Another
season, another poorly planned rebuilding phase for Pirates
 You
have to hand it to baseball fans in Pittsburgh. The Cubs and
Red Sox fans get all of the ink for being a long-suffering lot.
But at least their teams are fairly competitive year-in and
year-out. The Pirates? The last time they contended for a division
title, Bill Clinton had not yet been elected president, George
W. Bush still owned the Texas Rangers and Britney Spears was
a Mouskateer.
And this season should again be rife with suffering.
Last season you could look at the Pirates' lineup and see recognizable
major-league talents such as Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, Reggie
Sanders and Kenny Lofton. This season we're being asked to believe
that a lineup that includes the likes of Tike Redman and Chris
Stynes, and stars such as Jason Kendall and Raul Mondesi, might
somehow be worth spending money on to watch.
Sorry, but I'm not buying it.
We've been hearing for several years now how this team has acquired
a ton of young talent by finishing low in the standings year
after year.
But what have we seen so far?
Nada, zip, nothing.
This is not a team that has proven to be able to develop its
own major-league talent. And when the Pirates have, such as
in the case of Ramirez, they have given up on it way too early.
The Pirates seem to be a team in a constant rebuilding plan
without much of a clue as to how exactly they want to do it.
It's a little like trying to build a home without a blueprint.
PNC Park was supposed to bring major league-quality baseball
back to Pittsburgh.
But as we enter the park's fourth season, we're seeing a team
trimming payroll, holding fire sales for its star players and
readying itself for what looks to be a 100-loss season.
It wouldn't be so bad if there was a light at the end of the
tunnel. But it's tough to say there is.
Certainly young players such as Ryan Vogelsong, John Van Benschoten
and Sean Burnett played well enough during this exhibition season
to show they will be solid contributors down the road, if not
this season.
The question is, when?
The team already sent Van Benschoten to its minor league camp
and Burnett is a virtual lock to start the season in Class AAA.
As for Vogelsong, he's battling for a spot in the starting rotation
with 39-year-old Rick Reed.
When it comes down to keeping a veteran or letting a prospect
take the reins, there should be no question what happens: Get
the youngster on the field. At least he has a shot to get better.
Maybe the Pirates are a little gun shy because during their
last rebuilding effort they rushed position players Jose Guillen
and Ramirez and put too much pressure on young starting pitchers
Jason Schmidt, Jon Lieber and Esteban Loiaza.
But they also gave up on all of those players before they should
have, mostly because they were starting to get to the point
in their careers where they would become eligible to earn big
contracts. Now, all have gone on to much bigger and better things
with other teams.
At some point, the vicious cycle has to end. At some point,
Pirates fans have to be given something other than the hope
for .500 to look forward to.
If not, why even bother to field a team in Pittsburgh?
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2/1/04
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