Pirates, Twins

Brian O'Neill compares the two teams in today's Stats Geek.

The Pirates can contend on a small budget provided they draft a coherent, winning plan and then have the patience to see it through to fruition. Under Littlefield the overall picture is so far, so good: more steps forward than backward.

Right now, for me, the goal is not winning the World Series, but patching together a 92-win team that can get into the playoffs. I don't know how you feel about this, but for me baseball is an everday thing, a daily hobby, something like a soap opera obsession that keeps you both in and out of the larger world, depending on your current mood and inclination. I can exact considerable satisfaction from the most run-of-the-mill regular-season victory. The difference between winning 92 games and winning 72 is three solid weeks of winning. That's a huge difference for the fan who follows the team day after day.

All the talk about building not a winner but a team that can win in the playoffs, common among some fans of some other teams, goes right over my head. I just want to win consistently during the season. When we get that accomplished, then we can think about the playoffs.

The question of whether or not a small-market team can win a World Series is pretty moot. Right now the task is piloting this small-market team to 92 wins. And I think the team is headed in that direction. So far, so good. I'm not saying I expect or know that it will happen, or happen soon, but in the last few years I think the team has made progress and I'll be sticking around to see if this plan works out.