April Rewind

The Pirates ended the month of April (and one game in March) at 11-16: WLW LLW LLL WWW WLL LLL LW WL LLW LW Overview: There were several good things and several bad things to say about the month. First off, they have to play better against the Cubs. 0-6 vs a team they still have to face 12 more times is really going to make 82 a tough prospect. They also need to stop the long losing streaks. It's nice to see the 1st Cubs L-sweep followed by the Reds W-sweep. Unfortunately, the 2nd Cubs L-sweep was followed by a Matt Morris start, and consequently a loss to the Marlins. Morris is finally gone, so that's settled. But in a sense, management has probably given up on the season already, because if they should find themselves anywhere close to contention (don't laugh) they have already spent $11 million to let Morris loose. Hopefully there won't be a fire sale mentality in a couple of months. I can see trading one of either Jason Bay or Xavier Nady, but certainly not both. I would rather they dump Adam LaRoche if he ever heats up, since Steve Pearce is more of a 1B-OF than a OF-1B. Hitting: Nate McLouth certainly looks like a deserving Pirate representative on July 15th in Yankee Stadium right now. He's the Pirate of the month, no question. Beyond his hitting streak to open the season, he's come around from a mini-slump which suggests he might be for real. Nady has been fantastic, as he and McLouth lead the NL in RBI's. Ryan Doumit and Bay are looking pretty decent right now as well. So if Freddy Sanchez can resurrect his batting champ form, Jack Wilson can get back healthy, and LaRoche gives them anything, then suddenly the offensive looks (dare I say) almost intimidating. Pitching: Ian Snell looks like he can be an ace-type, and Paul Maholm is settling in as a #2 type. I'm more than a little concerned though about how lefty heavy the rotation has become. Tom Gorzellanny had a nice start yesterday, but he left with spasms. Uh-oh. Zack Duke and Phil Dumatrait could battle for the last spot, but looking at John Van Benschoten's start in Indy, give him the ball. He needs to start, not come out of the bullpen. Give him a start or 2 against clubs like the Nationals or Giants so he can get some confidence. Sure he's more than struggled in his other callups, but the pen isn't that bad right now, with John Grabow leading the way right now. But maybe Dumatrait can show something seeing as he's only had 6 career starts. If Grabow continues his success, he could bring a trade bounty in a couple of months for a contender. Matt Capps, Tyler Yates, and Damaso Marte certainly round out a decent bullpen. Else: John Russell has got to get these guys playing better defense. Brian Bixler has struggled for sure in his short stay. For a team struggling to find an identity, giving away runs, and hence games is deflating to say the least. And as said earlier, they need to stop the long losing streaks. May Fast Forward: The Buccos have 5 games to make up from April. Home dates with the Giants, Braves, Brewers, and Cubs; road dates against the Nationals, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds and Cardinals again. 28 games, and no Matt Morris starts? How about 16-12?