It is now the Pittsburgh Pirates' turn to receive their 2009 report card. First, let's take a look at their record and their statistical team leaders:
Pittsburgh Pirates:
Record: 62-99 (Last place in the NL Central, 28.5 games behind St. Louis).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Garrett Jones (.293)
Home Runs: Garrett Jones (21)
RBIs: Andy LaRoche (64)
On-base Percentage: Garrett Jones(.372)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf (11)
ERA: Ross Ohlendorf (3.92). Bullpen- Steven Jackson (3.14).
Strikeouts: Paul Maholm (119)
Innings Pitched: Zach Duke (213.0)
WHIP: Ross Ohlendorf (1.23)
Saves: Matt Capps (27)
Highlight of the season: On August 1, rookie outfielder Andrew McCutchen blasts three home runs at home against Washington to help the Bucs sink the Nats, 11-6. He became the first Pirate to accomplish the feat since Aramis Ramirez did it in 2001, and he was the first to do it at home since Darnell Coles did it in 1987.
Lowlight of the season: On September 7, the Pirates lost at home against the Chicago Cubs, 4-2. The loss was Pittsburgh's 82nd of the year, which ensured the team of their 17th consecutive losing season, the most in North American professional sports history. The Pirates broke the record formerly held by the Philadelphia Phillies, who suffered through 16 consecutive losing seasons between 1933 and 1948.
The Lowdown:
If there was ever a poster child of a team taking one step forward and two steps back, it would definitely be the Pittsburgh Pirates. For a long time, they have been the butt of many jokes among baseball fans, and this year was not any different for the Bucs. Their 99 loss campaign this season was their worst finish since 2001, when they lost 100 in their inaugural season at PNC Park. Mercifully, Pirates fans would not have to endure a 100 loss season this year, if only for the fact that they played 161 games instead of the full 162 (they failed to make up a postponed game). This year's final record was no doubt exacerbated by their ghastly 13-29 record in their final 42 games to reach 99 losses. The Bucs also witnessed the trade of several of their stars during the 2009 season, as they traded Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson to the Braves, Giants and Mariners, respectively. The McLouth trade was perhaps the most painful one of them all for Pirates fans and players, since he was their only All-Star in 2008, and a great presence in the clubhouse. However, wherever there is a dark cloud, there is always a silver lining, and the arrivals of Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen give Pirate fans hope for the future. Let's take a look at the team beginning with their offense.
Offense:
The Pirates offense in 2009 was pretty anemic, to say the least. They finished dead last in runs scored in MLB, crossing the plate only 636 times. They were also near the bottom in MLB in other major batting categories including batting average (27th), on-base percentage (28th) and home runs (28th). Despite the lack of offense on the Bucs, they still had some people in their lineup whose performances are worth mentioning. Their two best hitters were rookies Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen. Jones led the team in three of the four major batting categories listed above, and McCutchen put together a solid campaign at the plate, hitting .286 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in 108 games. His on-base percentage was also a solid .365 in that time span, and once he got on base, he would often show off his best asset- his speed. He stole a modest 22 bases in 27 chances this season, but that total is likely to go up next year, once he gets a full season under his belt.
Other than those two, the only other person in their lineup that accomplished anything was third baseman Andy LaRoche, who just happened to lead the team in RBIs only because Jones and McCutchen did not play the whole season. Outfielder Lastings Milledge hit a modest .279 for the Bucs this year, but he is still young and looks to improve at the plate next year. Outside of that, there's nothing much to report about the Pirates' offense except that it is pretty bad overall.
Final grade: D-
Pitching:
The Bucs had a team ERA of 4.59, which was 25th in the majors. Opposing teams hit a robust .276 off of their staff this season, which was the fourth-worst in the majors. If there was any good stat that came out of the Bucs' pitching staff, it was the fact that they only issued 563 walks as a team, which was 14th in the majors. The high "batting average against" stat could probably be attributed to the fact that Pirates pitchers are at least throwing strikes, which is progress. The only thing that hurts them is the lack of power pitching on the staff, which can also explain why teams hit so well against them. Since there are not any real power pitchers in their starting rotation, their margin for error is very slim. If they don't hit their spots, they can get creamed pretty quickly.
The people that stood out in the Pirates pitching staff this year had to be Zach Duke and Ross Ohlendorf. Duke was able to battle back from a particularly ugly 2008 campaign, when he went 5-14, with a 4.82 ERA in 185 innings pitched. He cracked the 200 inning barrier for the first time since 2006, and he lowered his ERA down to 4.06, his lowest since his rookie year in 2005. This certainly has to give the Pirates a good feeling about him heading into 2010, as he may be finally showing that his rookie year was no fluke.
Ross Ohlendorf was finally able to get his first full season as a starter under his belt in 2009, and he did not disappoint, as he finished 11-10 with a 3.92 ERA in 176.2 innings. His 1.23 WHIP was pretty dazzling for a Pirates pitcher, as he would go on to finish among baseball's best in that category. Also, Paul Maholm had a respectable year, as he went 8-9, with a 4.44 ERA in 194.2 innings pitched. He was also the team leader in strikeouts, as shown in the statistical leaders above.
The bullpen had to be the Pirates' Achilles heel, as far as pitching goes. The two relievers who made the most appearances for the Pirates were lefty Jesse Chavez and right-handed closer Matt Capps, with Chavez coming on 73 times and Capps appearing 57 times. When you have those guys coming on that many times in relief, you would expect them to be pretty good, right? Wrong. Chavez had a unsightly 4.01 ERA in 67.1 innings of relief, and Capps had a horrific 5.80 ERA as a closer. That was a substantial step down from his 2008 season, when he gave up over two less runs per game (3.02). His problem was giving up the long ball, which he did 10 times this season. That is not something you want to see out of your closer. The star of the pen was probably John Grabow, who came on 45 times in relief, and finished with a 3.42 ERA. However, in a typical Pittsburgh-esque move, he was traded to the Cubs mid-season.
Overall, the starting rotation certainly showed some promise in 2009, but they could be a lot better. Throwing more strikes is certainly progress for a team that is usually hampered by inept pitching, but the bullpen really brought down the overall performance of the staff.
Final Grade: D
Wild Card: Rookies
As mentioned earlier, Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen had fantastic rookie campaigns in 2009. To be honest, I thought that Garrett Jones should have won Rookie of the Year this season, but apparently he did not "wow" the reporters enough. Whatever. If the Pirates do not end up trading them away (like they usually do with their good players when they become too expensive), it should be fun watching those two develop over the next few years.
Final Grade: A
Overall:
Even though their star rookies Jones and McCutchen are fun to watch, and despite the fact that their pitchers have been throwing more strikes than usual, this is still a a very flawed team, to put it lightly. Any team that loses 99 games does not deserve to get a decent grade, but Jones and McCutchen save this team from getting a "F."
Final Grade: D+
Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Baltimore Orioles!
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