PITTSBURGH -- At least the Pirates can say they're No. 1 in
something.
The Pirates take a string of 13 consecutive losing seasons into
2006, the longest skid in major American pro sports now that the
Milwaukee Brewers finished at 81-81 and stopped their slide at 12.
Not even the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and the NBA's Los Angeles
Clippers, usually the champions of losing, have gone through an
extended run of below-.500 seasons as long.
"On the surface it looks like we've taken a step back,"
general manager Dave Littlefield said of the 67-95 finish. "But
I'm very encouraged. ... We've got some pieces in place, and we've
arranged things financially so we have some dollars to spend this
winter."
A 30-30 start segued into the franchise's fifth season of 90 or
more losses since 1998 and its second-worst record in 19 years.
But amid yet another summer of losing -- the franchise's 18th in
22 years -- a change in philosophy and strategy emerged, and it had
nothing to do with manager Lloyd McClendon's Sept. 6 firing after
nearly five seasons.
After years of talking about rebuilding with prospects, but
never really doing so during repeated unsuccessful attempts to get
by with one-year stopgaps and marginal veterans, the Pirates
finally went young for the first time since stars such as Barry
Bonds began emerging in the late 1980s.
As a result, the lineup that finished the season barely
resembled that which began it, with a half-dozen rookies all seeing
regular playing time -- and all looking to be players to build
around.
Left-handers Zach Duke (8-2, 1.81 ERA) and Paul Maholm (3-1,
2.18 ERA) looked to be future anchors of the rotation, with Duke
winning a combined 20 games in the majors and minors. Center
fielder Chris Duffy (.341 average in 126 at-bats) has the makings
of a possible star offensively and defensively, and catcher Ryan
Doumit (.255, 6 homers, 35 RBIss in 231 at-bats) and first baseman
Brad Eldred (12 homers, 27 RBIss in 190 at-bats) also showed promise
and power.
Outfielder Nate McLouth (four homers in final week of the
season), catcher Ronny Paulino and infielder J.J. Furmaniak also
got to see the majors up close in September.
Add in sophomores Jason Bay (.306, 32 homers, 101 RBIss, 44
doubles, 21 stolen bases), whose first two seasons are among the
best in franchise history, and Jose Castillo (.268, 11 homers until
having a season-ending knee injury in August) and the Pirates may
have their team of the future already in place.
"We've all come up together," Doumit said. "We think we can
do some special things."
After dealing catcher Jason Kendall and the remainder of his $60
million, six-year contract last winter, the Pirates can afford to
add a mid-range free agent or two. Still, much of that 2006 bump in
payroll may go to Bay, who is negotiating a contract that would
cover his remaining arbitration years and possibly what would be
his first year of free agency.
One financial hang-up is left-hander Mark Redman (5-15, 4.90
ERA), who figured to be long gone by now. But his season was so
poor, the Pirates couldn't trade him, and they could be stuck with
his $4 million-plus player option for 2006.
The Pirates also must decide what to do about underperforming
right-hander Kip Wells (8-18, 5.09 ERA), who led the majors in
losses, and at times, in excuses for doing so. To bring him back,
he'll likely cost the Pirates about $4.5 million, given his
arbitration-eligible salary upgrade.
Several other areas must be addressed before next season, namely
third base, right field and the closer's role, where Jose Mesa
won't return even though the Pirates coaxed 70 saves from him the
last two seasons. They must decide whether to let left-hander Mike
Gonzalez (2.70 ERA) and Salomon Torres (2.76 ERA in 78 games)
compete to be the closer, or look elsewhere for one.
Craig Wilson looked to be the answer in right field but, after
hitting a team-high 29 homers in 2004, spent two large chunks of
this season on the disabled list with hand injuries and homered
only five times. Freddy Sanchez showed flashes at third, but his 35
RBIss in 453 at-bats weren't adequate for a corner infielder.
The Pirates also need shortstop Jack Wilson, whose 151 hits were
50 fewer than he had a year ago, to have a 2006 season offensively
more like that breakout 2004 season.
One more thing: The Pirates also need to hire a manager.
"I know there's skepticism out there because of our long run of
not getting to .500," Littlefield said. "But we know we're going
to keep these guys for 4-5 years. But we feel good about the depth
and quality of our starting rotation. ... I believe we're going to
start winning in a stronger way."