2011 Pittsburgh Pirates

[BurghFan]

It's February and sping training has started. Can the Pirates avoid their record extending 19th consecutive losing season? They also appear to have new gold spring training jerseys.

And for some team related news, Joel Hanrahan has been named the closer over Evan Meek who will be the primary setup man.

[DirrtySouth78]

I'm not looking for a number improvement this year, but fundamental improvements. Don't wanna see the baserunning mistakes, fielding mistakes, Fireworks going off for a double, etc. Although fireworks fiasco I don't blame Milledge, u see fireworks u think its gone.

I just want to see young guys get better, have a respectable road record, and avoid the long losing streaks in the season.

I have the 41 game season ticket plan this year, so I'm hopin they improve. Just want to see a better, more disciplined team this year. They not gonna break .500 but I'm with Hurdle in the fact that thats not the goal.

Can't wait till April 9th, 3rd straight home opener. Lets go Bucs

Sent from my M860 using Tapatalk

[M11x]

Nice to see the OS Pirate asylum back. I guess we'll be watching the Bucs this year on the Root Sports channel instead of Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Not sure about that title though. Speaking of jerseys, it looks like the Pirates got rid of the sleeveless Sunday Pinstripes this year. Cosmetic but it is a start.

Starting pitching will be the key to any improvement but it's also hard for any mlb team not to improve upon a 105 loss season. At least the infield appears much stronger both offensively and defensively. Last years opening day starters :LaRoche, Cedeno, Aki, Clement and Doumit are out with only Cedeno returning. Alvarez, Walker and Overbay are definitely upgrades offensively and defensively at least on the right side compared to last years club. Tabata apparently has bulked up and is currently impressing the staff early this spring with his bat. The final month of '09 was enjoyable to watch just for the call ups and with that brings hope of a more competitive and versatile team this year....at least that is what I'm telling myself.

Improvement in starting pitching will be the determining factor of how many more games the Pirates win than last year. I'm not sure of the value the Pirates have in Correia at the price they paid but apparently he should be slotted as their starter 1 or 2 unless something goes horribly wrong. I like McDonald and hope he is the real deal and Ohlendorf has to have better luck and stay healthy. Mahlom might be the guy that is dealt at or before the deadline if his stats and outings are impressive enough to get something back. I doubt he will be extended even though he has expressed his interest in staying and Huntington went on record as saying it was a possibility. Rudy Owens isn't that far away from making the club but it seems likely that he'll be a mid season call-up instead.

One question on my mind is how many games do the Pirates have to win for Neil to retain his GM position. At this point, it seems like he is still in the good graces of Coonelly and Nuttig but if this season is only a minor improvement, will Neil be the next causality? I like Neil but I'm not sure how many others will if there is only minor improvement on the ML level.

[pittsburgher86]

Quote: Originally Posted by M11x

Nice to see the OS Pirate asylum back. I guess we'll be watching the Bucs this year on the Root Sports channel instead of Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Not sure about that title though. Speaking of jerseys, it looks like the Pirates got rid of the sleeveless Sunday Pinstripes this year. Cosmetic but it is a start. Starting pitching will be the key to any improvement but it's also hard for any mlb team not to improve upon a 105 loss season. At least the infield appears much stronger both offensively and defensively. Last years opening day starters :LaRoche, Cedeno, Aki, Clement and Doumit are out with only Cedeno returning. Alvarez, Walker and Overbay are definitely upgrades offensively and defensively at least on the right side compared to last years club. Tabata apparently has bulked up and is currently impressing the staff early this spring with his bat. The final month of '09 was enjoyable to watch just for the call ups and with that brings hope of a more competitive and versatile team this year....at least that is what I'm telling myself. Improvement in starting pitching will be the determining factor of how many more games the Pirates win than last year. I'm not sure of the value the Pirates have in Correia at the price they paid but apparently he should be slotted as their starter 1 or 2 unless something goes horribly wrong. I like McDonald and hope he is the real deal and Ohlendorf has to have better luck and stay healthy. Mahlom might be the guy that is dealt at or before the deadline if his stats and outings are impressive enough to get something back. I doubt he will be extended even though he has expressed his interest in staying and Huntington went on record as saying it was a possibility. Rudy Owens isn't that far away from making the club but it seems likely that he'll be a mid season call-up instead. One question on my mind is how many games do the Pirates have to win for Neil to retain his GM position. At this point, it seems like he is still in the good graces of Coonelly and Nuttig but if this season is only a minor improvement, will Neil be the next causality? I like Neil but I'm not sure how many others will if there is only minor improvement on the ML level.

Well, personally I hope that the whole Pirates management is fired and Nutting sells the team. Preferably to Mario Lemieux. Although, I doubt that will ever happen.... To your question though, I'd assume that this would be the case. Personally, I hope so.

Anyways. I think the team has some bright spots and look forward to watching the team. Specifically, the bright spots I see are McCutchen, Tabata, Walker, Alvarez, Jones (I know call me crazy), and the bullpen. First, let me explain me liking Garrett Jones, I feel that he is a decent and can be an above average player with some improvements in attitude and what not. Jones has the power to hit I think to hit 30 homeruns. I feel his attitude holds him back. Next, let me explain myself on the bullpen. With Hanrahan, Meek, Resop (who I think has high potential), and Beimal who I also is good.

Lastly, I want to say that this group of guys could win some games if we could pitch significantly better. However, I do like James McDonald and look forward to watching him pitch.

With this all said, I'd like to make a prediction that the Pirates will go 70-92.

[MizzyMike05]

I'll tell you what, I bet it's gonna be a fun season. We have some really good young talent all throughout the field for the first time in over 2 decades. We may not get that much-needed .500 season, but I do believe that this may be the start of something special this season.

Pedro Alvarez will hit 30 HR's this season, as long as he stays healthy. He just absolutely smashes the ball and I think that him playing a full season in the bigs will just open up himself to his full potential. He will probably still strikeout at a high rate, but that's not surprising because he is a big left-handed power bat. He should have at least 100 RBI's this year. His batting average will most likely float around .240-.275 because he is a streaky player.

I will defend Garrett Jones too because he should have a better season than Matt Diaz. Tabata bulking up is great because he could provide somewhere between 12-20 HR's. Cutch is just awesome and will probably just improve his number again and hopefully hit 20 HR's and get 50 SB's. My man Neil Walker most likely will not bat around .300, but hopefully he can up his power numbers. I like Overbay, but not much more than G.I. Jones. Our pitching staff is still not very over powering but they should have lower numbers with a better defense out there, and more maturity to avoid those errors and mistakes throughout the field.

Clint Hurdle is almost the perfect manager for this team. Hopefully he will bring a winning attitude into the locker room and provide good leadership for the young guys. I'm hoping we get to see some of the prospects we have in the minors, especially the pitchers. The season should be fun, even though we most likely won't have a winning record.

Prediction: 74-88

[LetsGoBucs]

I hope all of you still in the Pittsburgh area go to more games so the Bucs can spend more $$. Nice job Mr. Coonelly.

[M11x]

Quote: Originally Posted by LetsGoBucs

I hope all of you still in the Pittsburgh area go to more games so the Bucs can spend more $$. Nice job Mr. Coonelly.

I don't live in Pittsburgh but we'll still go, probably twice and not to increase team budget but to keep a tradition and enjoy at the very least the best park in MLB.

[mjb2124]

Quote: Originally Posted by LetsGoBucs

I hope all of you still in the Pittsburgh area go to more games so the Bucs can spend more $$. Nice job Mr. Coonelly.

Don't worry, haven't been to a game in 3-4 years now (maybe longer...I lost track). It's sad because I used to have a 21 game plan the year PNC Park opened, but cancelled that the next year. Went to 10 games the year after that and it's decresed ever since...to the point where I'd rather watch it on TV at home than to give this organization money. Plus, with HD and surround sound...it's better than being at the park IMO. Don't have to deal with the idiots standing up and walking up and down the aisle's all game and don't have to give them my money!

As for the Pirates, I think they'll have 5 more wins than last year: 62-100. This team still isn't good. It does have some young talent, but that talent is also quite inexperienced. It's going to take some of them a few years before they start reaching their prime. I also have big concerns over the starting pitching staff. I'm big on starting pitching and without it, I see trouble.