It’s no secret that the Pirates struggle to win ballgames. Generally, it’s been this way for the last two decades, ever since the departure of stars like Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek. But as we approach TWENTY straight years of losing, it continues to get less and less bearable. The patience of many Pirate fans has gone away long ago, and it’s getting increasingly hard for younger fans to root for a team that they have never seen as a winner. To make matters worse for the Bucs, the Pirates play in a city where fans are accustomed to winning teams, with the Steelers and Penguins always in playoff contention, and the Pitt basketball team usually a top 25 team. This puts the city’s expectations for sports teams through the roof, and the Pirates are seemingly always in the basement. So, when will the Buccos climb out of the cellar and contend again? When will the Pirates finally catch a break?
Over the past two decades, a lot has gone wrong for the Pirates. Here are just a few of the things that haven’t worked out for the Pirates in the past few years:
--Very few free agents have panned out as planned. Signees such as Aki Iwamura, Bobby Crosby, Lyle Overbay, and Matt Diaz all did absolutely horrible for the team, and all lasted no more than one year on the roster. Even in 2012, Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes are really struggling at the plate and have not played stellar defense. Generally, free agent signings have not worked in the Pirates’ favor recently.
--Major trades have not panned out either. All the Pirates have left in the system from the Jason Bay trade is reliever Bryan Morris. Nothing has come from the Jack Wilson-Ian Snell trade, and the Freddy Sanchez trade has yet to pay any dividends with Tim Alderson still coming out of the bullpen for the AA team.
--The risks that the Pirates have made on former top prospects, such as Andy LaRoache, Sean Gallagher, Hayden Penn, Jeff Clement, and Brandon Wood, have just not worked out. Not one of these players had success while with the Pirates, and none have seen the majors in 2012. The Pirates hoped that at least one of these guys would figure it all out with the team, but none of them did.
--Player development in the minors has not been that great. The Pirates have one of the top minor league systems in the MLB right now, but a lot of their better prospects are new to the system. Few players, outside of Starling Marte, have really prospered in the Pirates’ system. Players with big time potential, including Tony Sanchez and Stetson Allie, have really struggled to this point. Yes, there is still time for them, but as of now, things are not looking that good. To make matters worse, Josh Bell, the second round pick for the Pirates in 2011, had to undergo surgery on his knee and will miss significant time.
-- Relating to the last point, Pedro Alvarez, considered the savior of the team a couple years ago, played horribly for all of 2011 while battling injuries and demotions to AAA, and got off to a slow start in 2012.
--Jose Bautista used to be a Pirate.
--The team is still losing more games than it is winning.
As you can see, the Pirates have not had luck on their side. A lot (most) of the moves the Pirates have made have been smart baseball decisions and good risks that have simply not worked out. Overbay was coming off a good year with the Blue Jays, and was said to be a great fielder and a good clubhouse leader. Jason Bay was approaching free agency and it was better to get something with a trade than nothing by letting him become a free agent. Brandon Wood was once the #3 prospect in baseball according to Baseball America, and the team was struggling at the shortstop position. Stetson Allie was a top 15 draft prospect, and the team was able to get him in the second round. Pedro Alvarez was an easy choice at #2 in the 2008 draft, even over Eric Hosmer and Buster Posey. Jose Bautista was not anything special for the Pirates. Somehow, none of these decisions have panned out for the Pirates to this point. However, there is still time. We can’t go back and undo the unsuccessful free agent signings, but we can be hopeful for the young players moving forward. Pedro really seems to be heating up as of late, and has six home runs in his first 63 at bats, and is on pace for 42 home runs. While that may not be very likely, it is still nice to see him display his great power. Also, Allie is still young, and definitely has time to turn it around.
Now that we have the negatives out of the way, let’s focus on some of the recent positives:
--The Xavier Nady-Demaso Marte deal has definitely worked for the Pirates. They got Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen and Ross Ohlendorf in the deal. Tabata, Karstens, and Ohlendorf all are having or have had success with the team, while Nady and Marte have struggled with injuries.
--Waiver pick ups like Jason Grilli and Chris Resop have had success.
--Andrew McCutchen has emerged as one of the best centerfielders in the game.
--A.J. Burnett and Erik Bedard are off to great starts for their new team, bringing a new aspect of pitching to the Bucs: the strikeout.
--Charlie Morton had a nice bounce back season in 2011.
--Pedro Alvarez is really showing his potential with six home runs in his first 63 at bats.
--GM Neal Huntington pulled off a great trade by acquiring former top prospects James McDonald and Andrew Lambo for reliever Octavio Dotel.
--The team has a good core of young players that are causing excitement for the future.
--Along with the young players on the major league team, top pitching prospects Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole are looking very impressive for High-A Bradenton.
The Pirates have had a lot of bad luck over the past two decades, but things are finally starting to look up for the team. With players such as Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata, the team has good young players that are going to be a key part of the future. The pitching has done very well in 2012 and the hitters are starting to break out. After struggling mightily to start the season after a disastrous 2011, Pedro Alvarez has really come alive of late. The team could really use his power bat in the middle of the order moving forward. Also, the Pirates have young pitchers in the minors (Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole) that are looking very impressive, and the emergence of shortstop prospect Alen Hanson in Low-A West Virginia (.410 average in 105 at bats) is definitely encouraging. Things are finally looking a little brighter as we move forward.
As I began to write this post, I went in with a mindset that nothing is going right for the Pirates, and that they just could not catch a break. But after listing a lot of the negatives that the team has experienced, I began to realize their are a lot of positives surrounding the team as well. While a lot has gone wrong over the past twenty years, a lot has also gone right in the past couple years. The team took a major step forward in 2011 by winning fifteen more games than they did in 2010, and the team looks impressive so far in 2012. So, when will the Pirates catch a break? After writing this post, I have a feeling that the Buccos’ big break is coming relatively soon.
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