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Pirates camp report
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Pittsburgh Pirates:
1. John Russell gets his first crack at managing after working the past two seasons as Triple-A skipper in Philadelphia's organization (Ottawa in 2007, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2006). He's familiar with many of the Pirates, having worked as the club's third-base coach from 2003-2005. He developed a bright reputation in the game while apprenticing as a manager in Minnesota's organization from 1995-2002. "We're running the Twins' camp to a T," said new Pirate -- and former Twin -- Doug Mientkiewicz. Translation: Lots of attention to detail by Russell and his staff, efficient use of time and little standing around.
2. Seemed like Freddy Sanchez fell off the face of the Earth last season after winning the NL batting title in 2006 with a .344 average. He merely hit .304 last season, bringing on the "What happened to Freddy?" questions. "It's tough in this game," Sanchez said. "You don't go in expecting to win a batting title every year." Even Sanchez himself, though, feels like he underachieved last year. He says he never was able to get comfortable at the plate.
3. The Pirates will build around their young rotation and, to that end, things could be worse than Tom Gorzelanny (14-10, 3.88 ERA in 2007), Ian Snell (9-12, 3.76) and Paul Maholm (10-15, 5.02.). And 24-year-old Matt Capps converted 18 of 20 save opportunities after moving into the closer's role last June 1, holding right-handed hitters to a .181 batting average. According to media relations director Jim Trdinich's superb media guide, Capps' all-time favorite television show is Saved By the Bell.
4. Just think where they would rank if they had put together a winning season every now and then: Despite the 15 consecutive sub-.500 finishes, the Pirates franchise ranks fifth in the majors with 9,388 all-time victories, trailing the Giants (10,184), Cubs (9,986), Braves (9,696) and Dodgers (9,466) and ranking just ahead of the Yankees (9,383).
5. Let there be light: Among the features at dramatically new (structurally, at least) McKechnie Field in Bradenton are lights. Eight new towers were erected at the ballpark, and the Pirates' first-ever spring night game in Bradenton is scheduled for Friday against Cincinnati.