CLUB SET TO CELEBRATE 40 YEARS SINCE ITS LAST WORLD SERIES TITLE
This season, the Pirates will celebrate the 40th anniversary
of their 1979 World Series title. It will be a chance to fondly remember the
"We Are Family" days, but also a reminder of just how long it's been
since the franchise last brought home a championship.
As Bucs President Frank Coonelly told a crowd of fans last
month at PiratesFest, 40 years is "too damn long."
Last spring, manager Clint Hurdle spoke optimistically about
"when" -- not if -- Pittsburgh will win another World Series. He did
it again at PiratesFest, expressing his belief that the team can't win another
championship without talking about it. Nobody wants to set the bar at 82 wins.
"What better city in baseball? You win the sixth World
Series here, this place will light up like a Roman candle," Hurdle said.
"Special. Significant. And with the group of guys, the way we're going to
get it done, the approach we've got to take and the model we're working with,
we feel like we can do it."
But how? Nobody else is going to talk about the Pirates
competing for a World Series title in 2019, even if their 82-win campaign last
year was an encouraging step forward after back-to-back losing seasons. They've
spent the previous three years stuck in the middle -- not quite good enough to
make the postseason, but not bad enough to tear it down and start over.
They've had a quiet winter one year after trading franchise
player Andrew
McCutchen and starter Gerrit Cole. The Bucs'
payroll has continued to shrink after reaching a franchise-record level in
2016. Most projection systems forecast another finish around .500. Playing in
the National League Central won't do them any favors, either.
Last year, the NL Central was the only division to feature
four clubs with winning records. And the Reds, the only sub-.500 team in 2018,
have actively upgraded their roster this offseason to accelerate their rebuild.
What path does that leave for the Pirates?
For starters, the Bucs think they can keep up with their
rivals. Last year, they went 43-33 in the NL Central -- their second winning
record within the division since it was formed.
"They don't get caught up in payroll. They're not going
to get caught star-gazing at names on the back of other teams' jerseys,"
Hurdle said. "More often than not, that just makes that edge a little bit
sharper for them. That's what would make it so much sweeter at the end."
The Pirates also believe in their pitching. They had the
Majors' fourth-best ERA after the All-Star break last year. They were
uncharacteristically aggressive last July, trading away premium young talent to
acquire starter Chris Archer and
reliever Keone Kela in
a pair of non-waiver Trade Deadline deals.
Archer will join Jameson
Taillon, Trevor
Williams and Joe Musgrove in
the rotation. Kela will set up All-Star closer Felipe Vazquez in
a bullpen that also features right-handers Kyle Crick and Richard
Rodriguez. All of those pitchers are under club control for at
least another year after this, giving Pittsburgh a window to win.
They may get a boost from their farm system, too, as Mitch Keller, ranked
as the club's No. 1 prospect by
MLB Pipeline, should be ready for the Majors this summer. In an ideal world for
the Bucs, Keller would provide a midseason boost to their rotation like Cole
did when they returned to the postseason in 2013.
But where will the run support come from? The Pirates
haven't added a big bat to their lineup, although there is at least a chance
that re-signed third baseman Jung Ho Kang will
return to form after nearly two years away. They've placed low-cost bets on
Kang, slick-fielding shortstop Erik Gonzalez and
veteran outfielder Lonnie
Chisenhall, but they're mostly hoping their core players will
take a step forward with another year of experience and a pair of new hitting
coaches.
The Pirates are expecting more out of first baseman Josh Bell and
third baseman Colin Moran.
They're hoping for good health and more of the same out of outfielders Corey
Dickerson, Starling Marte and Gregory
Polanco, and catchers Francisco
Cervelli and Elias Diaz. They're
giving Adam Frazier a
shot at second base after a strong second half.
If everything clicks and comes together, the Pirates could
contend for a playoff spot. If not? It'll be "too damn long" plus
another year.
The Pirates know that if they don’t win a world series then
they didn’t accomplish their goal.
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