The Disciples of Doom have much less to talk about these days when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the vultures have already begun their descent on the Houston Astros, fun in the sun seems to be the rule in Pirates camp.
The long-maligned franchise may have finally begun to see that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Pittsburgh is, by no means, looking ready to thrash the New York Yankees in the World Series, but they might be ready to push a few teams behind them in the NL Central race.
Maybe they are ready to win that magical 82nd game in a season.
You have to be happy about what Pirates' general manager Neal Huntington has done in just a year-and-a-half. Let's take a look at what he's done for the Pirates thus far:
1. He's infused a dried-up farm system, with talent from top to bottom.
2. He's hired coaches who are guiding that talent up the ladder.
3. He's found a steady hand in manager John Russell, who says little but demands the most out of his players.
4. He's identified a strong core of players in Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit. Now he's putting the team around them.
5. He's gotten rid of poor contracts (Matt Morris, for example) that were holding the organization down, and instead agreed to smart deals.
7. He's made a bold statement about the change in direction by drafting the best player available (Pedro Alvarez) and then standing toe-to-toe with Scott Boras until a contract agreement was finalized.
You have to admit that this team might have something.
It's not perfect, however, as the starting rotation still has a myriad of questions that need answered both before and during the season.
Andy LaRoche, Adam LaRoche, Brandon Moss, and Nyjer Morgan all have to prove themselves to the coaches and fans. Alvarez also has to develop and make himself worth the millions of dollars spent to put his bat in the lineup.
Yes, its not perfect. There's also no guarantee that the Pirates will get to 82 wins this season. There's also, for the first time in years, no reason that they can't.
Over the past 16 years, the Pirates maybe fielded a competitive team two or three times to start the season. The closest they really came was in 2003 when Kenny Lofton, Reggie Sanders, and Jeff Suppan brought their acts to town.
That didn't work.
The Pirates have tried everything in 16 years to end the suffering.
First they tried drafting pitchers first every year. Like the Detroit Lions and wide receivers, this quickly became a comical disaster. The past is now littered with Bobby Bradley and Bryan Bullington among others, as big names and big arms quickly fell apart.
Then there was the move toward veterans like Sanders and Lofton. This would surely work, right? They would assemble a team of moderately-priced, but vastly talented veterans and they would not only attract crowds, but they would create a winner.
That didn't quite pan out. Lofton and Sanders were great, but the team still couldn't find the door to climb out of the basement.
Now, 16 years after it all started, they are trying something new.
They are building a team through the draft, signing only those veterans who fit the plan and aren't asking the Pirates to pay them what they were worth in their prime. They're holding players accountable for their performance and making changes as soon as negative patterns become evident.
David Littlefield would keep Tom Gorzelanny in the starting rotation. Neal Huntington and John Russell could very well force their best pitcher in 2007 to the minors because of his poor performance.
The fans won't be happy until the Pirates are raising the jolly roger for at least the 82nd time in a summer. That's understandable.
But they should be very excited about where the ship is headed right now.
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