The Pittsburgh Pirates are first in the National League Central Division standings, and it's not April?
How cool is that?
More like cute, actually, if you listen to much of the national sports media. The long-dormant Pirates, dregs of the NL for oh-so-many years now, are competitive? How adorable!
Naturally, name recognition hasn't caught up to the kitschy Pirates just yet. Outside of All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen, precious few of those precious Pirates spring to mind for most baseball fans as Pittsburgh entered Monday night in a three-way tie atop the NL Central standings.
It doesn't matter, really. More likely than not, Pittsburgh is just a mirage temporarily stalling the current big boys in the division -- this year, that's the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds (no, not you Cubs and Astros). Even if the Pirates were to somehow slip through on into the playoffs, the Atlanta Braves and/or Philadelphia Phillies would likely make quick work of these lovable Bucs. Then there's the defending world champion San Francisco Giants to consider. It's a pretty dicey thing, this Pirates renaissance.
But hey, that's life as a small-market franchise in the current climate of major league baseball. Deep-pocketed teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can continue to throw good money after bad, make free-agent mistake after mistake, and absorb the cost without flinching.
For the Pirates and their small-market brethren, it remains a different story even in the aftermath of baseball's revenue sharing. Certainly, making the big boys pay what is in effect a tax for doing business their way -- i.e., spending above and beyond the majority of their competition -- has narrowed the gap at least superficially.
The Red Sox can roll the dice with risky free agents like supposed Japanese pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka (he isn't), or the Yankees can overpay for guaranteed production from top-flight starters like CC Sabathia, but for the Pirates, making a move like that -- and making the wrong move -- can have dire consequences.
Which brings us to Jayson Werth. The Washington Nationals are financially a bit different from the Pirates -- the D.C. metro area offers plenty of revenue projection, even with the split television deal with the Baltimore Orioles that is MASN -- and if the Nationals could somehow, some way, put a competitive team on the field, the money would start flowing in. That's the thinking, anyway. Much rides on two players currently in Washington's pipeline -- injured phenom Stephen Strasburg and the rock-star status of rising minor leaguer Bryce Harper.
The future is near, so who could blame Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo for trying to put the pieces in place for a winning franchise -- starting with a certain cornerstone corner outfielder from division rival Philadelphia. The Werth deal -- all seven years and $126 million of it -- was roundly panned this past offseason as an egregious overpay. So far this season, Werth has done little to dispel that criticism -- that unsightly .217 batting average along with a modest 11 homers and 35 RBIs so far isn't exactly what Rizzo had in mind. Werth, already 32, hardly seems likely to improve as the years go on in that lengthy contract.
Then again, Werth has plenty of time to turn things around -- six more years, plus what's left of this one. As the deal stands, he likely won't be going anywhere any time soon, so for better or worse Werth should be around for the emergence of the Nationals' dynamic 1-2 punch of Strasburg and Harper.
The Pirates face a different, but equally perilous dilemma this season. As bona-fide contenders -- the standings say so, for the first time since the Barry Bonds era of the late 1980s and early '90s -- Pittsburgh is feeling the pressure to -- gasp! -- win now. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has gone on the record saying as much by acknowledging his team's status as buyers in the annual trade market. Normally this time of year, the Pirates roster resembles a flea market of potential useful parts for "real" teams looking to improve at least incrementally for the stretch run.
Now it's Huntington doing the browsing, and the sticker shock might be a bit much for the Pirates. With all the endless rebuilding and high draft picks Pittsburgh has accumulated over the years, Huntington has prospects he could deal.
Should he, that's the real question. While prized third baseman Pedro Alvarez and live-armed starting pitchers such as Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie are still likely off-limits, much of the rest of the Pirates' minor league depth could be in play as next week's trade deadline nears.
A significant move to bolster these surprising Pirates could make Huntington the most popular man in town. The wrong move, however, could haunt Pittsburgh for many more years to come.
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