Why not us?

The Bucs used to have "Why not us?" as their slogan, for the fans it's been 15 years of "Why us?" The Pirates may be the worst run franchise in sports over the last 10 years. They transitioned from the Bonds/Bonillia/Drabek team to a team of Kendell/Giles/Benson to a current team of Bay/Sanchez/Gorzelanny. That is a downward spiral Trent Reznor would applaud. The biggest problem has been the draft. The Pirates have had high draft choices, but have avoided big name players because of signability issues. Instead the Pirates have focused on pitching early despite conventional wisdom stating you should get hitters early and draft quantities of pitching due to how many pitchers burn out before the majors. Last years first round pick Brad Lincoln (pitcher) just underwent major reconstructive elbow surgery.

The club also lacks any vision in assembling a team. Last year the Pirates traded one of their best hitters, Craig Wilson, for Shawn Chacon who was going to be released by the Yankees. The reasons were two-fold: Wilson wasn't a good enough fielder according to the Pirates and he couldn't get on the field due to Jeremy Burnitz. The Pirates then proceeded to sign Xavier Nady, almost the exact same player statistically. The signing of low rate veterans has also been a problem. Over the years Burnitz, Joe Randa, Matt Stairs, Reggie Sanders, and worst of all Raul Mondesi who quit and Derek Bell of Operation Shutdown have been clogging up the field. The Pirates have consistently taken two or three older players no one else wants and overpaying them instead of paying one veteran that could help the team. This link will further pain a Pirates fan as it is a list of the 10 worst moves over the last few years.

The strong point of the current team is actually pitching even if it is young. Starters Tom Gorzelanny (24) and Ian Snell (25) both have ERAs under 2.00, Zack Duke (24) has had two great outings and one terrible outing. Paul Maholm (25) has a career ERA around 4.30 and Maholm, Duke, and Gorzelanny are all lefties. The Bucs have no fifth guy currently as Tony Armas or Shawn Chacon are bp quality (gas station or batting practice equally applies). Relievers Jonah Bayliss (26) and Matt Capps (23) could turn into quality short relief/set-up/closer types depending on progress. The rest of the bullpen is old, bad, or a combination except for Damaso Marte who will be traded before the season is over to a team in need of a situational lefty.

Now for the really bad part. This team, as assembled, has way to many players that are exactly the same. Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy are both below average CFs with below average bats. Freddy Sanchez and Jose Castillo both can only play second leaving a weak hitting Jose Bautista for third. Jack Wilson actually cries when runners are in scoring position and he is up. The only other infielder is Don Kelly who is 6'4" and weighs 190 pounds (enough said). Adam LaRoche is batting .116 and effectively blocking both Ryan Doumit and Brad Eldred from seeing any playing time to evaluate their talents. Doumit could also catch, but the club is infatuated with Ronny Palino who is batting .214 and has a career slugging percentage under .390. The Pirates also carry career backup Humberto Cota so they have three catchers and no flexibility while Doumit oscillates between positions and triple-A. Xavier Nady blocks Eldred in right or he could move to center but he has also Cansecoed one off his head for a homer already this year.

Finally, the Pirates are a week fielding team with no flexibility due to the above. Bay is a below average leftfielder with limited range and a weak arm. McLouth/Duffy are average or worse in center and Nady is below in center or right. Eldred would be average at best in right. Bautista has been shaky already at third and there is no alternative there as Castillo has never played the position and Sanchez doesn't have the arm.

The only hope for the Pirates is for the starters to continue to work deep and win games 3-2. The Pirates can't score and give up too many cheap runs due to poor defense. Other than those simple flaws everything is fine in Pittsburgh. Well at least the stadium rocks. And it's easy to sneak beer into. Which is good if you actually have to watch the Bucs play.