5 Pittsburgh Pirates

ENEMY LINES

A RIVAL SCOUT SIZES UP THE PIRATES

There are four players in their everyday lineup—Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez—who would be everyday guys for most big league clubs, which is a better thing to hang their hat on than they've had in recent memory. . . . McCutchen should be a legitimate All-Star in centerfield as soon as this year. For a 24-year-old, you rarely see him fooled. You can't say that about a guy like Alvarez—though when he gets the ball centered on his bat, Alvarez (also 24) can hit it out of any park. . . . Alvarez reminds me a lot of Bobby Bonilla at third: plus arm, awkward feet, but the bat will make up for mistakes on defense. . . . Tabata reminds me of Delmon Young in leftfield, only a better athlete. . . . Walker's a solid second baseman and a switch-hitter, but I like him from the left side quite a bit more than from the right—there's more power and his bat stays in the zone a bit longer. . . . Ronny Cedeno shows flashes of consistency, which is not what you want from your shortstop. When he's in there, on a ground ball to short I don't automatically look down at my score sheet and write 6-3. . . . James McDonald isn't an ace, but he's the closest they have. He's a guy I'd like to have, but to round out a rotation, not to front it. His stuff is good, not wipeout. . . . I think this team will improve in part because of the new manager, Clint Hurdle. They're no longer a station-to-station club—they ran the bases at will in spring training. That will help make up for their lack of power.

THE LINEUP

WITH 2010 STATISTICS

MANAGER CLINT HURDLE

1ST SEASON WITH PIRATES

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

NEW ACQUISITION