Not to say it will happen (and I certainly don’t think it will), but it’s fun to think about what the best case scenarios are for the club. Now is the time for optimism. Everyone’s 0-0, players are just now getting back to work, and quite frankly, we need to feel good about the club once in awhile. These are all pretty obvious I know. For “82” to really occur, you’re talking about planets aligning. Dogs and cats living together. Bipartisanship in Washington. So yeah, just about the impossible. While it’s not a team or manager mandated goal, most of us as fans certainly think about the streak constantly. Not a story is written about the Pirates outside of Pennsylvania without mention of it. Who wouldn’t want it to end?
1. The Position Players Must Stay Healthy – One scary thing the Bucs sorely lack right now is depth. Several of the starters are actually better suited as bench/platoon guys (first base, shortstop and right field) so any long stretches of injuries are going to take a toll, and fast. Imagine the scenarios if second base, third base, left field or center field were manned by a backup, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Adding poor starters to already borderline starters would be devastating.
2. The Starting Pitchers Must Improve – Across the board, improvement is demanded. Maholm needs to get back to his ’09 form. Ollie needs to stay healthy. Correia and McDonald need to give 150+ quality innings, and Morton needs to make the rotation because he deserves it, not because there are no other choices. I'm not at all concerned with the bullpen at this point, just in getting more quality starts.
3. There Need to be 1-2 Impact Rookies – Assuming that at least one of the starters will falter, it’s the arms waiting in the wings in Indy that need to make an impact. Hopefully Brad Lincoln and Rudy Owens will be able to step in mid-summer and make a name for themselves. With a likely Maholm trade around the corner (assuming of course that his nearly $10m club option isn't picked up for 2012 after a Cy Young worthy 2011), it’s time for an influx of pitching talent to hit Pittsburgh this year, like the influx of hitters did last year.
4. We Need 1-2 Career Years – Maybe it’s McCutchen taking it to the next level (.300, 20HR, 50 SB would be nice), Overbay returning to the doubles machine he once was, Skywalker proving that his 2010 was no fluke, Pedro becoming the 40 homer guy we all hope he will be, Tabata discovering a power stroke, Morton finally harnessing his "electric stuff" … someone needs to have that breakout star year. My hope is that Clint Hurdle will be instrumental in this regard.
5. The Rest of the Division Has to Kinda Suck – At first glance, this might seem to be the unlikeliest of all the scenarios, with the Cubs and Brewers joining the Cardinals and Reds as serious contenders to the NL Central Crown, and the Bucs most likely battling the Astros for not last. But hopefully a bit more parity will occur as all the good teams beat up on each other. One thing is for certain, no team is going to run away with this. The early PECOTA projections (which apparently were released in error and are being updated) have the Brewers winning with the division with 86 wins, and the Bucs only 10 games out in 5th. I would say that would make for one hell of an exciting summer!
Go Bucs!
5. The Rest of the Division Has to Kinda Suck – At first glance, this might seem to be the unlikeliest of all the scenarios, with the Cubs and Brewers joining the Cardinals and Reds as serious contenders to the NL Central Crown, and the Bucs most likely battling the Astros for not last. But hopefully a bit more parity will occur as all the good teams beat up on each other. One thing is for certain, no team is going to run away with this. The early PECOTA projections (which apparently were released in error and are being updated) have the Brewers winning with the division with 86 wins, and the Bucs only 10 games out in 5th. I would say that would make for one hell of an exciting summer!
Go Bucs!
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