Now that the Harbaugh/Harbaugh Smugbowl is in the books, and the Pens and the Pitt Panthers have both seemingly found that cruise control button for the time being, it's now time to swing the blogging focus to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After a bevvy of off-season moves the Bucs are now weeks out of Bradenton with an interesting mix of players. While the Russel Martin signing strengthens the weakest area of the team, I feel like the starting pitching will be the story of 2013. If 2011 and 2012 have told us anything, it's that depth in the rotation is an absolute premium in the National League, and a shortage in major league ready arms quickly translates into slumps, slides, and eventually swoons.
This much we know about the starting rotation in Pittsburgh, the opening day staff should be as follows: AJ Burnett, Wandy Rodriquez, James McDonald, Francisco Liriano, and Jeff Karstens. From first glance, this is probably the most veteran opening day staff that the Bucs have fielded since the early 90's. With Burnett, Wandy, and Liriano, you have three guys that have been staff aces at different junctures in their careers. One footnote here (in the depth category) is that Charlie Morton is progressing in his Tommy John rehab and should be ready to resume his starting role by late May. Additionally, potential phenom Gerrit Cole could be ready for that call to the North Shore by mid June, should he further refine his game in AAA Indy.
Like most previous Bucco previews, if will be the operative word in spring 2013. If AJ and Wandy can repeat their 2012 performances, if James McDonald can be a little more Jeckyl and a lot less Hyde this year, if Karstens can stay healthy, if Cole continues his development on the farm, and if Charlie Morton makes a strong recovery from the surgery...all these ifs will be posed early and often.
The biggest if will be Liriano. The Bucs struck gold last season with the AJ acquisition. After being shipped out of the Bronx with an eight digit rebate check taped to his right arm, Burnett went on to put up near Cy Young caliber numbers while adding a little moxie to the Pirate ship. If Liriano can exorcise his own demons and regain most of his former form, he will add another quality arm to a fairly deep rotation.
I'm not saying that the 2013 Pirate staff will rival the '92 Braves, but I will say that it has the potential to be the deepest rotation the Bucs have seen in 20 years. The presence of Wandy and Liriano should serve to lessen any stress that J-MAC places on himself, and having Morton and Karstens in the back half of the rotation is not a bad thing at all. I like this staff,...if
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go steelers
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