The Pirates gave us fans one hell of a ride during the summer. As the calendar turned to August and September the collapse was historical. They were as bad as any team in baseball down the stretch.
That is two straight years with epic collapses. Clint Hurdle's managing down the stretch was atrocious and the front office did very little to help this team win. Hurdle and the entire front office will be back but they should all be on the host seat next year.
Andrew McCutchen had an incredible season that was worthy of MVP consideration had the Pirates not collapsed so badly.
Garrett Jones had a career year and was able to post a .274 batting average to go with his 27 homers.
Pedro Alvarez looks like the best power hitter in the league at times and other times looks like the worst hitter in the league. he was more consistent over the past half of the season
AJ Burnett was outstanding and it is a shame the Pirates could not get him more wins. he pitched well enough to win 20 games.
Next years team is likely to be very close to what we saw this year. Kevin Correia is likely gone and Jeff Karstens may be also. The starting rotation should be AJ, Wandy, McDonald, McPherson, and either Cole or Locke.
Hanrahan is a likely trade candidate as the Pirates don't look to pay a closer close to 6 million a year. A catcher is much needed. Look for Hughes or Bryan Morris to get the closer role.
