Pirates feature more talent than 1997 squad
One of the younger regulars in the PNC Park press box posed a good question earlier this week.
He asked when was the last time that the Pirates had as much confidence that they could win any game, even when the circumstances seemed stacked against them, as they do this year.
The answer is 1997 when the Pirates posted a series of improbable victories and contended in the weak National League Central until the final week. Yet that confidence only carried them so far as they finished with a 79-83 record.
Except for a talented young starting rotation that stayed healthy throughout the season, there was nothing else remarkable about that team other than their belief that they were never out of a game. They didn’t have any future Hall of Famers and second baseman Tony Womack was their only representative at that year’s All-Star Game.
The fact this this year’s roster is more talented is what makes the Pirates so intriguing.
Their lineup is solid in the first seven spots of the batting order and they have a pretty good bench. Furthermore, the Pirates have two frontline starters with A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez at the top of the rotation — and a possible third in Jeff Locke — and a deep bullpen led by the nearly unbeatable late-inning combination of set-up man Mark Melancon and closer Jason Grilli.
Put talent and confidence together and it is a mix that could add to meaningful baseball being played at PNC Park past July 31 this season. Would we dare say maybe even into October?
It doesn’t seem so farfetched.
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One of the most sacred rules of covering baseball, or any sport, is to remain neutral and not root for teams or players. However, it’s going to be hard not to break that rule in the case of Pirates left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski, who was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis this past week.
Zagurski is listed a 6-0, 240 pounds in the Pirates’ media guide and it’s safe to assume he weighs more than that and doesn’t stand quite so tall. Automatically, he becomes a personal favorite as a fellow hefty guy.
However, what really make him endearing is that he gained the nickname “Big G” while pitching for Philadelphia a few years back.
Big G?
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, one of the great butchers on the English language, could not pronounce Zagurski. Instead, he referred to him as “Gazurski.”
Hence, Big G.
How can you not like that?
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Two days past the one-third mark of the season, a case can be made for Andrew McCutchen, Russell Martin, Starling Marte or Grilli being the Pirates’ Most Valuable Player.
Another MVP award — Most Valuable Person — should go to pitching coach Ray Searage.
The Pirates have one of the better pitching staffs in the major leagues and Searage’s influence has been great in the way as he has turned around reclamation projects like Grilli, Mark Melancon, Vin Mazzaro and Jeanmar Gomez while also getting Locke, who was a fading prospect at the start of spring training, on the right track.