Steelreign : Buccos Need To Stay The Course

For all the criticism that the front office of the Pirates are taking this offseason, someone who didn't know better, wouldn't think they were coming off of a 94 win season which was their first playoff appearance and winning season since 1992. The biggest complaint, once again, in some circles is that the Pirates aren't spending enough money and act like the Pirates were the only team that got a $25 million share from the MLB national TV contract. As nice as it would be for the Pirates to be able to go on a spending spree, the facts are that they just aren't one of those teams that can do that and they don't have to in order to be successful, thanks to the plan that Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly have stuck to since they took over their current positions. The Pirates have built something good by sticking to the plan, and now (after one winning season) is not the time to deviate from that plan. The biggest source of irritation for some of these fans is the failure to resign AJ Burnett and to find a first baseman, which of course means the Pirates are still cheap and don't care about sustaining last season's success. Well, as it turns out, the Pirates offered Burnett $12 million, as opposed to the $8 million reported by John Perotto, which was a very solid offer. I definitely don't think Burnett is worth the $16 million the Phillies gave him this year, but I don't blame him for taking it and don't blame the Pirates for not going any higher with their offer. While Burnett and his attitude will surely be missed, there are enough solid arms and options to give the Pirates another solid rotation with depth.
The Pirates are still looking for options at first base, and have been linked to Adam Lind, Ike Davis, and most recently, it has been reported that there is mutual interest between them and Kendrys Morales, who would cost the Pirates their first round pick if they signed him. Morales is the guy that I would like to see the Pirates bring in and while it has been said that his defense is his biggest question mark, I believe his offensive production would play well at PNC and is worth the cost of their late first round draft pick. Until they find a first baseman to platoon with Gaby, it will be interesting to see what Andrew Lambo has to offer and whether his bat translates to the Major League level. It would be really nice if the Pirates could fill their holes internally and didn't have to go outside the organization. What seems to have gotten lost in all the complaining and criticism is that the Pirates were voted as having the best minor league system in all of baseball, having six prospects in the top 100. While it is possible that the Pirates could take a small step backwards this season, the future looks very bright for last year's best story. At some point this season, the Pirates could start seeing the next wave of talent including Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco, from a system that has a lot more behind those two.
The Plan that was put in place back in late 2007 is starting to bear fruit and the Pirates need to continue operating in the same fashion. While Frank Coonelly said that at some point, he expects the payroll to reach $100 million, it will surely be spent on retaining the talent they are filling the system with now. For those who continue to focus on payroll, dollars do not equate to wins, talent does, and for the Pirates, the vast majority of that talent must be homegrown, which is no secret. Last year is proof that what the Pirates have done is working, and that they need to stay the course to maintain what they have built thus far. While Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly may never get the credit that they deserve, they have done what a lot of people said they couldn't. At PirateFest, Neal stated that as challenging as it was to get the Pirates to this point, it is going to be even more challenging to sustain the success of 2013, and as fun as last season was, it's over now and time to focus on 2014, which means continuing what we're doing and building on it. That means staying the course.