It's happening to the Pittsburgh Pirates Part 1

Since Barry Bonds left years and years ago the Pirates have gone through waves and waves of what Pirates fans have hoped would be the next group to take the Pittsburgh Pirates back to the playoffs, or at least a winning season. Well, the core of the current group is the heart of this team right now.

At pitcher the Pirates have a group that seems to have been tinkered with and matured to the point where their ERA makes you forget about the recent flops that have been part of those other failed groups. A series of trades and free agent signings by the front office has brought what looks like a talented group to the team until the group of young arms recently drafted arrives.

Recall the high hopes the Pirates had for Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell. The expectations for that group were never realized. The ERAs never went down and the wins never came. Now there is a new group ready to stake their claim and lead the Pirates into the promised land.

Charlie Morton, obtained from the Braves, could be considered the Pirates stopper. At the time of the trade Pirate Nation was up in arms because of the player he was traded for. Nate McLouth had become a fan favorite with his hitting and fielding. Why would the Pirates trade a part of their then core for a pitcher that had shown promise but had failed in his tryouts for the Braves.

Morton is starting to show Pirates Nation what the front office saw and McLouth has been average in his time with the Braves, never hitting as well as he did at the time of the trade. Morton has been nothing short of amazing this year. He has risen from the realm of AAAA players and finally started showing the stuff in the majors that he did in AAA. The Braves gave up on him and traded him to the Pirates. Thank you Atlanta. The Pirates did some tinkering and changed his delivery in the offseason and he discovered a sinker that some could argue that is now one of the best in the majors.

If the Pirates manage to break that string of losing seasons this year, another signing in the offseason might have much to do with it. Another pitcher, who could be considered the co stopper or the road stopper and who recently led the majors in wins has been a huge success and might be a major reason for the change in attitude of the team.

Kevin Correia, who now has 8 wins, brings a confidence to the Pirates that has been lacking. He has shown that he can win in the past and thanks to a change of scenery to Pittsburgh, he has shown so far this season that those past performances were not a fluke. He has been outstanding on the road especially, helping the Pirates confidence in that area and translating to as many wins this year, a third of the way through the season as all of last year.

These 2 guys are the heart of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation this year, but there are others that have contributed significantly. Check out Part 2 of this series in the next few days.