| | ESPN.com
Manny Ramirez or Brian Giles? Who would you rather have?
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PIRATES LOWDOWN |
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|  | | Brian Giles had a higher slugging percentage than Ken Griffey Jr. last season. |
1999: 78-83
Runs: 775, 12th in NL
Allowed: 782, 7th in NL
Key facts
Led by Brian Giles' example (95 walks), Pirates had 180 more free passes in '99 than '98.
Kris Benson put it together in the second half: only 5-7, but with a 3.26 ERA.
Aramis Ramirez hit .328 at Triple-A Nashville -- but also committed 42 errors.
Tim Kurkjian's scenarios
Best-case: Their nasty starting pitching carries them to September with a chance at the wild card.
Worst-case: The lineup isn't experienced enough to handle the best arms in the league.
Prediction: 5th in NL Central
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The Indians had that choice and nobody is saying they made the wrong
decision. When you're selecting super models, you really can't go wrong.
That said, the Pirates were more than happy last season to accept Giles in return for
Ricardo Rincon, a lefty reliever who had a pedestrian year in Cleveland.
The Pirates were hoping to have a solid foundation in time for the
opening of their new ballpark -- PNC Park -- next season and the addition of
Giles fit perfectly into that plan. Of course, general manager Cam Bonifay
had no way of knowing Giles would be so good.
In part-time duty with the Indians, he had shown flashes of power
and brilliance. Given a chance to play every day, he became a superstar who
would have been an MVP candidate had the Pirates been in contention. Giles
missed 21 games, including the final 11 after breaking his finger, and still managed to hit 39 homers and drive in 115 runs.
Furthermore, he was just the sort of player any team would want to build
around with a fiery on-field demeanor that makes him a leader by example.
With catcher Jason Kendall back healthy after last year's gruesome ankle
injury, the Pirates should be able to improve on their run total. They
finished 12th in that department last season despite setting a club record
with 171 home runs.
With Kendall at the top of the order and Giles in the middle, the Bucs
have the makings of a good offensive team. Kevin Young, Wil Cordero and
Warren Morris also are proven RBI guys, while rookie Chad Hermansen and
youngster Aramis Ramirez have the potential to drive in a lot of runs.
Pittsburgh already has a solid starting rotation that figures to get
better. It's hard to find anyone who doesn't think Kris Benson is going to be
an ace. The Pirates finished sixth in the league in team ERA last season.
Four of the teams ahead of them made the playoffs. The other team, the Reds,
just missed.
Because they don't have a closer and they sometimes forget how to play
defense, the Pirates may still be a year or two away from contention.
But with Giles and Kendall as the foundation and a new ballpark being
erected next to Three Rivers Stadium, baseball hasn't looked this attractive
in Pittsburgh since the days of Barry Bonds and Jim Leyland.
-- Bob Brookover
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Lineup comments and grades from ESPN The Magazine
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Player
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Comment
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Grade
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J. Kendall, C
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Running almost as fast this spring as before last July's gruesome injury
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B
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Pat Meares, SS
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Healthy again, figures to solidify middle IF, bring a little pop to two hole
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C
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Brian Giles, RF
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Think Indians could still use him, what with Manny leaving and all?
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A
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K. Young, 1B
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Club's senior citizen and only Kevin in ML history with two 100-RBI seasons
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A
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Wil Cordero, LF
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Signing was a gamble. Not a great glove man. But this guy can really hit
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B
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W. Morris, 2B
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Plays with smarts of a 4.0 pre-med valedictorian -- which he was
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B
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C. Hermansen, CF
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Tremendous power. Fastest guy on team. NL Rookie of the Year?
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I
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A. Ramirez, 3B
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Raw and immature, but has the tools to be a star someday
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C
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Pitching comments and grades from ESPN The Magazine
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Pitcher
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Comment
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Grade
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K. Benson, SP
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Filthy stuff. Will win a Cy Young in the next five years
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B
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J. Schmidt, SP
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Has the stuff but not the makeup of a No.1, which Bucs thought he could be
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B
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F. Cordova, SP
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Deceptive delivery. Pitches around back. Hitter sees ball, then loses it
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C
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T. Ritchie, SP
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ERA dropped by a run in second half. Good athlete. Good glove. OK bat
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B
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J. Christiansen, RP
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Hurt in spring. Scott Sauerbeck, Marc Wilkins fill out solid middle
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C
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M. Williams, RP
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If he doesn't rebound from horrid second half, Jose Silva gets the ball
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D
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ALSO SEE
Cubs 2000 preview
Cincinnati Reds preview
Houston Astros preview
Brewers preview
St. Louis Cardinals preview
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