2008 Pittsburgh Pirates Picks & Predictions
May 22, 2008
The Pirates have played below .500 baseball the last 15 seasons and nothing is telling me that a turnaround is coming any time soon. Find out if fans have any reason to feel optimistic in Dave Price’s 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates predictions.
Pitching
The Pirates have a solid starting rotation, but it is hard to pitch on losing teams which don’t score many runs. Ian Snell has ace-quality stuff, but he recorded just 9 wins for the Pirates last season. His 3.76 ERA was more than respectable. Tom Gorzelanny somehow went 14-10 on a team which won only 68 games in 2007. Paul Maholm went 10-15. Southpaw Zach Duke has not lived up to his billing as the Bucs’ ace of the future. After a stellar 8-2 rookie season, he is only 13-23 since. Matt Morris rounds out the starting rotation. With the exception of Morris, the Pirates have a young staff with plenty of talent, but it’s hard to pitch with confidence when you consistently receive no run support.
Matt Capps won the closer job last season saving 18 of his 20 opportunities. He will likely make his living starring for another team at some point with Pittsburgh almost certainly being forced to use him as trade bait.
Offense
Jack Wilson had been in a two-season slump before bouncing back to hit .296 last season. The Pirates need him to hit for a high average in the two-hole. Many don’t even know that Freddy Sanchez was the 2006 NL batting champ. He has had 383 hits the past two seasons and drove in 81 runners on a low scoring team in 2007. Adam LaRoche has not been the power hitter that the Bucs thought he’d be, but he posted career highs in hits and double in his first season in Pittsburgh. Jason Bay has to be a 30 homerun guy for this team. The team cannot to afford to count on less. As you can see, there is not much pop in Pittsburgh’s lineup.
Defense
The middle infield is solid as a rock. Shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez helped the Pirates lead the majors with 190 double plays. LaRoche is at first for his stick and not his mit. Jose Bautista has showed flashes of brilliance flashing the leather at third. The outfield is not spectacular defensively and it likely won’t be for sometime as the Pirates must always sacrifice offense for defense until they start hitting.
Pittsburgh won just 68 games last season and I’m telling you right now that hitting the 75-win mark will take a miracle. So let the 15-year rebuilding project continue.
Dave Price’s Pricelesspicks.com is you one stop shop for winning MLB picks all season long. 10 consecutive winning MLB seasons is tops in the handicapping industry and this expertise will be working for you this summer.
Odds to win NL Central: 40/1
Odds to win 2008 NL Pennant: 50/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series: 100/1
NL Central
Related News
- Pirates Predictions 2007
- 2008 Houston Astros
- 2008 Chicago Cubs
- 2008 Saint Louis Cardinals
- 2008 Cincinnati Reds
- 2008 Milwaukee Brewers
- Free MLB Pick for August 13, 2008
- 2007 Steelers Predictions
- Free MLB Pick for April 23, 2008
- Virginia Tech East Carolina Odds
Latest Headlines
- Virginia Tech East Carolina Odds
- Memphis Ole Miss Line
- Redskins Giants Spread
- Western Michigan Nebraska Line
- Temple Army Spread
- Vanderbilt Miami Ohio Spread
- Free Pick for August 28, 2008
- Utah Michigan Spread
- Pepsi 500 Predictions
- NC State South Carolina Picks
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.