Pittsburgh Pirates:

Pirates look to find treasure buried in their lineup

The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the few baseball teams that have been playing since the 19th century. Their inaugural season in Major League Baseball was in 1887. The team has had Hall of Famers like Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. The team has won seven National League pennant and five World Series Trophies. The last time the Pirates were in the World Series was in 1979. The team was lead by Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and Bruce Kison. They scrapped their way to a 98-64 record on their way to a divisional crown. In the playoffs they dismissed the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 and then managed to get by the Baltimore Orioles to win their fifth World Series title. The last time Pittsburgh got to the playoffs was in 1992 where they squared off against the Atlanta Braves. The series was intense and went the distance of seven games. In the deciding game the Pirates took a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. The Braves rallied and scored three runs including Sid Bream’s final run on a play at the plate. It was heartbreaking for Pirates fans everywhere but it made for great baseball. In 2003 the Pirates weren’t quite as successful as they would’ve liked to have been. The Lloyd McClendon led club finished in fourth place in the NL Central with a 75-87 record.

The off-season was anything but huge for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team is in “rebuilding” mode right now so they weren’t in the market looking for the superstar names that most teams were looking for. They made a good deal of minor league deals that they hope will help them out in the years to come. However, in the 2003 season, the team did pull off a huge deal with the San Diego Padres. The Pirates traded superstar outfielder Brian Giles for outfielder Jason Bay, and left handed pitcher Oliver Perez.

Many thought that with the losses of Brian Giles, Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders the Pirates batting order would look rather toothless. That idea couldn’t be any further from the truth. Through the month of June the team was batting .272 which ranked them fourth in the NL. The team is lead by shortstop Jack Wilson, utility man Craig Wilson and one of the few guys that have been kept around catcher Jason Kendall.

The Pirate starting pitching staff is rich with young arms. The average age of their starters is 26.2. Their ace, Kris Benson, is their elder statesman at the ripe old age of 29. The main man in the bullpen is ageless wonder Jose Mesa. The 16 year veteran has saved 265 of his 308 save opportunities.

PNC Park is the home field for the Pittsburgh Pirates. This 38,365 stadium opened its doors for the first time for the 2001 season. The stadium is situated on the bank of the Alleghany River and displays the Pittsburgh skyline as its scenery in center field.

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