"You spend all those hours working late into the night to get ready for the season," Huntington said. "You talk about various player moves. You plan spring training. You project what the team is going to look like and how it will perform.

"And you do all of those things for a reason -- to put a major league team on the field. As interesting and challenging as that offseason work can be, it certainly is not as much fun as watching the players work out and managers and coaches teach. I'm really looking forward to watching our pitchers take fielding practice for the first time."

The team's roster is almost identical to the one that finished last season, a year in which the Pirates went 68-94 for their 15th consecutive sub-.500 finish. Huntington, after not finding a blockbuster trade he was comfortable making over the winter, believes improvement from within will make the Pirates better.

Pittsburgh is also banking on a new management team making a difference. New manager John Russell replaces Jim Tracy, fired after going 135-189 in two seasons, and the coaching staff is also completely new with Jeff Andrews (pitching), Don Long (hitting), Gary Varsho (bench), Tony Beasley (third base), Lou Frazier (first base) and Luis Dorante (bullpen).

Russell, too, is anxious to get started on his first major league managerial job.

"It's been a whirlwind of a winter," said Russell, who had to assemble a coaching staff while also making plans to build a house in Pittsburgh's North Hills suburbs. "But now is the time we've all been waiting for. I'm excited about getting started, and I know my coaches are. It's going to be good to get on the field and get started on the season."

Russell wants the Pirates to be more fundamentally sound than they have been in recent years. To that end, the Pirates will spend more time on various drills than most major league clubs do.

"You want to put yourself in position to win every night," Russell said. "One of the best ways you can do that is by not beating yourself. We want to make sure that by the time the season starts that we're ready to do the little things that help you win ballgames."

If nothing else, the change in management seems to have effected a change in attitude among the holdover roster. There seemed to be more interaction between the coaching staff and players during the four-day minicamp for pitchers last month in Bradenton than there was all last season.

Much of that comes from familiarity. Russell was the Pirates' third base coach from 2003-05. Andrews has spent the past five seasons a coach in Pittsburgh's farm system, and Beasley managed many of the current players while they were coming up through the minor leagues.

"It was a lot more relaxed atmosphere," left-hander Zach Duke said. "There is just a good rapport between the coaches and the players. We know them. They know us. There isn't a feeling of awkwardness there. I think that's going to make a big difference. You perform better when you're relaxed."

With an average offense at best and a bullpen that has plenty of holes, the Pirates are relying heavily on four young starting pitchers who are 26 or younger: Duke, left-handers Tom Gorzelanny and Paul Maholm and right-hander Ian Snell. All were under Andrews' tutelage in the minor leagues and are excited about being reunited.

"He's the best coach I've ever had on any level, hands down," Gorzelanny said. "He really tries to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a pitcher. He's easy to talk to like a friend, but he also has all of our respect like any good coach does. We're all excited being back together with Jeff."

Russell says the rest of the coaching staff also has Andrews' characteristics.

"They are good baseball people and extremely good teachers," Russell said. "You are always learning at the major league level, whether you are a young guy or have been in the major leagues for 15 years. Our coaches are good communicators, and they know how to get their message through to the players. I think you're going to see that right from the start of spring training and the difference it is going to make."

The Pirates can afford to concentrate on teaching because there figures to be little competition for jobs beyond some bench and bullpen roles.

The primary focus will be to decide on a center fielder, as Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan will battle for the job, and finding a right-handed setup reliever, a job that sinkerballer Franquelis Osoria has the inside track on.

McLouth had a fine season in a part-time role last season, hitting .258 with 13 home runs, 38 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 329 at bats. Morgan was a late-season sensation after getting a September call-up, hitting .299 with seven stolen bases in 28 games while making a number of outstanding plays in the field.

Osoria was 2-5 with 11 saves and a fine 2.63 ERA in 39 games at Class AAA Indianapolis but a pedestrian 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 25 games with the Pirates. However, he does not have many formidable challengers. Jonah Bayliss had a miserable 2007, Rule 5 draft pick Evan Meek pitched in Class AA last season, and hard-throwing rookie Romulo Sanchez still has issues with his control.

"I know we look pretty set right now, but you never know what might happen in spring training," Russell said. "You have injuries, guys have good springs, guys have bad springs. We'll keep all our options open and see how everyone performs."

WHERE, WHEN: McKechnie Field, Bradenton, Fla. First exhibition game is Feb. 28 against Philadelphia at Clearwater, Fla.

TOP CANDIDATE TO SURPRISE: LHP Paul Maholm settled into a very good groove in the second half of last season and said he felt he had the best command of all his pitches since college. He doesn't have the best pure stuff, but he gets groundballs on a consistent basis and has a good feel for pitching.

TOP CANDIDATE TO DISAPPOINT: 2B Freddy Sanchez's batting average dropped 43 points last season to .304 from a National League-leading .347 in 2006. Now 30, Sanchez has reached an age where he should begin declining.

AUTHORITY FIGURES: Manager John Russell, who will br making his major league debut after spending the last two seasons managing Philadelphia's Class AAA farm club, plans to stress fundamentals in spring training and will also preach the importance of changing the culture of an organization that has had 15 consecutive losing seasons. Pitching coach Jeff Andrews gets his first shot at the major leagues after 21 years in the minors. He developed a rapport with most of the Pirates pitchers when they were coming up through the farm system. Hitting coach Don Long also gets his first crack at the majors after 21 years on the farm, and he stresses a more cerebral approach to at-bats. Bench coach Gary Varsho spent five seasons in the same job with Philadelphia from 2002-06 and will be Russell's primary sounding board. Third base coach Tony Beasley was in the same role with Washington in 2005 and was a highly regarded manager in the Pirates' farm system before that. First base coach Lou Frazier will be coaching in the major leagues for the first time and will also be the Pirates' baserunning and outfield instructor. Bullpen coach Luis Dorante held the same job with Florida in 2004 and will give the Pirates a Spanish-speaking coach on the staff.

--1B Doug Mientkiewicz, who saw limited action with the Yankees last year due to a broken right wrist, signed a minor league contract with the Pirates. He could battle rookie Steve Pearce for the right to back up Adam LaRoche. Mientkiewicz played 72 games in 2007, hitting .277 with five home runs and 24 RBIs.

--2B Freddy Sanchez avoided arbitration by signing a two-year contract that includes a club option for 2010. Sanchez is guaranteed to make at $11 million over the life of the contract, and the option and performance bonuses could make the deal worth as much as $18.9 million. Sanchez gets a $300,000 signing bonuses and salaries of $4 million in 2008 and $6.1 million in 2009. The 2010 option, worth at least $8 million, would vest automatically if he makes 635 plate appearances in 2009 or goes to the plate 600 times and also is selected to the All-Star Game that season. The option year has a buyout of $600,000. Sanchez, 30, hit .304 with 11 homers and 81 RBIs in 147 games last season.

--LHP Damaso Marte was forced to skip the Caribbean Series when he suffered neck pain after being involved in an automobile accident in his native Dominican Republic. Marte, though, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training on Feb. 15.

--INF Ray Olmedo was claimed off waivers from Toronto and will likely compete with INF Josh Wilson for the second utility infielder's spot in spring training behind INF Chris Gomez. Olmedo, 26, hit .216 with one RBI in 27 games with Toronto last season and .290 with one homer and 26 RBIs in 97 games with Class AAA Syracuse. Olmedo also spent parts of four seasons with Cincinnati (2003-06) and has a .228 lifetime batting average with two homers and 26 RBIs in 198 games.

--LHP Sean Burnett cleared waivers after being designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Olmedo and was invited to spring training as a non-roster player. Burnett was 4-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts for Class AAA Indianapolis last season. He has not pitched in the major leagues since 2004 after undergoing reconstructive elbow and shoulder surgeries.

--Chris Kline, an associate editor at Baseball America magazine, was hired as an area scout by the Pirates and will cover Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Pirates also hired Jerome Cochran for Louisiana and Arkansas and Trevor Haley for Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.

BY THE NUMBERS: 15 -- Consecutive losing seasons by the Pirates, one short of the major league record of 16 set by the Philadelphia Phillies from 1933-48.