Biggest Offseason Acquisition: Russell Martin. By default.

Potential Fatal Flaw: Clint Hurdle. Not one of baseball’s best in-game managers. I’m being polite.

Ceiling: They make the playoffs for the first time since Adam’s rib.

Floor: They continue being the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Overall: Someone in Pittsburgh thinks that last year’s team was one piece away from the playoffs. Unfortunately, they think that piece is Russell Martin.

I’m joking a bit here. Pittsburgh could be sneaky good. Remember, I predicted they’d win the NL Central last year. They didn’t, but they did surprise a lot of people. Andrew McCutchen is a star. Last year was a bit of a coming out  party for him and I don’t expect that to change this year. He will continue to be not only one of the best players on the field, but one of the most marketable young stars in the game. McCutchen does everything well. He’s a joy to watch.

The concern to me is that this team is remarkably similar to the one that wasn’t good enough last year. Clint Barmes is still their everyday shortstop. There’s not a lot behind Pedro Alvarez should he continue to be wildly inconsistent with his bat. Travis Snider and Starling Marte are the corner outfielders which really has to concern someone. I mean, Travis Snider has been one of the most frustrating young players in baseball for quite a while. You think he’s about to break out, then he goes 0-32 and gets sent to AAA. Marte is a perfectly fine fourth outfielder. He’s still young and will need to develop his approach at the plate from “swing at everything” to “take a walk every now and then.”

Save for the “loss” of Kevin Correia, the rotation is the same as last year. AJ Burnett, James “First Half” McDonald, Wandy Rodriguez, and Jeff Karstens are joined by Jeff Locke, a lefty with 10 starts in his Major League career and a propensity for base on balls. So, more of the same.

If there was one team in baseball that needed to do something this offseason, it was the Pirates. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans, they only brought in Russell Martin. I have a very hard time believing that free agents don’t want to come to Pittsburgh. I’d love to play alongside Andrew McCutchen. I’d love to play in that park, with those fans, in that great city. It really begs the question of whether the effort is there by the front office. If this offseason is any indication, it’s not.

I expect the 2013 Pirates to be very much like the 2012 Pirates. That is, still on the cusp. It’s just unclear what they’re on the cusp of.

Predicted Finish: 78-84