Now and ... when? The 2009 pitching staff

When you look at the offensive disaster that the Pirates could be in 2009, you don't necessarily register that the team is actually pretty well set on the offensive side of things for the coming future. Still, if Andy LaRoche finds his bat this year and the Bucs' prospects progress like people generally expect them to, the Pirates could be fairly well set at every position on the diamond save the middle infield spots for the forseeable future. The big long-term question mark for the Pirates right now is the pitching staff. Rotation For as much complaining as some have done about Jeff Karstens receiving the fifth slot in the rotation, there shouldn't really be any doubt that the Pirates' starting five this year are much better than the mess that took turns on the mound last year. All you have to do to see that is look at the back end; Karstens isn't going to be worse than the Matt Morris/John Van Benschoten/Yoslan Herrera monstrosity in the five slot, Ross Ohlendorf should offer some...