2008 Pittsburgh Pirates

Taking a look at the 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Not looking very promising. I think Einstein said it best when he defined insanity as “doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.” It seems the Buccos are keeping the same formula as always. Sign a washed up veteran (Byung Hyun Kim) to a minor league deal, add no depth to that starting rotation that just can’t seem to get into the 7th inning, and keep adding more bobblehead give-a-ways to keep the fans coming.

Can John Russell turn it around? Who knows. Gary Varsho on the bench and Tony Beasley will help. Beasley seemed to be a great manager when in AA Altoona, and continued his success after. Varsho, who has some experience as a player with the Bucs in 91-92 and 94, will be the coach that can relate to the players well.

After Jason Bay’s rants in the offseason about not aggressively trying to get better talent, what kind of season can we expect from him? Is his heart still in Pittsburgh? I look for Adam LaRoche to have a more productive year from the plate. Hopefully Freddie Sanchez returns to his batting title form and can uplift the top of the order.

Centerfield is a question mark still in spring training. Who will get the majority of the time? Nyjer Morgan and Nate McLouth can both make a strong case over Chris Duffy.

Hopefully this season the Pirates can crack that 82 win mark and not add their 16th losing season in a row.

Now that’s Insanity.