Don't sleep on these Pirates

For anyone who's heard of Veggie Tales, a popular children's video series with humor that even adults can appreciate, one of their famous songs is "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." (see below, if you're curious).

But when it comes to the fantasy world, a similar question begs an answer: Are there Pirates who do anything?

The short answer is, yes indeed. The long answer is, there are up to eight Pirates worthy of mixed-league ownership, depending on the depth of your league.

Let's start with the obvious.

Jason Bay: As recently as 2007 drafts, the Canadian righty (pictured above) was a second-rounder but has fallen off as his rookie hype seems to be a distant memory. Bay went from a 35/109/.286 to 21/84/.241, not to mention his steals fell from 11 to 4. If anyone resembles the Pirates who don't do anything it's Bay, and there's been some speculation he wants out of Pittsburgh and may not be exactly swabbing the deck, so to speak. Still, there's a bounceback year waiting to happen, so keep faith that a 30/100 season is possible.

Freddie Sanchez: The 2006 NL batting champ (.344) came back to Earth with a .304 average last year, but the Pirates' No. 2 hitter is worthy of ownership in most mixed leagues, even if his power is mild (11 HR in 2007). He's more valuable in 5x5 formats, as he'll help you get 80 runs along with 80 RBI this year. But he runs like a catcher.

Nate McLouth: This could be your most valuable fantasy option this year, depending on how Bay rebounds. McLouth hit 13 HR with 22 SB in 329 at-bats last year. That's a 20/30 season, with little improvement and the average (.258 last year) has been ticking up. Don't walk, run to your waiver wire and grab McLouth if he's unowned.

Adam LaRoche: We all remember Laroche's .133 April last year, but somehow we forget that he finished hitting .272. With just a decent April his 21/88 line could read 25/100 with a .285 average. Not great from the 1B spot, but he should be able to find a roster spot in mid to deeper leagues.

Xavier Nady: Probably the last ownable Pirate and Nady is closer to an NL-only guy, but you've gotta love the start. Two HR and 4 RBI against the Braves in the opener, and he smacked 20 in 431 at-bats with a serviceable average (.278). Nady's finally got a regular job and he soon may be a regular fixtures on mixed-league rosters, not just a guy who floats around at the top of your waiver wire.

Tom Gorzelanny: He passed Zach Duke as the most promising Pittsburgh lefty starter with a 3.88 ERA and 14 wins last year. Gorzelanny's not going to help your WHIP much (1.40 in '07) or your K's (135), but he is still a steady option in a relatively weak-hitting NL Central. At worst, he's a good fill-in while you wait for Pedro or Lackey to come off the DL.

Ian Snell: The biggest mystery is how Snell only won 11 games last year with a 3.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 177 Ks in 208 innings. Well, these are the Pirates, after all. Snell made the jump from prospect to a guy anyone can feel comfortable having in their rotation. Don't worry about the 4-run, 7-hit opener; it was against a potent Braves lineup.

Matt Capps: Yeah, Capps' ERA stands at 40.50 after his Pirates teammates dropped an easy pop fly for the final out in the opener, but it'll end up close to the 2.28 ERA he had last year. Add in a 1.01 WHIP from 2007 and the fact that most of the Pirates' 65-70 wins will probably be close and you could be looking at a top 5 closer by year's end. In other words, underline and All-Capps this closer.

"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"




Around the fantasy world

• Lou Piniella is already tinkering with the Cubs lineup after 2 games, moving Alfonso Soriano back to the leadoff spot, moving Ryan Theriot to No. 2. He says Soriano's running fine. If this is true, Soriano just got more valuable as he's probably back to a 30 SB guy.


• The Indians are still saying Victor Martinez only has a mild strain in his hamstring and they don't expect him to land on the DL. For some reason, I'm not 100 percent sold on this quite yet.


• Early diagnosis of Pedro Martinez is a strained left hamstring that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. With a 36-year-old body, I'd take the over.


• J.J. Putz is on the DL with a rib cage injury. Mariners aren't giving a timetable, but it's not sounding dire at the moment. If you own Putz or are looking for some cheap saves, grab Mark Lowe.