Yes believe it or not they still have a team in Pittsburgh...and they are still in the MLB. They haven't had a winning season in about 15 years, but they still need to be previewed.
The Pirates have begun building up a decent pitching staff. Ian Snell, Tom Gorzolanny, Zach Duke, and Paul Maholm give them a couple of young starters who could impove on their seasons last year. Of course they also acquired Matt Morris who is much older but it was thought he could come over and help the young pitchers grow up. The success of the Pirates would lean heavily on the young starters and shaky bullpen.
Demaso Marte will be one of their lefty specialists and will probably be traded to another club before the trade deadline. Matt Capps will be the closer for this club, and appears to have some potential. The entire pitching staff is a question mark at this point, and will be a major impact on the Pirates and the NL Central.
The lineup is shaky as well. The CF spot is not settled with Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy still battling for the spot.
Projected lineup:
1. Chris Duffy CF
2. Jose Batista 3B
3. Freddy Sanchez 2B
4. Jason Bay LF
5. Adam LaRoche 1B
6. Xavier Nady RF
7. Jack Wilson SS
8. Ronnie Paulino C
Jack Wilson could move up the lineup, or possibly out of Pittsburgh. A couple of teams were interested in trading for him (Tigers not so much now), but he could still be moved in a salary dump type of move, although this is probably less likely now.
The lineup has a couple of question spots. Freddy Sanchez won a batting title recently and is a pretty good ballplayer, but he is not a three hitter in many other lineups. Jason Bay is a very good hitter and had a down year last year, he could come back strong for this team. The offense is not a juggernaut and will not outscore you often in a slugfest, but they are respectable.
The Pirates are in a division with the Cubs, Brewers, Reds, Astros, and Cardinals all of those teams are probably better than the Pirates. It is tough to invision this team breaking out of the slump of 15 consecutive losing seasons.
Wins prediction: 70-73 wins
There is hope in Pittsburgh though...only a few more months until the Steelers start up again!