Opening Day roster reaction: The Pitching Staff.

                              I have been busy with Pitt, NCAA tournamen business, and of course High School Basketball. I love all things sports, but Pirates baseball has always been the backbone of this blog, at least I like to think it is. I'll try to keep up with the season and the events it brings as best as I can on the blog. Forewarning, I am not the most knowledgeable baseball guru, but I can hold my own. Again, I like to think so. I will tell it how it is, or how I see how it is. If you are looking for sabermetrics statistics, this probably is not the place for you. I do not understand it all, but I understand some people like it. I do not get why a trillion little acronyms tell me why Andrew McCutchen is the best centerfielder in baseball anymore than the usual stats do, but again its just not my cup of tea. So the forewarning is over, we can talk some baseball.

Starting rotation- The Pirates will anchor their staff with 36 year old righty, AJ Burnett. Burnett is coming off of a bit of a revivial season. He was able to be the main guy in Pittsburgh mostly, but like most of the Pittsburgh baseball club, he tailed off late in the season. He still possess a good fastball, and his control still appears to be on par. Burnett's best assets are his passion, and leadership. He is one of the leader's of the clubhouse, and younger guys seem to respond to him. The Pirates will be asking a lot of the veteran. I'm hopeful he can produce in the 15 win range again. After that,  Wandy Rodriguez will be the number 2 man in the rotation. The 34 year old lefty was the big trade acquistion last season, and came with mixed results. Overall, Rodriguez has been a pretty consistent big league pitcher, and I see him being able to post double digit wins again. He is an inning eater, and every rotation needs a few of those. James McDonald will enter as the third starting pitcher. He had a strange season last season, as he looked like an All Star for half the season, and flopped for the most part in the second half. You will hear about the great stuff and potential he possess, and you will see it too. The key is consistency. I get less thrilled with the potential of the remaining two spots. Francisco Liriano will begin the season on the DL, but he has had a less than ideal past few seasons. He may be able to turn some things around, but he needs to prove it.  Jonathan Sanchez will take his place, and that may not be a good thing. Sanchez had a few OK seasons with San Francisco, but nothing great for being in a good pitcher's park. He had a horrid 2012, and a bad Spring. Jeff Locke beat out Kyle McPhearson for the fifth spot. Both guys are organization guys with limited major league potential. Neither are more than fringe fifth starters, but they are not terrible. Locke gives the rotation three left handers, which does not excite me.  

Analysis- Simply put, Burnett needs to pitch pretty much on par with what he did last year. The rotation's success starts with him, and actually with the dead weight at the back end, he may need to do more than last year.  Rodriguez needs to find his grove in Pittsburgh. He struggled initially after the trade, but got it going somewhat. He still has some good seasons left in him, and the Pirates could sure use one. James McDonald is all about consistency, he can pitch like an ace on one night and a minor leaguer the next. Locke and Sanchez seem to be fillers for Liriano and Jeff Karstens. Karstens in return appears to be a filler for top prospect, Gerrit Cole. The Pirates can hang on to Cole longer if they hold out to June, so unless some unforseeable mess of injuries occurs, do not expect to see Cole before then. He will be in Pittsburgh around then, if all things hold true. The other top prospect, Jameson Taillon, seems a longshot to make Pittsburgh this year, but it could happen. The rotation can be a strength, but it is no doubt shaky. Consistency is the key.

My Grade- C

Bullpen- The Bullpen will look much different without Joel Hanrahan as its face. The two time all star was shipped up to Boston. (Dropkick Murpphy's reference: intended) The Pirates will have some familar faces from last season, some new intriguing ones, and being brutally honest, some bad ones.  Jason Grilli will assume the role as closer to start the season. The 36 year old can still bring the fastball, and is coming off the best season of his career. The Pirates found him out of nowhere (and sidenote--if nothing else, Neal Huntington can scout out relief pitching.) Grilli will need to be that guy to shut down and seal off close games, the Hammer was pretty good, and he also had a good entrance video, so Grilli has so much to live up to. After that, I see  Mark Melancon being pretty good. He had a good Spring training, and the talent is there. The cliche "change of scenery" can definitely apply here. He has a good fastball, and has closer potential down the line. Hanrahan had similar credentials before joining the Pirates, and he turned out to be pretty good. Jared Hughes is another right hander that can be placed at the back of the bullpen. He looks like a bully out on the mound, and he had a tremendous Spring following up a solid 2012 campaign. Tony Watson will be the top left hander. He had a miserable Spring, and an OK 2012. I think Watson can be a desent option for Hurdle in situational use. Justin Wilson was kept on as another lefty, and I like what he can become. He throws in the high 90's and can strikeout a lot of batters, and he is only 25. He was a starter for most of his minor league career, but I like the thought of him in the Bullpen.  Jeanmar Gomez is young and was a starting pitcher in Cleveland up until now. I am not exactly sure how or why he is in the Pirates' bullpen. Chris Leroux had a 8.59 ERA in Spring Training, and he is on the 25 man roster. That is all I need to say.

Analysis- Joel Hanrahan is a little better than some Pirate fans would like to admit, and he will be missed. The comfort of knowing he was there, was a nice luxury. I am not a big Grilli guy, and I will be surprised if he remains the closer throughout the season. I like what Melancon can be. Guys like Hughes, Wilson, and Watson are homegrown guys, and they can be reliable. After that, I say there are some MAJOR probelems. Leroux? Gomez? Ehhh, I bet this will be a revolving door.

My Grade- C-