Time Will Tell if This Band of Pirates is Legit

You may do a double take, but you aren't seeing things when looking at the MLB standings. At the All-Star Break the Pittsburgh Pirates really are the second best team in baseball with a 56-37 record and one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. The franchise that has perfected the art of losing hasn't had a winning season since 1992, so if you were born since 1990 then you have no memory of Pittsburgh ever being a winner. That's futility at it's finest right there.

However, the winds of change are sweeping through the Steel City. The Bucs have flirted with success the past two seasons, only to bottom out in the second half and finish under .500 once again. Last season they were close, but 79-83 still won't get the job done and the playoffs continued to evade the franchise. But this year -- no, not this year. This year there is something different about the Pirates and saying "playoffs" and "Pirates" in the same sentence is no longer a funny joke.

It all starts with Andrew McCutchen for Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old All-Star got off to a slow start this season, but has recovered to hit .302 with 10 home runs, 49 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. A team needs a star if they are to win and Pittsburgh has one in McCutchen. The centerfielder obviously believes in the franchise and the direction they are headed in because he inked a six-year extension worth $51.5 million in 2012. In past years he was the lone bright spot, but not this season.

Starling Marte has emerged as a reliable every day player with a batting average of .291, 28 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. At only 24 years of age, Marte is a player that figures to factor into the Pirates plans for years down the road and both he and McCutchen should man their outfield spots through at least 2018 when McCutchen's deal ends. Then there is Pedro Alvarez, another All-Star, who provides the pop in the lineup with 28 home runs. Like Marte and McCutchen, Alvarez is young at just 26 years and the Bucs finally have a solid young core they can find hope in.

Yet none of this is possible, and the playoffs certainly aren't a possibility, if not for the pitching depth that Pittsburgh has. Pitching wins when it comes to the playoffs and the Pirates have the starters (Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett, Jeff Locke) and the bullpen (Jason Grilli, Justin Wilson, Mark Melancon) to make a run. That's what has prohibited the Pirates from staying afloat in the second half the past two seasons, but again, it seems this club is different.

Obviously no one really knows if the Pirates will be in the playoffs come October, but time will tell if the losing will finally come to an end. A team must learn how to win before they can actually do it and Pittsburgh has been going through the process the last two seasons. Now, with a 20-game cushion from that dreaded sub-.500 and just 69 games remaining maybe Bucs fans can finally try and figure out where they are. After all, 19 games over .500 this late in the season certainly is uncharted territory.