One Month In

Here we are, one month into the 2009 season, and the Pirates are 11-10, tied with Cincinnati for third in the NL Central. Before the season began, I would have been pretty pleased if you told me that's where Pittsburgh will be on May 1, but after the sweep in Milwaukee to close out the April schedule, 11-10 almost seems disappointing. But all things considered, I am happy about the way the team has played, and even the games against the Brewers were close. I'm not sure the Bucs can keep up this pace for the full season, but they could remain in the middle of the division, provided some other teams continue to struggle. And with Nate McLouth scheduled to return to the lineup tonight against the Reds, I'm hopeful that the team can put the Milwaukee series behind it.

There's been a lot to like about the team as a whole this season. The Pirates currently lead the majors in ERA, with a mark of 3.41. Of course, last year the team was 28th, and since most of the staff this year was here last year, at least some credit must be given to new pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

The Pirates defense has shown considerable improvement this year too. Bucs Dugout offers some details on the Pirates' first place Defensive Efficiency ranking from Baseball Prospectus. I am a fan of the newer wave of defensive statistics, I just don't know enough about them to add anything here. For the old-schoolers, the Pirates currently rank 9th in the MLB in fielding percentage, so any way you slice it, the Bucs are definitely improved in that department.

As for the offense, the team batting average of .264, currently ranks 15 (last year, .258, 22nd) and the Pirates have scored 4.81 runs per game this year, versus 4.54 in '08. Last year's team, of course, had Jason Bay and Xavier Nady for nearly 4 months and this year's has been missing Ryan Doumit for 9 games and Nate McLouth for the past 6. Clearly, as a unit, the offense has been more productive from top to bottom. And because a decent amount of this has been done without two of the Bucs' top hitters, I'm a little optimistic that it can continue. The pitching? Not at the level it has, but better than last year, easily. The defense? Maybe.

My April Awards:
Offensive Player: Freddy Sanchez
Starting Pitcher: Zach Duke
Relief Pitcher: John Grabow