http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Thursday, June 10, 2010
More and more, you see respected baseball observers — in public, without shame — talking about the Pirates finally having hope, a commodity in short supply during this soon-to-be 18-year losing streak.
I asked ESPN draft analyst Keith Law if he liked the Pirates' first two picks this week, electric but expensive high-school pitchers Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie.
"Very much," Law said. "The Pirates swung for the fences."
I asked longtime MLB guru Peter Gammons, in a radio interview, if he believes the Pirates' latest rebuilding plan is sensible.
"Absolutely," Gammons said.
Stetson Allie
ESPN's Buster Olney wrote a piece Monday suggesting the Pirates are "evolving," however slowly, thanks to potential impact players. He mentioned center fielder Andrew McCutchen, the team's past two first-round picks — Pedro Alvarez and Tony Sanchez — and Taillon.
That anyone is noticing the Pirates, let alone praising them, is news. I'll never forget a preseason conference call five years ago with ESPN's broadcast crew, when I asked Jon Miller if he could articulate the national perception of Pittsburgh's sickly baseball franchise.
Then, like now, the Pirates were on national television about as often as a Lastings Milledge home run. The legendary losing streak hadn't yet reached puberty; it was only 12.
"The national view of the Pirates, as a whole," Miller said, "is that people have no idea about them. The Pirates are anonymous nationwide."
That remains true, even if a good part of the country got a glimpse of your Buccos doing their best to make sure Strasburg-a-palooza went off without a hitch Tuesday night.
But maybe, must maybe, a shift is occurring. Maybe the Pirates finally will do this right. Many of those who shape baseball perception in this country believe as much, anyhow, and I tend to agree — tepidly, with an emphasis on maybe.
Give general manager Neal Huntington this much: He takes his cuts. He consistently tries to reel in high-end talent. He has acquired a virtual Who's Who of first-round flameouts, hoping one or two will spark up. The list includes Milledge, Craig Hansen, Tim Alderson, Jeff Clement and Bobby Crosby (no real sparks yet among that crew).
Huntington also collects power arms. Toss 'em into a strainer and see who sticks. That's how he came up with Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan.
Come draft time, the Pirates spit in the face of history — which says high-round, high-school pitchers are ticketed to fail — and took Taillon and Allie. They might have to spend upwards of $10 million to keep those two from going to college.
I like that kind of risk. I imagine I'm not alone. Fans frustrated at the puny major-league payroll often wonder, where does all the money go?
In this case, it'd be going to a couple of living, breathing baseball players (as opposed to, you know, Matt Morris) who throw close to 100 mph.
Law believes Taillon is about three years away from the majors. He believes Allie has better stuff but is probably four or five years away.
Gammons says it "takes five years to rebuild" and another one or two for the youngsters to learn how to win. The Pirates are in year three of their plan, so if he's right, 2013 or '14 might be golden.
Hey, you've waited 18 years, what's another three?
Next year, Law tells me, the top of the draft will be fertile with college pitchers, a handful of whom project as No. 1 starters.
So, like it or not, this still is going to take some patience. Obviously, it could all blow up like a Charlie Morton start, but for the first time in a long time, I smell something other than rotting promises at PNC Park.
I detect a whiff of hope.
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