Day 29: Pittsburgh Pirates

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

2007 Regular Season Record: 68-94

Cost per Win: $38,537,833 / 68 = $566,732 per win

2007 Season Recap: The Pirates last reached the playoffs in 1992 and that was also the last season that they achieved a winning record. This streak was in no way reversed in 2007. The Pirates finished the season with 68 wins and ended up in last place in the NL Central and 17 games back of the Cubs. They weren’t particularly strong in terms of either offense or pitching. As a team they ranked 10th in batting average in the NL and 12th in runs. The pitching statistics weren’t any better since the staff earned a 4.93 ERA which ranked 14th in the NL and 13th or worst in every other statistical pitching category.

The Pirates got some good individual performances on offense. Their team leader in terms of batting average was Freddy Sanchez with a .304 average, Sanchez also had 77 runs scored and had 81 RBIs which both ranked in the top 3 for the team. The Pirates also got good numbers out of Jack Wilson who hit for a .296 average, scored 67 runs, and had 56 RBIs. Another player who had noteworthy stats was Josh Phelps who was acquired in June from the Yankees. While with the Pirates he hit for a .351 batting average and had 5 home runs and 19 RBIs in 77 at bats.

The Pirates starting pitchers actually ended up with fairly good numbers considering the overall record and the amount of runs that were scored for them. The team leader for wins was Tom Gorzelanny with a 14-10 record and a 3.88 ERA. The other 2 pitchers with more than 29 starts had 10-15 and 9-12 records. The Pirates leader in saves was Matt Capps who finished with 18 saves and a 2.28 ERA.

Key Free Agents: SS Cesar Izturis, 1B Josh Phelps, SP Tony Armas, RP Shawn Chacon, 3B Matt Kata, 3B Jose Castillo; The Pirates are losing a lot of guys. It’s interesting that they released Phelps after he played well for them in his short time with the team but that most likely has everything to do with the fact that the Pirates have a lot of depth at first base already and didn’t have a need for him.

Offseason Needs: The Pirates have some depth issues with their free agent losses. Currently on their depth chart 2nd year player Josh Wilson is listed as the back-up at 2nd, shortstop, and 3rd base which will not work out to well when they need to rest some guys. So increasing infield depth should be high on the list of priorities. After that the Pirates could also address some of their pitching problems primarily in the bullpen. Any major improvements will require some big spending just like many other teams near the bottom of the standing in 2007. I don’t see the Pirates doing that kind of spending this off-season and the talent really isn’t available in free agency to improve the team to much at this point.

Prediction for the 2008 season: I don’t see a lot changing for the Pirates in 2008. They just haven’t made a lot of improvements so far this off-season but they have developed some youth so they might be able to improve some. The Astros and Reds both look weak so the Pirates could very easily move themselves up to 4th in the division if things go their way. There is certainly some talent there but also several questions marks around the team as to how some key parts will perform.