Ryan Doumit

Today is the first installment of a position-by-position look at the Pittsburgh Pirates camp battles in spring training.

We begin behind the plate, which was a sore spot both offensively and defensively during the 2010 campaign. Teams stole bases on the Pirates pitchers and catchers at an alarming rate a season ago. It was so alarming that it prompted Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington into making some midseason changes.

On a day where the Pirates made some minor moves by signing Garrett Atkins to a minor league deal, acquiring minor league shortstop Corey Wimberly from Oakland, claimed left-hander Aaron Thompson of waivers from Washington, and designated reliever Wil Ledezma for assignment, it's time to take a different look at some of the Pirates needs.

It's the holiday season, so just like everyone else, the Pirates have their wish list for Christmas.

Only time will tell if the Buccos have been naughty or nice.  Maybe some of their wishes can be granted.

I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats anxiously awaiting to see who would be so lucky to be honored by achieving my year-end Pirates awards.

On a team that lost 105 games, awards aren't likely for many of these guys. Or deserved for that matter. What fun would that be though?

Let's dive right in and see who receives the dubious honors to conclude the 2010 season.

Feel free to comment and add your own opinions on each award.

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Are you in a two-catcher league, and looking for an under the radar option to potentially carry you over the final week of the season?  Surprisingly, there are probably many of you out there, with players like Geovany Soto and Yadier Molina being lost for the year.

We all know that filling out your catcher spots are difficult the deeper your league is, but Brad Davis of the Florida Marlins could be an interesting option to turn to.

First, let’s look at what he has done through Friday:

Ryan Doumit is not the X-factor that the Pirates want him to be. It is that plain and simple.

Doumit is serviceable with his bat when he is a catcher. He is a defensive nightmare this year at catcher though.

They decided he should try the field and put him at first base. His .257 average, eight home runs, and 34 RBI are very average for a first baseman.

The Pirates had another busy trade deadline, but unlike years past, this year there were no salary dumps or accumulation of prospects. The Pirates made three trades today and all appear to be good baseball moves.

The Pirates acquired catcher Chris Snyder and minor league shortstop Pedro Ciriaco from the Arizona Diamondbacks, in exchange for Ryan Church, Bobby Crosby and D.J. Carrasco.

They also sent closer Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-hander James McDonald and minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo.

Who woke up the Pirates offense after the all-star break? Whoever it was, what took you so long? The Pirates entered the break with pretty much the worse offense in baseball. It looked like it would be another long and dreadful summer, but the Bucs have come out swinging the sticks to begin the second half of the season.