CNN/SI Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates
Posted: Friday March 12, 1999 01:04 PM
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Kendall's 49 career steals is best among all active catchers. Craig Melvin/Allsport |
By Ryan Hunt, CNN/SI
For starters, Jason Kendall will find himself in a strange spot when the
Pirates open their '99 season April 5 against Montreal. That's because for
the first time in his career, he is slated to see Pittsburgh's first pitch
of the season.
With the trade of Tony Womack to
Arizona, Kendall is the leading candidate to inherit the leadoff role,
becoming the first catcher to be at the top of the order since Houston's Craig Biggio,
who moved to second base during the 1991 season.
Undoubtedly, Kendall is not the ordinary catcher. He stole 26 bases last
season, a major league record for catchers, and was fifth in the National
League with a .327 average. Kendall also fits the archetype of a leadoff
hitter -- his .411 on-base percentage would have ranked tops among No. 1
hitters in the majors.
However, Kendall's RBI numbers will likely drop with a move to the leadoff
spot. Kendall, who had 374 at-bats from the three-hole in '98, drove in 75
runs, good for third on the team. Pittsburgh will have to find a way to
help fill Kendall's run-production skills or it might have solved one
problem by creating another.
1998 Recap: (69-93, 6th place NL Central)
After an underdog run in 1997, finishing second in the Central with a
79-83 record, it was back to the baseball-in-the-'90s norm for small-market
Pittsburgh.
The Pirates actually were again competitive before a sad September left
manager Gene Lamont scratching his head. Pittsburgh played close to .500
ball for the five months of the season before the bottom dropped out --
losing 25 of its final 30 games to finish 33 games out of first.
Individually, Francisco
Cordova, one of the few coveted Pirate hurlers who was not dealt, led
the team with 13 wins and posted a respectable 3.31 ERA, while 1B Kevin Young
became only the second Pirate in six years to drive in more than 100 runs.
1999 Outlook
The Pirates will have an entirely different look this Opening Day as
opposed to last, which can be construed as either a good or a bad thing.
Only three players have stayed in Pittsburgh and retained their starting
jobs -- Kendall, Young and RF Jose Guillen.
The battle in center field, meanwhile, will have a decidedly Brown look.
Newcomer Brant
Brown, acquired from the Cubs for Jon Leiber, will fight with Adrian Brown
and Emil Brown
for the job. Another newcomer, former Indian prospect Brian Giles, likely
will start in left field, which would leave Al Martin as the
odd man out in Pittsburgh.
Everything will have to go right for the Pirates to have a .500 season.
They hope their new double-play combination of Pat Meares and
former LSU star Warren Morris will gel quickly and pray 3B Ed Sprague can
regain the 36-homer, 101-RBI stroke he had for Toronto in 1996. Shortstop
prospect Abraham Nunez could be given a shot if things turn sour quickly.
Rich
Loiselle, who has saved 48 games over the last two seasons, is the most
underrated closer in the National League. However, being a closer in
Pittsburgh is almost like being the Maytag repairman. The young rotation of
Cordova, Jason
Schmidt, Pete Schourek, Jose Silva and
likely Chris
Peters only have a combined 134 career major league wins -- nine more
than the Yankees as a team won last season alone.
But since the Pirates have a team payroll comparative to Kevin Brown's
annual salary, a great season in Pittsburgh will be a third-place finish.
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