Improved offense for Pirates will depend on hitter emerging in RF and Marte evolving into impact leadoff hitter

ON THE PIRATES Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday to Bradenton and count me among the few who feel the Pirates can be competitive. Not for first place in the division as the Reds enter the season as the team to beat and they are a far superior team than the Pirates and others in the NL Central, but there are areas about this Pirate team that has me somewhat optimistic. The rotation is the deepest in years and while there’s question marks with what type of pitchers they will get from James McDonald, Francisco Liriano and whether A.J. Burnett can match last years level, I still think this group can be good enough to keep the Pirates competitive. When you