Playing Pepper 2010: Pittsburgh Pirates

Last year before the season began, I posed five questions to a blogger for each team, so as to get to know the rest of baseball.  I focus so heavily on the Cardinals that sometimes the rest of MLB can pass me by.  That went very well, so much so that it spawned not only a postseason edition but was part of the impetus for the formation of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

So this year, I've brought Playing Pepper back, with a little bit of a twist.  Instead of five questions, I posed 10 questions, and this year every team got the same set.  Plus, tapping into those BBA connections, I sent them to every blogger representing that team in the BBA.

We'll try to do two a day in a general alphabetical order---ah, who are we kidding, we'll get them up when we get them up.

Pittsburgh Pirates
2009 Finish: 62-99, fifth in the NL Central

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Also on the Network: √ Doing It The Hard Way [C70 At The Bat] √ Bobby Jenks Saves Sox's Win Over Seattle [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Deadline moves [Feeling Dodger Blue] √ Manny's impact [Feeling Dodger Blue] √ Shea Stadium Plays Citi Field [Loge 13] √ Frustration Revisted [C70 At The Bat] √ Not So Fast, T-Mac [Tremendous Upside Potential] √ Payroll breakdown [Feeling Dodger Blue]

C70: How was the off-season?  What kind of grade would you give it?AVS: Success is a funny thing for a team in the Pirates' position. They're certainly not winning the World Series this year, but if they get good performances from Milledge and LaRoche without Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones dropping off the map, if the pitching staff (especially Charlie Morton and Ross Ohlendorf) keeps making strides under Joe Kerrigan, if some of their young prospects (Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, Brad Lincoln, Tony Sanchez) keep making strides, and if they draft well again then 2010 can be a successful year for the team, even if they only win 70 or 75 games. Actually, they haven't won that many games since 2004, so maybe 70 wins is a success either way. 

C70: What will be the team's strength?AVS: I think Andrew McCutchen is a safe bet here. Even if his hitting tails off a bit, he's still a great base runner (32 steals in 39 attempts between Triple-A and Pittsburgh last year) and he's a good bet to turn in an above average season in the field at a key defensive position. I guess if he really tails off someone like Garrett Jones or Andy LaRoche could be the team's most valuable player, but geez, if that happens ....

AVS: Well, the obvious answer here is Pedro Alvarez, who destroyed Double-A pitching in his first professional season last year after an eight-month layoff and a rusty debut in the High-A Carolina League. He's supposedly spent a good chunk of the off-season getting into better shape and though the team wants him to start the year off in Triple-A in the name of not rushing him and not starting his free agency clock, he should be in Pittsburgh by around the All-Star break or a bit earlier. Brad Lincoln might see some time with the Bucs, but he's still got some issues to iron out in the minors and I'm not sure his ceiling is much past a mid-rotation guy. Jose Tabata is still a year away. 

AVS: I think I telegraphed my answer already; I'm going with Charlie Morton. After putting up some good Triple-A numbers, Morton struggled with his control with the Braves in 2008 and got shipped to Pittsburgh in the Nate McLouth trade. With the Pirates he hit his rough spots, but he mostly got his command sorted out and posted an excellent ground ball rate in his 18 starts with the Bucs. If he can move his strikeout rate north from the 5.7 K/9 he posted with the Pirates towards the 8.0 or so he put up in Triple-A, he's going to surprise some people this year. 

AVS: Jones and McCutchen could both drop off considerably and still have good seasons, since they both appeared to be playing a bit over their heads last year. Ross Ohlendorf is also a decent bet since he posted a sub-4.00 ERA, but without the peripherals to back it up. He's a bit of an unknown quantity, though, because his fastball came back to life at the end of the season and helped spur a strong finish. 

AVS: Probably Ryan Doumit. There's a decent chance that last year's first rounder Tony Sanchez is going to fly through the organization and if that happens while Doumit simultaneously has a good, healthy start (and health is never assured with Doumit) to the season, the Pirates may look to trade him while his value is as high as it's going to go. Zach Duke and Paul Maholm are also possibilities, but I think the front office would want quite a haul for either of them and I doubt this year will be the year that either of them goes anywhere. Of course, I never imagined Nate McLouth being traded last year, so anything's still possible right now. 

C70: What will be the team's final record and divisional standing?

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