Word of Justice

That's 15 straight losing seasons if you're counting. Just one more to tie the all-time mark held by the Phillies. Thanks for coming, folks, and drive safely on your way home.

What are the Pirates doing to get better? Good question. They fired manager Jim Tracy and GM Dave Littlefield and brought in John Russell to manage and Neal Huntington to serve as GM. Hey, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right?

The Pirates are hoping left-hander Zach Duke, the Opening Day starter in 2007, is ready after missing 2 1/2 months last year because of a sore elbow. And they're hoping to find a leadoff hitter from a group that includes Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan and Chris Duffy.

If you're looking for the really good news, it's this: The Pirates play in baseball's most beautiful ballpark, and by the time the weather warms up, there'll be plenty of parking and good seats available. PNC Park features baseball's best French fries this side of San Francisco.

-- Richard Justice

Numbers Game

15 - Consecutive losing seasons by the Pirates. Pittsburgh went 99-66 in 1992 and succumbed to Atlanta in the NLCS. Ever since then, it's been all losing on the Allegheny. General Manager Neal Huntington, who replaced Dave Littlefield this winter, offers hope, but it's clear rebuilding is going to be a drawn out process. It's been a long time since the days of Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek and Bobby Bonilla.

2 - Pirates pitchers -- namely Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell -- who pitched 200 innings and had an ERA below 4.00 last season. The last time two Pittsburgh hurlers accomplished that feat in the same year was 1992. The Bucs have the makings of a competent pitching staff with Gorzelanny and Snell at the top of the rotation, but their offense needs to improve greatly for a chance to halt the losing.

.418 - Jason Bay's slugging average in 2007. The 29-year-old outfielder's career slugging average is 97 points higher.

-- Andrew Johnson

Fantasy Spin

The page turns for the Pirates, but the story is still the same. They are almost identical this season when it comes to fantasy commodities -- slim pickings. On the upside, the Pirates have two valuable hurlers in Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny, both of whom are nice No. 4 staff options, providing solid numbers across the board. But you can safely ignore the rest of the rotation. Matt Capps is a solid choice if you like to wait on selecting a closer. He proved that he can handle the gig with his 18-save audition last season.

On offense, there are few players that should be starting for squads in 12-team standard leagues. Jason Bay killed fantasy owners that invested a high pick in him last year, when he only managed 21 homers and an abysmal .247 average. Expect resurgence for the Canadian slugger, though he likely won't reach 35 bombs ever again. Adam LaRoche was terrible in the first half but golden post-break last season. He should manage 25 homers and 80-90 RBI this year. Nate McLouth had a very intriguing second half last year when he tallied 12 HRs and 16 steals. If he can win the center fielder job, he should be owned as a flier in every league. Nyjer Morgan has some serious speed that's worth watching. If your league employs a middle infield flex spot or two catchers, Freddy Sanchez and Ronny Paulino will fill in quite nicely.

On the prospect lookout, while Pittsburgh's system is pretty barren, outfielder Steven Pearce is one player who has a chance to make an immediate impact. The 24-year-old has both power and plate discipline, and is a Xavier Nady trade away from fantasy relevance.

-- Tom Herrera

FanHouse Video

-- Pat Lackey

Preview Poetry

15 years since I've seen a good team.
15 beers to forget about Bream.
I want the cheers, but this isn't a dream.

-- Pat Lackey/Tecmo, FanHouse