Pirate Offseason Success - UPDATED

There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not the Pirates did their team any good in the offseason. I think the answer is yes, but only a little. I mostly agree with the WHYGAVS gives. Going into the offseason the biggest need in my opinion was pitching, which was addressed, and short stop, which was not.

Matt Diaz is being undersold. This is what happens when you only look at stats. Milledge was horrible to have around young impressionable guys. He loafed, paid no attention running the bases, and cost the team games in the field on more than one occasion. Diaz is a stable veteran who can help mold your young talent with good attitude. Sure the stats are not an improvement, and he is older with less "upside", but Milledge is not wanted by other teams because those non-stat things matter.

I do think the pitching staff has been upgraded. Zack Duke is gone. Kevin Corria is going to be better. While I am not a fan of Scott Oleson, at least it gives the Pirates a 5th starter option that is not Charlie Morton. That makes it an upgrade.

And while I also would have rather seen Pearce and Bowker at first, Lyle Overbay is not awful. Just count it as a signing to appease fans who wanted offseason action. Maybe he will hit better in the NL Central. Maybe he will give the Pirates the extra power their team really needed. At least it is a signing with a little bit of hope in it.

Plus, the Pirates needed to be viewed also for what they tried to do. Pittsburgh is not yet a destination for people who want to win in free agency. They made real offers to Jorge De La Rosa and they made attempts at some other big name free agents as well as some recovering former greats like Brandon Webb. These guys passed on Pittsburgh, but not because the offers were no good. They were legitimate attempts to really improve the team.

As for short stop, I think the Pirates tried there as well. They just did not get the trade done for JJ Hardy, but that should be viewed as a win as well because the Pirates showed they were going to keep their top flight prospects. The Twins were not going to take anything less. The Pirates go into 2011 with all their prospects in the system. You have to like that.

With that said, we should start looking at 2011 as Spring Training is just around the corner.

UPDATE:
I forgot the most important off season pick up. Clint Hurdle as manager. I know that a lot of people do not think that managers add wins and losses, but sometimes they do. I think that this is one of those times. It is more that John Russell added losses. He was a very bad manager. His decisions were awful. I mean I have heard of player revolts before, but Russell had a manager revolt. One so bad that two coaches got fired during the season when the manager was going to get canned at the end of the season anyway. That means that other coaches thought he was that bad. Clint Hurdle will not have that problem and return the team to an average level of coaching.
I think it also shows that the Pirates are expanding the budget. No longer are they getting the guy with no real experience and hoping he turns out good like Russell or McClendon. Now, they are paying for a proven guy. They got the manager they wanted despite the fact that the manager was also being pursued by the New York Mets. It is a good sign and it makes for a good offseason.