My first column this school year was about the Pittsburgh Pirates. They were entering the last… My first column this school year was about the Pittsburgh Pirates. They were entering the last month of yet another losing season and finished with a miserable 57-105 record. As the year came to a close, the only title the Bucs held was the worst team in baseball.

Again.

But instead of writing about that, I wrote about the reasons Pirates fans still needed to have some hope, namely Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez. Most importantly, I reminded everyone of the disappointed sports fan’s favorite phrase: “There’s always next year.”

That’s a phrase fans in Pittsburgh have been uttering a lot recently. But for the Pirates, next year has arrived. Happy Opening Day, everyone.

At least take comfort in this as we begin the 2011 campaign — when there are no expectations, it’s hard to have your heart broken. If the Pirates take another plunge into over 100 losses, well, it’s kind of hard to say you couldn’t have imagined that happening.

Then again, if the Bucs manage to finish over .500, it’ll feel like they won the World Series. What other sports team in Pittsburgh can satisfy fans that easily? It’s a depressing fact, but at least the season will be relaxing.

Pitt sports are too stressful. The collective blood pressure of Pittsburgh needs a chance to drop to a normal level again. So get yourself to PNC Park, grab a hot dog, and watch some fireworks. There might even be some different kind of fireworks this season with new manager Clint Hurdle taking over for John Russell.

Hurdle has a reputation for arguing with umpires. He’s bound to be entertaining.

That’s not the only change to the Pittsburgh roster for 2011. Lyle Overbay will take over at first base and Chris Snyder will split time with Ryan Doumit at catcher. The two will aid the Pirates defense, which struggled mightily last season with one of the league’s worst fielding percentages.

Although not known for their offensive productivity, Overbay and Snyder should be able to help the Pirates defensively.

As far as the offense, that should be the Pirates’ strength this season. Keyword: should.

There doesn’t seem to be any reason why this Pittsburgh team shouldn’t be able to produce runs with McCutchen entering his second full season and Walker, Alvarez and Tabata looking to build upon their impressive debuts from last year.

Add in offensive contributors like Garrett Jones and the Pirates might have a solid-enough lineup to counteract their biggest weakness: pitching.

The Pirates welcome back most of the same starting pitching rotation as last season. If there was one aspect of the Bucs that stood out as worse than the rest, it was pitching. And yet, instead of changing it up, guys like Charlie Morton are still hanging around.

Still, the Bucs seem to have enough young talent to be able to take a step forward this season.

It would be difficult to take a step back.

A word of caution, though: The Pirates open their season on Friday, April 1 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. So if they win, don’t get too excited. It is April Fool’s Day, after all.