Welcome to the 2nd of 30 "2008 Team Previews", where I'm - you guessed it! - offering up a little preview of the 2008 season for each of the teams. Nothing super fancy, (I'm not writing books here munecas), just a few notes on what major moves the teams made over the winter and a thought or two on their upcoming season. I'm going in reverse order of 2007 standings, so next up is....
 Pittsburgh Pirates 2007 Record: .420 (68-94), Last place in National League 2006 Record: .414 (67-95) Who’s Out: Josh Phelps (1B), Jose Castillo (INF), Manager Jim Tracy, Sean Burnett (P)
Who’s In: Manager John Russell, Kevin Thompson (OF), Phil Dumatrait (P), Jimmy Barthmaier (P), Ty Taubenheim (P), Chris Gomez (INF), TJ Beam (P), X Nady (OF), Jaret Wright (P) Notes: The good news is that after last season, there's nowhere to go but up! Jim Tracy's unsuccessful tenure is done and John Russell, who has managed in the minors but will be a rookie when it comes to big league managing, will be taking the helm. Aside from the manager swap, what will probably amount to be their biggest move came not via a trade but an extension: All-Star 2B Freddy Sanchez is locked up through 2010. They've got decent starting pitching with Matt Morris and some homegrown folks like Gorzelanny, Snell, Maholm and Duke, but those kids haven't exactly proven themselves to be pinnacles of consistency or non-injury. I'm no Pirates expert, but I've got to say that I don't see much hope for them for the next couple years. That said, though, they have youngsters and look how the tide changed quickly with the Rockies last year and the Tigers before that, so give this team a couple years and let's see how things shape up!
Next up: Kansas City Royals
Previous Profile: Tampa Bay Rays
Labels: 2008 team previews, other teams |
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