The 2013 Pirates have what it takes

It's May 30th and the Pittsburgh Pirates (33-20) have the second best record in baseball. The Pirates are off to their best start in 20 years after surviving a brutal April schedule and then winning 18 games so far in May. Pirates fans or cautiously optimistic, and rightfully so, after watching consecutive late season collapses. However, this year feels incredibly different than the last two seasons. There are several players / factors that make this team for real.

Starting Pitching - The starting pitching staff is the best rotation the Pirates have had in a very long time. AJ Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez are savvy veterans that will keep the Pirates in the game nearly every time they take the hill. Francisco Liriano is proving to be healthy and looks unhittable at times. Newcomers Jeff Locke and Jeanmar Gomez have added stability to the back end of the rotation. The starting rotation's 3.53 ERA is the 6th best in the major leagues.

Bullpen - The Bucco bullpen is the best in the business. They lead the MLB in wins (13), saves (24), and batting average (.212) and are 2 strikeouts shy of the major league lead. The bullpen, dubbed the #SharkTank, has been absolutely incredible and I don't see any weaknesses at this point. Unfortunately, their 185.1 innings pitched leads the National League and they have a 20 inning lead on 2nd place San Francisco. The starting pitching has to go deeper into games, but the bullpen has been potent and will continue to aid in the success of the team.

Russell Martin - Russell Martin brought something very special to this club when he arrived this spring. Martin's swagger, tenacity, confidence, and leadership has helped shape the identity of the team. He's among the best defensive catchers in the league and he's willing to do anything to help the team win. He calls a great game, frames pitches well, and solved the "swipe as many bags as you can" epidemic we've become accustomed to. Whether Martin is climbing the dugout fence trying to catch a foul ball or coming through with a big hit at the plate, he brings leadership the club has lacked in prior years. In my opinion, Russell Martin is one of the key contributors to the Pirates success thus far.

Andrew McCutchen - The Pirates have been successful so far this season without Andrew McCutchen playing like Andrew McCutchen. Don't get me wrong, Cutch hasn't been terrible, but he's nowhere close to playing the way he did for most of last season. Lately, McCutchen has been centering the ball well and he appears to be on the cusp of becoming a terror again at the plate. Look out NL Central when McCutchen puts it all together.

Pedro Alvarez - Despite hitting only .200 so far, Alvarez is on track to hit 35+ home runs and 100+ RBI. The Pirates offense has been punchless at times and Alvarez hasn't had one of his famous prolonged hot streaks. His production is still necessary for the offense to have success and he's quietly been doing just that. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up hitting over 40 homers this year. Alvarez's increased production will help the club continue to win.

Jason Grilli - It's hard to believe Jason Grilli is having the best season of his career at the age of 36. He leads the majors in saves (22) and has converted every opportunity. In 24.2 innings pitched, Grilli has 38 strikeouts, an opposing batting average of .141, and a 1.09 ERA. Successful teams often have a great closer and the Pirates have the best in baseball.

We Are Family - This Bucco team has been building a family atmosphere for the last 3 or 4 years. They have fun together and they appear to play for each other. Veterans like Brandon Inge and AJ Burnett not only provide leadership, but they help provide a loose atmosphere and a sense of directions for the younger core. Most championship caliber teams in any sport have the "It Factor" in the clubhouse and this team seems to have "It".

I'm not ready to say this club has what it takes to make a World Series run, but I never imagined they'd have the second best record in baseball at the end of May either. The Pirates play all 9 innings and have reminded opposing teams of that numerous times this season. One thing is for certain though - I don't see a second half collapse on deck this year. This team is just different.

The Pittsburgh Pirates - Career Revival Specialists

Over the course of the last 20 seasons, one thing has been consistent with the Pittsburgh Pirates . They’ve struggled terribly at developing young pitching and “fixing” veteran pitchers that lost their mojo. Times have changed, however, and the modern day Pittsburgh Pirates (and Ray Searage) deserve a lot of credit for developing pitching and reviving pitchers that appeared to be lost.

In terms of fixing veteran pitching, look no further than Pirates ace AJ Burnett. The Yankees couldn’t wait to unload the aging Burnett. The Yankees wanted to unload him bad enough that they agreed to pay a large chunk of his salary for the Pirates to take him…and rightfully so. Burnett’s time in New York featured the worst control of his career with career highs in wild pitches and walks with a 34-35 record and a 4.81 ERA. Burnett certainly appeared to be a past-his-prime pitcher that the Yankees severely overpaid for.

The Pirates gladly took Burnett off the Yankees hands and successfully revived his career. In 1 ¼ seasons, Burnett is 19-14 with a 3.04 ERA and he’s leading the NL in strikeouts currently. Burnett’s control has improved drastically from his time in New York. Burnett walked approximately 25% less batters last season than his average in New York and he’s no longer throwing wild pitches at an alarming rate. He’s an all-star candidate at 36 years old and can thank the Pirates for reviving his career.

Next on the list is Francisco Liriano. If Liriano can sustain the level of dominance we’ve seen in his first 3 games as a Pirate, it could be one of the Pirates greatest success stories this season. Liriano, once a sure-fire superstar, has dissipated over the last several seasons and the end of his baseball career seemed imminent. Not so fast…The Pittsburgh Pirates brought Liriano in, adjusted his arm slot, and he appears to be closer to the rising star he once was than a player fading out of baseball. In 3 starts with the Pirates, Liriano is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.00 in 18 IP. His control has improved significantly as he’s only allowed 6 walks. Most importantly, his 25 strikeouts display that he’s missing a lot of bats. Maybe it’s too soon to say the Pirates have revived Liriano’s career, but at first glance he’s showing top of the rotation stuff.

The list keeps going too. Wandy Rodriguez didn’t have his best years toward the end of his Astro’s career, albeit not as bad as Burnett and Liriano. Regardless, Rodriguez is the picture of consistency when he takes the hill for the Pirates.
How about Mark Melancon? He was acquired from Boston in the Joel Hanrahan trade. He struggled mightily in Boston last season as he posted a 6.20 ERA in 25 IP. The Pirates got their hands on him and he’s a potential all-star and a superb set up pitcher for Jason Grilli. Melancon currently has a 0.72 ERA in 25 IP with 26 strikeouts. Yep, another Pirates revival.

By the way, did somebody mention Jason Grilli? Oh yeah, Grilli was plucked out of the Phillies farm system a few years ago by the Pirates. Now he’s the major league leader in saves. His 1.31 ERA and 32 strikeouts in only 20.2 IP at 36 years old are just another Pirates revival project.

From a development perspective, Jeff Locke and Jeanmar Gomez are solidifying the back of the starting rotation. Both pitchers have outperformed their expectations and both have been brilliant. You have to pat the Pirates on the back for the development of these guys. Even more help is on the way with Charlie Morton and Jeff Karstens working on returning from injuries. James McDonald might be the ultimate revival project at this point, but I'm not as hopeful for him.

Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage deserves a lot of credit for the performance we’ve seen from the pitching staff so far this season. As a unit, they’ve posted the best team ERA in the major leagues in May. Searage's pitching staff ranks 2nd in the NL in both ERA and strikeouts.

The revival projects have been impressive and here’s to hoping John McDonald hits 35 homers when he returns from the DL. It would be par for the course. Let’s Go Bucs!

Is leadoff spot holding Marte back?

Starling Marte gives Pirates fans a lot to be excited about. Marte currently leads the Pirates in OBP (.376), batting average (.309), hits (55), stolen bases (10), and runs (33). Marte plays above average defense in PNC Park’s spacious left field and he has an arm strong enough to make the opposing dugout strongly consider not running the bases aggressively when the ball is in his hands.

Despite Marte’s uncanny success hitting to lead off a game, I question whether batting Marte in the leadoff position is holding him back from blossoming into a McCutchen-esque superstar? If the Pirates have a significant weakness in the lineup, it’s the lack of a true leadoff hitter. Marte has assumed that role admirably and has certainly provided a spark to the top of the lineup, but you have to wonder how much more productive Marte could be if he were hitting in a position to drive in runs (maybe 3rd or 5th) instead of leadoff.

There’s nobody on the Pirates current roster that is a prototypical leadoff hitter. In the coming seasons, it would be interesting to see Marte and McCutchen hitting back to back in the lineup. Surprisingly enough, a quick comparison at both players’ MiLB numbers show very similar statistics:

Marte – Total AB’s (1796), BA (.303), HR (39), RBI (240), OBP (.361), OPS (.823)
McCutchen - Total AB’s (1967), BA (.286), HR (43), RBI (232), OBP (.362), OPS (.785)

Minor league statistics may not be the greatest predictor of MLB production, but the similarities are eye opening. If the Pirates can somehow find a productive leadoff hitter, the Marte / McCutchen tandem in the middle of the lineup may finally be one that opposing hitters will fear. Until then, we may be seeing only a glimpse of Marte's capabilities.

Pirates - 3 Upcoming Must-Win Series'

Pirates fans have a skewed idea of a successful season. After 20 consecutive losing seasons, most of us would consider breaking the historically awful streak a success. For others, "success" may mean making the playoffs. Regardless, achieving either goal may come down to winning an extra game or two throughout the season. For that reason, the Pittsburgh Pirates are about to begin a 10 game home stand that they must dominate.

The Pirates are sitting comfortably at 21-16 and only 2 1/2 games out of first place as they prepare for 10 home games agasint the Brewers (15-20), Astros (10-28), and the Cubs (15-22). After this stretch, the schedule becomes signigicantly more difficult. The Buccos then head to Milwaukee for a 3 game series, a 4 game series with Detroit (2 away, 2 home), a home series against the Reds, and then a series in Atlanta.

It's not fair to say the next 10 games are must-win, but to account for the difficult upcoming schedule, the Pirates need to come away from this home stand with 7 wins. An opportunistic team needs to create as much space in the win/loss column as possible while the gettin'is good and right now...the gettin' is good.

OTHER NOTES

* Of the remaining games in May, 13 are home and 5 are away.

* The Cardinals next 13 games are against teams with losing records (Mets, Brewers, Padres, Dodgers)

* The Reds next 12 games are against teams with losing records (Marlins, Phillies, Mets, Cubs)

* John McDonald sucks