Pirates: Five reasons to believe ... or not

[Keystone]

Can the Buccos break .500 this year?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07088/773383-63.stm

I believe it's on the pitching staff:

1. The young rotation will improve.

If the Pirates are to succeed, this truly must be No. 1.

Zach Duke and Paul Maholm had poor starts to 2006. Even Snell, who wound up winning 14 games, struggled early and almost was sent to the minors. But all three did fine down the stretch, Duke and Maholm each reclaiming peak form.

If those three perform to their potential -- still a large if, but hardly unthinkable -- and the Pirates can get just passable work from Tom Gorzelanny and Tony Armas, the pitching could provide the anchor for 2007.

Average age of the rotation: 24.8.

"As long as we pitch well and do our thing, I think we'll have one of the better staffs in the league," Maholm said. "But we can talk about it all we want. We have to go out there and actually do it."

Our division is weaker, despite the Cubbies spending a third-world country's GDP on free agents.

Let this young staff throw some BB's out there this year and make Uncle Keystone happy.

[il ragno]

Hot-stove and spring training are the most depressing parts of the year for me these days. The money these agents sucker out of GMs - particularly for starting pitching - is an obscenity. It actually makes me hate the game, a little. Thankfully, ST's over and we can finally play ball - and I can stupidly pretend these guys are out there giving everything they got for the uniforms on their backs.

RAGNO'S ROUNDUP for 2007.

AL EAST
I'm a flat-out Yankee hater; always have been. So it especially pains me to say this but - the Yanks are just gonna steamroll over the league this year. It's gonna get ugly, early, and stay ugly for Boston and Toronto fans. The Bombers have not only gotten better, they've gotten younger too; they've practiced addition by subtraction twice (Sheffield and Johnson); and they have guys who were hurt or had off-years healthy and primed for bounceback years. Considering that two of them (Damon and A-Rod) had pretty good years last season, the sky's the limit. If they get an actual full season out of Pavano, they're gonna be 15 to 20 games better than anybody in the division and/or the league. Will they stumble again in October? Who the hell knows? Worry about October in October. But Jesus Christ....their No. 8 hitter is coming off a .342 season! Yanks go 106-56 and cruise.

AL CENTRAL
All the smart money is on the Tigers repeating, and somehow or other the Twins always get up late to make it a race. [No Liriano in the rotation will kill them, though, at least early on.] Cleveland's got big potential with a very intriguing starting rotation, but seem to always run into a ditch in late summer. Even though the White Sox are apparently second fiddle to the Cubs again in Chicago - and nobody's happy about the moves they made in the OS - if Mark Buehrle can regain his old form, they're deep enough everywhere that I like them to take the division. Nobody else in the Central can throw up a starting nine to match em. Sox go 94-68 and edge the Indians, who nab a surprise wild-card spot.

AL WEST
The West will be weak enough that they'll resemble a National League division this year. Every team has deep holes, and impact players with huge question marks attached. It's time to roll the dice - I'm going with the freakin' Mariners, God help me, to eke out an 86-win season and take the division by a eyelash over Texas and Oakland.

NL EAST
My Metsies have gotten worse, not better, in the off season. Ace in the hole? Best offensive lineup in the NL - by far - and GM Omar Minaya is ready and willing to spend big and pull the trigger on any midseason blockbuster deal that appears on the horizon. Now all he needs is for Twins to lose their minds and shop Johan Santana, and we're all set. Lucky for us the entire league is the same pile of mediocre shit it was last year, and neither the Braves nor the Phillies have the personnel to catch up and jump in front. Mets go 92-70 if Martinez comes back a shell of his former self; if he's the same old Pedro, they'll coast and win 98 or so.

NL CENTRAL
Call me crazy but I like the Astros better without Clemens and Petitte, although another lefty in the rotation would be a godsend. Berkman, Ensberg and Carlos Lee remedy last year's Achilles heel, power in the clutch - it's a sign of how improved the Astros lineup is that they picked up the underrated Mark Loretta, and can't find him an everyday spot. But the whole ball of wax rests on Brad Lidge - he HAS to come back to his '05 form or they're gonna need Clemens just so they can push a starter into the bullpen to close for them. Reds, Cubs, Cards and Brewers all have some talent and lots of question marks. Piniella's usually a good quick-fix for underachieving squads, so if the 'Stros fold, look for the Cubbies to snatch it away from em. And, uh, sorry, Key: Pirates have three lefties in the rotation, and add Adam LaRoche, but none of those southpaws have ever shown much, and if you're gonna suffer a Sophomore Jinx, Pittsburgh's the place to do it. Astros take it with 88-74 mark. I like the Cubbies for the wild card, just edging the Braves.

NL WEST
This is probably the year neckless steroid fraud Barry ("I hate white people") Bonds breaks the Aaron record. Yawwn. And "yawwn" pretty much sums up the whole division, too. The Padres have the best pitching, the Rockies have the best hitting, but from where I sit it's the D-Backs who have the most potential to surprise. Not that they all don't essentially suck - none of these clubs has a prayer of getting out of the first round. For whatever it's worth, though, I see Arizona squeaking to an 86-76 "crown".

And there ya go.

[Keystone]

Al East--Yanks

AL Central--Best division in baseball right now. The Tribe. Chisox get a wildcard.

AL West--I'll go with the Mariners even though Ichiro is in a contract year. Tradebait?

NL East--Mets. Even with Oliver "Headcase" Perez in the starting rotation. It all depends on Pedro, though.

NL Central--Milwaukee. Yes, Milwaukee. Astros are the wildcard.

NL West--I don't care anymore. Let's say the Dodgers.

Your Buccos--Make or break year for the young lefties. Sanchez starts hurt and keeps getting hurt at 2B. Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche have their usual solid seasons. Jack Wilson implodes at SS. (Never cared for him.)

3rd place would be wildly celebrated.

[Keystone]

The money these agents sucker out of GMs - particularly for starting pitching - is an obscenity. It actually makes me hate the game, a little.
The money has become obscene, yes.

I still think of baseball as "our" game, despite the heavy "latino" presence. MLB is still predominately white and increasingly so. If guys like Joe Morgan are worried about American nig-nogs abandoning pro baseball, that's a good sign. They are now ravaging the NFL and NBA, which I give not two shits about and they deserve all the trouble they're creating for themselves.

[Hachiko]

Ummmm, thanks for the kind words for the Yanks, but have you noticed, all of our pitchers are currently injured?

[Keystone]

Ummmm, thanks for the kind words for the Yanks, but have you noticed, all of our pitchers are currently injured?
They're a little old and/or banged up, but your position players will score runs. Lots of runs. More than enough.

[Intrepid]

As usual, it's all about pitchin', folks:

A.L. East - Yankees

A.L. Central - Tigers

A.L. West - Angels

Wild Card - Blue Jays

____

N.L. East - Braves

N.L. Central - Astros

N.L. West - Diamondbacks

Wild Card - Padres

[Keystone]

Weelp--it starts Sunday night with il ragno's Mets at St. Louis. Glavine vs Carpenter.

Play ball.:)