Pirates: The Long, Slow Build
By John E. Sacco

A feeling exists within the Pirates' team and organization that things are about to get better.

How could they get much worse?

The Pirates have suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons since Francisco Cabrera knocked the wind out of the 1992 team's World Series express and the organization as a whole.

It's been a most difficult, frustrating era.

And while it seems the Pirates are light years away from baseball's upper crust, the feeling within seems to be upbeat, confident and determined.

"The foundation is there," said Jason Bay, the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year. "For some guys last year just coming into the big leagues, there were some big question marks. We need to tweak some things. But overall, it's about every guy improving."

Manager Lloyd McClendon thinks the 2005 Pirates have a chance to be his best team. It is obvious that the upper division teams--St. Louis, Houston and Chicago--in the National League Central Division have come back to the pack a bit. And the lower division teams--Cincinnati, the Pirates and Milwaukee--are on the rise.

"That's just the way it is," McClendon said. "They have come back. They've lost some key players due to injuries, free agency or retirement or whatever the reason. Certainly, we are moving up and they are moving down a bit. We've closed that gap quite a bit and if we continue to compete the way we are capable of competing, who knows what can happen?"

The Pirates enter 2005 with the looks of a fairly solid pitching staff with starters Oliver Perez, Mark Redman, Kip Wells and Josh Fogg in place. Perez is the ace of the staff and the team is counting on Wells to finally reach his potential. Fogg pitched well in the second half of last season while Redman, a lefty, is expected to benefit from a return to the National League and pitching in PNC Park.

The fifth spot in the rotation is a competition chiefly between lefty Dave Williams and righty Ryan Vogelsong with veterans Todd Ritchie and Albie Lopez providing at least some challenge at the start of spring training.

The team's middle relief and set-up men are among the best in the game with Solomon Torres and Mike Gonzalez, a successful righty-lefty set-up combo in 2004, leading the way.

Ageless Jose Mesa returns as the Pirates' closer after a surprisingly strong season in 2004. Mesa, once thought of as a bad clubhouse influence, has become a leader to the younger players and was as professional as anyone last year. The fact is, Mesa has become a clubhouse favorite among his teammates.

"He has so much knowledge about the game and pitching," Gonzalez said. "And he is so willing to share it. The impressive thing to me about Jose is that he can have his worst game and still be the same guy. He's never too emotional or too stressed out. He's helped a lot of us learn how to be major leaguers."

While the Pirates seem solid with their late-relief corps, the middle men also have shown promise with veteran righty Brian Meadows and lefty John Grabow. Both Williams and Vogelsong would figure in here if they fail to land in the starting rotation.

Offensively, general manager Dave Littlefield is pushing to find another potent bat that almost everyone agrees the Pirates desperately need to seriously make a run at a winning season.

Littlefield said he will continue to pursue that bat through a trade in the spring or during the regular season while dangling some of the organization's pitching depth.

Benito Santiago, acquired from Kansas City, will team with Humberto Cota at catcher for the Pirates. Santiago, 40, has continued to be a productive offensive player late in his career and should be a steadying influence on Cota, who has reinvented himself with the club.

Craig Wilson, coming off a 29 home run season, will likely open at first base, perhaps in combination with Daryle Ward. Pending a trade, Wilson will likely split his time between first and right field.

Jose Castillo returns at second base with newcomer Freddy Sanchez and reserve Bobby Hill attempting to make a challenge. Castillo performed well as a rookie and will be expected to show more both offensively and defensively this season.

All-Star Jack Wilson has become one of the Pirates' focal points, along with Bay and Perez. Wilson emerged last season with the best offensive showing of his career. Always a stellar defender, Wilson now must show that his 2004 performance was not a fluke.

Ty Wigginton is set at third but the Pirates are expecting more out of him. After being traded to the Pirates by the New York Mets at the deadline, Wigginton appeared to press. He seems to have the offensive ability to post some solid numbers. Team brass wants to see him get better defensively and shed some pounds.

With Bay and newcomer Matt Lawton, a 2004 American League All-Star for Cleveland, set in two of the outfield positions, the one real battle in spring training will be between Tike Redman, Rob Mackowiak, Ward and possibly free agent Ben Grieve--the 1998 A.L. Rookie of the Year, who has bounced around while underachieving since winning that honor.

"We have depth, and depth at a lot of different positions," McClendon said. "I feel good about that depth. I feel good about that flexibility. The other thing is the young players are not young anymore. They've played at this level for two or three years and established themselves. They've shown they can be consistent and productive major league players. The natural progression is for those guys to take the next step and compete at a high level."

The other aspect that seems to have the Pirates excited is that the cliques that existed in the clubhouse in recent years have been entirely extinguished.

That has led to the younger core coming together and relying on one another instead of going off in all different directions.

"I think we all need to, as a group, be leaders," Mackowiak said. "Everyone is a leader. Mesa is a leader. I think if you take care of your own part, things will be fine. I don't think we're walking around afraid of each other.

"In the past, some of us have come in and didn't quite fit in. There were some people around here who it was hard for some of us to fit in with."

Gonzalez said the experience factor cannot be discounted.

"I feel we're going to be a lot better, an exciting team," he added. "A lot of us have that year under our belts. I think there is more drive on this team to win. There is definitely a collective will to win here. I feel it when I'm around these guys."

The reality of it all is the Pirates have to perform better. The feeling is that Lawton should spark the offense from the leadoff position and that if Bay, the Wilsons, Wigginton and Castillo show improvement, the Pirates might surprise some folks.

"Last year, we came into the season with a lot of uncertainty," Mackowiak said. "It was hard to tell who was going to be here and who was going to play where. Now, there's probably only a spot or two open. We have good competition within.

"Our big thing is to hit. We need hitting. We'll pitch well. That's our strength. The guys we have returning have to step it up offensively."

John E. Sacco has covered the Pirates and major league baseball for PSR since October 1998. He previously covered the Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and is a former member of the Baseball Writers of America Association, Pittsburgh Chapter.