SPRING TRAINING As usual, Bucs will enter drills with negatives

The Pirates' outlook this season is not good after 11 straight losing seasons.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates can only hope there's something in the adage that it's always the darkest just before the dawn.
The Pirates, accustomed to low expectations while scuffling through a major league-high 11 consecutive losing seasons, open spring training Friday in Bradenton, Fla., with their usual laundry list of liabilities and shortcomings.
A lean payroll of about $35 million is about one-sixth that of the Yankees -- a team so far removed in talent from the Pirates, they might as well play in different galaxies. A scarcity of power. A questionable starting staff anchored by one of the majors' most-injured pitchers. An over-the-hill gang of two dozen non-roster players, including Jose Mesa, Juan Acevedo, Rick Reed, Orlando Merced and Henry Rodriguez.
Even worse, the Pirates seem to have regressed, rather than taking steps to progress, following three seasons of modest gains in victories, from 62 to 72 to 75.
Didn't replace power
Not only did they fail to re-sign their most productive player of last season, Reggie Sanders, they made no off-season moves to replace the power lost when Brian Giles and Aramis Ramirez were traded late last season.
A farm system that finally seems to be on the upswing has improved, but probably won't be sending up its top prospects -- pitchers John VanBenschoten and Sean Burnett among them -- for another year or so.
There's also no immediate help coming on the financial front for a franchise that claims to have lost $30 million over the last three seasons. The Pirates have cut their payroll to about two-thirds of last year's $52 million, in anticipation of a third consecutive season of declining attendance at picturesque but often half-empty PNC Park.
As a result, the Pirates will open camp with their lowest expectations since 1997, when they were widely predicted to lose 100 games but unexpectedly stayed in the NL Central race until the final weekend of the season.
If free agent Raul Mondesi signs to play right field, the only position battle during spring training figures to be at second base, between rookies Freddy Sanchez and Bobby Hill. Hill is the only player left from the deal that sent Ramirez and Kenny Lofton to the Cubs last season.
Otherwise, the lineup looks fairly set, with Randall Simon and Craig Wilson at first, Jack Wilson at shortstop, Chris Stynes at third, Jason Bay in left, Tike Redman in center and Jason Kendall starting his ninth season at catcher.
As usual, the most-watched pitcher during camp will be former No. 1 draft pick Kris Benson, who hasn't pitched a full season in the majors since 2000. He was shut down at mid-season with a sore shoulder.
Right-handers Kip Wells and Josh Fogg and left-hander Oliver Perez also figure to be in the rotation, with Reed the front-runner to be the No. 5 starter.