DO NOT WORRY about Neil Walker.  Period.  (However, see #3 above.)
9. I DO NOT WORRY about Jung Ho Kang.  As of now, he is a utility infielder and pinch hitter.  I trust the Pirates scouting and judgement on this one.  Does that mean he's a sure thing?  Of course not, but I think when it's all said and done, it's going to work out for the Pirates.
10. I WORRY that Josh Harrison's 2014 season may turn out to have been a one hit wonder.  His performance in the spring suggests otherwise, if you want to put any stock in Spring Training stats.  Harrison has earned his starting position at third base going into the season.  Let's hope for more of the same in 2015.
11. I DO NOT WORRY about Neal Huntington.  Yeah, I know that there are Grandstander posts from 2010 through 2013 that ripped Neal pretty good, but he has proven to me that his "plan" was the right way to go, and that his judgement has proven, for the most part, to be accurate.  Does that mean I'll agree with everything he has done and will do?  Not at all (for example, I'd feel much better if it was Travis Snider and not Andrew Lambo as the fourth outfielder), and his ability to talk for hours and say nothing will still drive me nuts, but, all things considered, he's earned his stripes.
12. Ditto for Clint Hurdle.  I DO NOT WORRY about him, either.
13. I DO NOT WORRY about the bullpen.  Tony Watson and Mark Melancon are solid at the back end.  As for the other guys, Huntington has always managed to put together a good bullpen ever since he came here, and I'm confident that he will do it again for 2015, even should Menalcon falter (as closers have been known to do).
14. I DO NOT WORRY about the front office not pulling the trigger if certain guys do not work out.  In what has been a bland spring training, people are looking  for things to complain about and they are finding it with role players like Corey Hart, Chris Stewart, Stolmey Pimentel, and Jung Ho Kang.  If these guys aren't contributing and the Bucs are in a pennant race, which I believe they will be, I have confidence that Nutting-Coonelly-Huntington will make the moves that need to be made.
15. I DO NOT WORRY about the bench.  I think that Hart, Sean Rodriguez, and Kang will be solid contributors given the roles they have been assigned.  It wasn't so long ago that the team was signing guys like Hart and Rodriguez to be starters (do I have to list the names for you?).  If that were the case this year, then I would WORRY.
16. I DO NOT WORRY about who the fifth starter is.  If Locke falters, Worley will replace him, and vice versa.  There is a reason these guys were competing for the fifth starting position in the rotation.  And there is depth in Indianapolis.
17. As alluded to in #6 above, I WORRY, a bit, about Charlie Morton being consistent and effective for 25-30 starts a year.

So, how does that all stack up, grade-wise:

Outfield - Excellent

Infield - Good to Very Good

Catching - Uneven, but with a chance to be Okay to Good

Starting Pitching - Good, with a chance to be Very Good

Bullpen - Very Good

Bench - Good

Depth in the Minors - Good, especially at Pitching

The Pirates will have to play better within the Central Division this season.  In 2014, the Pirates went a combined 22-35 against the Cardinals, Brewers, and Reds, and even with a 14-5 record against the Cubs, they were below .500 (36-40) in the Central.  They have to improve on that, and I am thinking, hoping, that this year they will take the next steps to improve that intra-divisional performance.

I say that this all adds up to seeing this guy fly 91 times this season, and, what the hell, an NL Central Division Championship, edging out the always strong St. Louis Cardinals.

And speaking of the Central Division, I do see it as a battle between the Pirates and Cardinals this year.  By all accounts, the Brewers and Reds have stepped back this year, and it is the Cubs who are the chic and trendy pick to surprise major league baseball this season.  I heard Tim Kurkjian on the radio recently say that, yes, with all of the young talent that seems destined to arrive in Chicago this season, the Cubs could win 95 games this year.  However, because the team is so young, they could also win 75 games.  I will believe in the Cubs when they actually do something, so I will guess that the win total at Wrigley this year will be closer to 75 than to 90.

Okay, these guys are ready....

....this guy is ready....

....and I'm ready for some games that count.  Oil up the old Rawlings, rub up the baseballs, file the spikes, and let's play ball!

See you soon at PNC Park, and Let's go Bucs!!!!

The Pirates Are On TV Today!

It has occurred to me that The Grandstander has been somewhat silent on the subject of the Pirates this off season, an off season in which the Pirates, I believe, did fairly well for themselves.  Well, as the headline mentions, the Bucs' opening Grapefruit League game this afternoon against the Blue Jays will be televised on the MLB Network today, so I suppose it's time to throw out the first (blog) pitch of the season.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing to watch this spring training will be the development and deployment of this guy, Korean League hot shot Jung Ho Kang.

You know the story.  The Pirates posted $5 million dollars to the Korean Baseball League just to have the rights to try to sign Kang, and then signed him to a multi-year contract that will pay him another $5 million.  (The very idea of the Pirates doing a deal such as this would have been positively unimaginable four or five years ago.  Kang may or may not work out for the Pirates, but the team should be applauded for this outside-the-box approach in securing talent for the major league team.)  Kang was short stop in Korea and that is where he will begin as a Pirate, but the team also indicated that they will try him out at first, second, and third base during the spring.

This raises the following questions:

• What happens to Jordy Mercer?  I can't imagine Mercer losing the SS job, but if he starts out in 2015 like he did in 2014, when he was hitting below .200 one month into the season....
• Was the 2014 performance of Josh Harrison an aberration or the real deal?  That is one of the big questions going into this season in my mind, and it seems, the team's as well.  If Harrison continues this year as he did last year, great, but if not, the team needs a Plan B, and it obviously isn't Pedro Alvarez at third.  Which leads us to perhaps the biggest question of the 2015 season....
• Pedro Alvarez at first base.  Can he adapt to the new position?  I don't think that that will be the issue.  I'm not saying that playing first base in the major leagues is easy, but let's face it, we've all seen a lot of butchers playing the position over the years.  The question is, will Pedro return to hitting 30+ home runs and driving in 100+ runs this season.  If he can do that, you won't be seeing Jung Ho Kang or any one else with a first baseman's mitt any time soon.
• The signing of Kang also makes it clear that the Pirates do not expect to have Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez after they reach free agent eligibility.  That is a topic that deserves an entirely separate Grandstander post some other day.
• And, of course, the biggest question of all:  Will the ability that Kang showed in the Korean League (40 HR power, which the Pirates are not expecting) translate to being a solid Major League ball player? As I said, it will be one of the more intriguing stories of spring training and on into the season.

Gone from the team this year are Ike Davis, Gaby Sanchez, and Travis Snyder.  New to the team are free agent signees Corey Hart and Sean Rodriguez.  Hart will be called upon to spell Alvarez at 1B, and Rodriguez will be an spare infielder and pinch hitter.  I believe that these are solid additions to the team.  Remember, these guys are being signed as bench players.  Five years ago, they would have been signed as starters.  How far this team has come.

I believe that Snyder will be missed as the fourth outfielder and a pinch hitter.  The outfield of Marte-McCutchen-Polanco is set and could be one of the best in all of MLB, so crying about who will be the fourth outfielder is yet another sign of how far the team has come.  That role will be up for grabs and among those competing for it will be Jose Tabata and Andrew Lambo.  It could be the last time around for each of these guys as far as being Pirates is concerned.

Also missing this year is catcher Russell Martin, and no doubt about it, this is a loss that will be difficult to fill.  The team is banking on newly acquired Francisco Cervelli staying healthy for 130-140 games this years, something that Cervelli has never been able to do in his career.  There are few questions about the Pirates everyday line-up, but there is no denying that there is a Big Question behind the dish for them.

The biggest question about the Pirates pitching is which one of the six starters -  Cole, Liriano, Burnett, Morton, Locke, and Worley - will not make the five man rotation.  Nice problem to have.

Lots of reasons to be optimistic about the 2015 Pirates, and it all begins this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Let's Go Bucs!