A Fresh Start

Coming off the heels of their 18th consecutive losing season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are less than a week away from beginning their 2011 campaign. With several key off-season acquisitions and the growth of their young talent, the Pirates plan on being more competitive in the NL Central this season.



The arrival of new manager Clint Hurdle has encouraged many within the organization as well as the Pirate faithful. He brings with him a solid resume serving as manager of the 2007 National League champion Colorado Rockies as well as the hitting coach of the 2010 American League champs Texas Rangers. However, Hurdle will face his greatest managing challenge to date when he starts to try and resurrect a once great franchise.

There are some positives for this team despite the fact they have not had a winning season since 1992. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen is regarded as one of the best players at his position after only having two plus years of experience in the majors. If the Bucco’s are going to right the ship it is going to be up to McCutchen to lead them. Hurdle has moved him into the 3rd spot of the lineup in hopes that this will produce more runs for a team that was outscored by 279 runs last year.

Along with McCutchen, the Pirates have confidence in their 2008 1st round draft pick Pedro Alvarez to pick up where he left off last season. Alvarez, who was the MLB rookie of the month for September had himself a respectable rookie campaign batting .256 with 16 home runs and 64 runs-batted-in in just 95 games with the big league squad. Already with a knack for the clutch hit, Alvarez looks to be the type of corner infielder the Pirates have so desperately needed.


Not only have the Pirates improved offensively, but the off-season acquisition of pitcher Kevin Correia has provided the pitching staff with a power right hander. With a lively fastball and assortment of off-speed pitches, Correia should solidify the top spot in the Pirates rotation.

Not to be overlooked is pitcher James McDonald. McDonald was obtained in the deal that sent Octavio Dotel to Los Angeles and since then he has been nothing short of impressive. With a chance to start every fifth day McDonald has shown his ability to put hitters away and go deep into ballgames.

While the struggle has been long and hard, and not all the pieces are in place yet, the Pirates are making strides in the right direction to bring back a winning franchise to the great city of Pittsburgh.

by Shane McFarland