THE BULLPEN

     Now that baseball is meaningful in the Pittsburgh area again, Mrs. Black-N-Gold spends hours upon hours reading, watching and listening to the latest news from around the diamond in hopes of soaking up as much info as she can about our Pittsburgh Pirates. In the early stages of spring training, when there isn't much major news to report, the MLB network, the beat writers and the sports talk show hosts like to get a little chatter going by creating lists. There's always "The Greatest Player in History" discussion. And there is "The Face of the Franchise" conversation. Another big one is "The Mount Rushmore of MLB".

     Lately, there has been a dialogue regarding the "Best Outfield in Baseball". Some people feel it is the Miami Marlins, led by MVP RF Giancarlo Stanton. Others are more defensive-minded and choose the speedsters of the AL Champion Kansas City Royals. And there are those that go more for star power such as the outfield that the San Diego Padres amassed this offseason or the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield that features Cuban phenom Yasiel Puig.

     True, Mrs. Black-N-Gold looks through the sports world in her black-n-gold-tinted glasses. Call me a bit biased but I feel the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield has the potential to be The Best Outfield in Baseball.

     You have CF Andrew McCutchen as the anchor. At 28 years of age, Cutch is the elder statesman of the group. He is also the de-facto leader of the Outfield of Dreams. And he has the resume to back it up. Cutch has won the NL MVP and finished in the top 3 in voting 3 times. He is also a 4 time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner and a 3 time Silver Slugger. He carriers with him a career .299 batting average with 128 home runs, 462 RBIs and 143 steals. He can hit, field, and run, the total 5-tool package.

     LF Starling Marte doesn't have the kind of hardware that Cutch does. Yet. He did finish as a finalist for a Gold Glove last season. He got off to a slow start last year but had a strong second half, good enough to finish with a .291 batting average, 13 homers, 56 RBIs and 30 steals. He is expected to put it all together this season and finally keep the Marte Partay going all year.

     RF Gregory Polanco just got a small taste of the Bigs last season. El Coffee set a new Pirates record by hitting in his first 9 games straight to start his career in Black-N-Gold. He did cool off considerably, getting sent back to Indy for a spell. This season, RF is his job to lose. Polanco is willing to work to show he belongs. He took the season off from winter ball. He spent the offseason working out with Marte in the Dominican Repulic, gaining 12-15 pounds of muscle in the process to alleviate the wear and tear of the 162-game grind.

     This outfield has it all: Speed to cover the spacious outfield of PNC Park and to burn up the basepaths, a couple of cannons on the corners in the form of Marte and Polanco to gun down runners, and great eyes to make contact and ignite the Buccos offense.

     Is this The Best Outfield in Baseball? If you're not convinced that they are you sure will be by the end of the season. The Outfield of Dreams will certainly be a nightmare for opponents this year. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!