The Pirates have brought in a new manager (Lloyd McClendon) and are currently looking for a general manager, but find themselves in a familiar rut -- regarded as the worst team in the National League. No matter the moves -- signing free agent Derek Bell in the offseason or playing catcher Jason Kendall in the outfield -- the Pirates have not managed to pull themselves together. At times, the season has looked so woeful that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put together a projected lineup for 2003.
First-half MVP: There are just so many to choose from (OK, maybe not). Mike Williams was nearly perfect in save opportunities (17-for-18), blowing just one opportunity against the Expos on June 30. Third baseman
Aramis Ramirez has provided a lot of sparks: Three-homer game in April; 10-game hitting streak in June. However, left fielder Brian Giles has been by far the most productive and consistent player. He keeps getting better each month, as evidenced by his slugging percentage, which has risen each month.
Biggest surprise: Starting pitcher Todd Ritchie has had a very intriguing year. Ritchie, 24-17 the previous two seasons, lost his first eight decisions and had an ERA of 5.15. However, interleague play began and he pitched as if he was in the World Series. He held the Tigers and Indians to one run in 17 innings before returning to National League competition and winning three more in a row before dropping to 5-9 on the final day of the first half.
Biggest disappointment: Derek Bell, hampered by a knee injury, had gotten off to such a horrendous start that home fans were booing him. At one point, he asked the fans to give him some time and temporarily got in their good graces with a few good plays, but is clearly the biggest free-agent bust of the past offseason. His batting average (.173) is less than his weight and he has a paltry 13 RBI. Bell's struggles are more reason why people believe Cam Bonifay's firing in June was long overdue.
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Pirates first-half comparison
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2000
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2001
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W-L
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38-48
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33-53
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HR leader
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Giles, 21
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Giles, 21
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BA leader
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Kendall, .319
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Giles, .335
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ERA
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Benson, 3.05
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Ritchie, 4.07
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Second-half goals: McClendon knows the season has technically been over for quite some time, so he's done a lot of experimenting like putting Kendall in left field, calling up minor-league talent and gauging his own skills by pulling an occasional base steal. In addition to evaluating the young talent, the only thing Pittsburgh can do is pray that some of their injured pitchers come back at some point this year so they can be evaluated for next season.
Minor-leaguer to watch: Probably the most prized prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system aside from Bonifay's son Josh (I'm kidding) is catcher J.R. House. Apparently, he has so much potential that they not only sweated out his decision of not playing football for West Virginia, but they are gradually getting Kendall ready for the outfield so they have a spot for House when he's ready for the major leagues. He leads Double-A Altoona with seven home runs and 28 RBI.
Grade:  -- Pirates great Willie Stargell died in April and Pittsburgh's season seemingly ended. Bringing a major free agent (Bell) and a charismatic manager into a new stadium (PNC Park) obviously weren't inspirational enough as the Pirates set out to hang around the .500 mark this year.
(Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best)
We told you what we thought of the Pirates' first-half performance, now you can tell us what you think.
James C. Black is an associate editor at ESPN.com
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