Thursday, December 15, 2011
Photo
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens, left, and team president Frank Coonelly sign autographs for Ramsey Brown, 7, of Sharon, Pa., at the annual Pirates Caravan event Wednesday at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown. Normally reserved for the end of January, the annual event was moved up a month because the team was itching to get the season going, said Coonelly.
After a promising season, the Pirates’ Caravan rolled through town with hopes high for 2012
YOUNGSTOWN
The Pittsburgh Pirates are so excited about the upcoming baseball season, they started preparations earlier than ever.
Normally reserved for the end of January, the annual Pirates Caravan event came through Youngstown at its customary stop at the Butler Art Museum on Wednesday. A five-bus fleet travels throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia carting Pirates players, coaches, announcers and staff every offseason.
“We thought it would help get things going even earlier by moving Caravan up a month,” Pirates President Frank Coonelly said. “We were just itching to get the season going.”
It’s no wonder that they want to keep things going, especially after last season.
The Pirates did indeed add to their North American record for straight losing seasons in professional sports with 19, but there was something different about 2011.
“It was more fun, that’s for sure,” starting pitcher Jeff Karstens said.
That’s because the Pirates were contenders for a good part of the season. It was Karstens that pitched Pittsburgh to first place when he blanked the Houston Astros in a 4-0 win on July 15 and it would hold that position for nearly the next two weeks. While the Pirates still flirted near the top of the National League Central Division standings, a 10-game losing streak to start August dashed any hopes of returning to the playoffs for the first time since the Barry Bonds era.
Still, memories of 17 sellouts at PNC Park, including the highest attendance figures since the park opened in 2001, won’t fade anytime soon.
“Just seeing the excitement of the fans and everybody wanting to be a fan was overwhelming,” Karstens said. “I can’t describe the excitement of just sitting on the bench and seeing and hearing the sounds of a packed house.”
Karstens was acquired in a trade-deadline deal from the New York Yankees in 2008. Only fellow pitcher Evan Meek, who opened that season on the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, has been with the club longer.
“We’ve become a family here and now I’ll be one of the more tenured guys on the team,” he said. “So I’m going to try to take more of a leadership role and push the guys to carry what we did last year into the next season.”
Already, the Pirates have made off-season deals to remain competitive. Adding to a young nucleus of outfielders Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen, along with second basemen Neil Walker, General Manager Neal Huntington has brought catcher Rod Barajas, shortstop Clint Barmes, starting pitcher Erik Bedard, third basemen Casey McGehee and former castoff Nate McLouth on board.
“It’s been a productive month for us,” Coonelly said. “Neal and his staff went into the off-season with a very clear plan that we had some areas to address, both in terms of starting pitching and starting spots at catcher and shortstop and to add additional depth, as well.
“We were very aggressive at adding players to fill those needs.”
McLouth was a Pittsburgh fan favorite before he was surprisingly traded to the Atlanta Braves in June of 2009. Coonelly said he was the hardest player to see let go, but getting current starting pitcher Charlie Morton and a pair of talented prospects was too hard to pass up. McLouth is back after signing a one-year free agent contract worth $1.75 million, much to Coonelly’s delight.
“He still bleeds black and gold,” Coonelly said. “Nate is thrilled to be coming back ‘home,’ as he called it.”
Barajas and Barmes are seen as defensive upgrades and McGehee will push Pedro Alvarez at third, with the potential to play first base. Karstens looks forward to having a “veteran presence” in the rotation with Bedard who led the American League in strikeouts two years ago.