Mike Prisuta: Pirates Trying Again

Casey's return proves Pirates are trying again
Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, December 8, 2005

It remains to be seen how many home runs Sean Casey will account for playing for his hometown team, but the Pirates have hit it out of the park merely by acquiring Casey's services from the Cincinnati Reds.

The trade that cost the Buccos under-appreciated lefty Dave Williams makes a statement whether Casey goes deep often or infrequently.

Based on his first 29 career games at PNC Park, the ballpark that's been waiting since its opening in 2001 for a lefty besides Brian Giles to really exploit that right field porch, Casey should be expected to provide close to 14 home runs and 67 RBI at home assuming he plays all 81 games on the North Shore. That translates into some potentially intriguing power numbers throughout the course of a complete season, home and road, particularly from a guy who can be expected to hit for average, an over-.300 average, as well as swing for the fences.

But Casey's value goes far beyond numbers.

He'll be a fixture not just at first base, but in the clubhouse and the community as well, and those are three areas where the Pirates have long been in need of some fixing.

And Casey will personify what is continuing to look suspiciously like a we're-finally-getting-serious-again commitment on the part of Pirates management.

Casey might even become the face of a franchise that apparently doesn't want to be perceived as a laughingstock any more by the time it hosts the 2006 All-Star Game.

Think of what the Pirates have done since their 13th consecutive losing season mercifully came to a close:

They've hired an honest-to-goodness major league manager in Jim Tracy, a guy who has a resume and a track record and one who, at first glance, at least, may be able to pull off the impossible by selling hope.

They've allowed Tracy to bring coaches with him from Los Angeles, suggesting the Pirates have upped the budget for their staff as well as for what they're willing to pay a manager.

And they've rewarded monstrously productive outfielder Jason Bay with a lucrative contract extension, not because it delays Bay's ability to become a free agent -- it doesn't -- but because it was the right thing to do (you can't have your best player playing for relative peanuts and be taken seriously).

Now, comes Casey, an on-the-field ambassador who will exude energy and leadership and reach out to the fans and the players around him like a pinstriped Hines Ward.

Casey should also be able to take advantage of all that real estate in left-center field while helping the Pirates take small but significant steps back toward legitimacy.

That'll translate into $8.5 million minus whatever the Reds are contributing toward his 2006 salary into money well spent.

Any homers Casey manages to contribute will be a bonus.

Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.