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Mar 04

Can the Pirates Stop the Second Half Collapse?

Categories:

MLB

by Zach Hoffmann

Pittsburgh_Pirates10Key offseason additions:

Francisco Liriano, Jonathan Sanchez, Brandon Inge, Mark Melancon, Russell Martin

 

Key offseason departures:

Joel Hanrahan

 

The Pittsburg Pirates have not seen the playoffs or a winning record since the 1992 season. They had two fast starts the last two seasons only to tank in the second half of both seasons. They have added some starting pitching this year to try and stop the second half collapse.

The Pirates best signing this offseason is probably bringing Francisco Liriano in where he can be the number 4 starter. This will take all the pressure off of him and allow him to finally live up to his potential. Eventually we should see former first overall pick Gerrit Cole in the big leagues at least to help out in the bullpen. They also have Jameson Taillon who isn’t far from the big leagues either. Cole and Taillon will provide the Pirates with a great 1-2 punch for years to come.

The Pirates have a decent young offense lead by Andrew McCutchen but the most interesting player is Starling Marte. He has the potential to be a star. He is a five tool player with 20/20 capabilities. If they can just get Pedro Alvarez to hit how he can they will be set.

The Pirates are getting better. They are developing good young players and have a deadly top of the rotation combo waiting in the minors. They will eventually put it all together and win some ball games but they won’t compete this year.

 

Predicted Finish: 3rd NL Central

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About the author

Zach Hoffmann

Zachary was born and raised in Fort Myers, FL. He is a senior Chemistry major at Florida Gulf Coast University. Not having a favorite baseball team, some may call him a bandwagon fan, and to that he will say, "Quiz me. I promise I know more than you". He has a vast knowledge of all sports, but baseball is his passion. Follow him on twitter @zhoffmann1

4 comments

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  1. Nick

    March 4, 2013 at 9:33 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment

    Reply

    How did you manage to get through writing an article about the Pirates and not mention Jose Tabata?

    1. Zach Hoffmann

      March 4, 2013 at 11:24 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Haha I had to set my love for Jose Tabata aside while writing the article. He might not win a starting job out of camp.

  2. Roger Cornell

    March 4, 2013 at 12:54 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I think that the Pirates have a core nucleus to build a team around – but even with the acquistions there are question marks: will Liriano return to being a viable starter – needs to be proven. Inge – I have to question just how much he will contribute – was a real entity at one time, but that’s the key statement – at one time. Martin – no doubt can be a big improvement defensively, but another .210 hitter? We have enough sub .240 hitters on a consistent basis. We need power – if Alvarez can start to hit to his potential (big if) then we are in a much better place – if not, there isn’t enough legitimate consistent power to win consistently. Upper managment could have filled some keys voids over the past 3 years and would have made this team a reasonable threat to contend – not this year again and given their track record likely not next year either.

    1. Zach Hoffmann

      March 5, 2013 at 1:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Ya thats a lot of what I was saying in the article. The Pirates offense could come down to how well Alvarez and Jones hit. If they can put up good numbers then the Pirates will have a solid year. It will be interesting to see how well Cole and Taillon perform. If they both pitch how they are projected to then the Pirates could be a team to watch out for in about 3 seasons and beyond.