General Sports Water Cooler

I was right with that guy until he concluded that re-signing Doumit and Maholm was the most important moves that they could make. I totally disagree with that, but I could see Maholm but not Doumit.

Exactly what I was going to say/how I would put it.

You look at Milwaukee and just see how far we have to go to have a roster that can be a consistent contender. Even if you assume that next season that Presley, Tabata, McCutchen, and Walker will all continue to improve (which isn't THAT outlandish an assumption) and more importantly become consistent, that's only the top of the batting order. You still have the rest of the line-up that needs to be developed. The pitching is also still a huge concern. I think you can count on Karstens, Morton, and McDonald to be what they were this season, but all that is is average. None of those guys is a bankable, lights out starter. And then the last two spots in the rotation are big question marks. The best pitching prospects in the system are a few years away at least, and there are very very few hitting prospects.

So they showed improvement this season, but the brief stint at the top showed how far they have to go to catch up to Milwaukee, St. Louis, and even Cincinnati. I think the first step is locking up Walker and McCutchen. Pedro getting it together is almost a must. They have to keep spending money on the draft and international signings and hope they can catch lightning in a bottle like Tampa and Milwaukee did.

That's what I'm talking about jay. No actually, when the Pirates won the '60 World Series they hadn't won one since 1927,.and I was 12 in 1960. Also being old and ancient, I keep reminding these young bucks that it actually can happen, and they probably will be talking about McCutcheon to their kids like I talk about Clemente to them and my own kids. heh!!!

Yeah, you guys won the Division, and it's this Division with the Wild Card Team too. All hail the NLC.