MORE BANG FOR THE BUC$

The Pittsburgh Pirate clubhouse was packed several hours before the game with the San Diego Padres. Some of the young Bucs played cards. Others watched a video of the preceding game or ESPN. A few prepared for physical therapy or took early batting practice.

Left fielder Al Martin, a 27-year-old elder statesman of five major league seasons, sat at his locker and talked about that certain something, as he put it, that has permeated his team’s season, that keeps “floating around in here,” he said, sensing it, feeling it, trying to capture it.

Part destiny, part magic, he said.

Something out of the age of innocence, he suggested.

“Something you’d like to put in a bottle and save,” Martin said. “One of those years you’ll never forget, no matter how it plays out or what you do over the rest of your career.

“I mean, when you sign your first professional contract and leave to begin your career, this is what you dream about. This is the perfect example of what a team is supposed to be.

“It’s not a bunch of guys saying they hope they do well because they’re going to be a free agent at the end of the year. It’s a bunch of guys saying they hope they do well so that they’ll have a job tomorrow.

“I mean, professional baseball by its very nature creates a selfish approach. Guys are lying when they say they’re not out for themselves. That’s how you get paid, but that’s not at the forefront here.

“The only thing that matters here is winning, all for one. It’s the best chemistry and attitude I’ve ever seen, and that’s the beauty of it.”

What a storybook thing it would be if the Pirates carried this lyrical ride into October as champions of the National League Central.

A team with a major league-low payroll of $9 million, less than Albert Belle--the popular yardstick--will be paid this year.

A team with 18 of the current 25 players having two years or less of major league service and only two of the 25--Dale Sveum and Turner Ward--being 30 or older.

A team many compared to a triple-A outfit, destined to lose 100 games, but which has hovered near .500 throughout the season, a surprising contender in a crazy division--only to have reality, perhaps, begin to intrude now on that storybook saga.

The Pirates are 52-53 and five games behind the suddenly streaking Houston Astros as they open a two-game series against the Dodgers tonight.

Then again, who’s paying attention to the standings?

This is about rebuilding, a first step. This is about learning what subway to take to Shea Stadium, where the clubhouse is at Wrigley Field. This is about winning a job, being here tomorrow and the day after.

“This team can’t afford to look ahead,” second-year catcher Jason Kendall said. “It’s the ‘Bull Durham’ cliche . . . we have to take one game at a time. We have a lot of guys still fighting for survival.”

Said Martin: “It’s like the student who has to study all night to make a ‘C’. He can’t afford to take a day off like the ‘A’ student can. We have a lot of guys still trying to make the grade.”

On the other hand. . . .

“We’ve adjusted to the fact we can contend and play just as well as any of these other teams,” said relief pitcher Marc Wilkins, a 47th-round draft choice. “We’re having fun.”

Even Kevin Elster, a veteran shortstop whose run production the Pirates were relying on, is having fun--despite a wrist injury that has sidelined him since May.

“What’s anyone got that we haven’t?” Elster, 32, said. “It’s been fun watching. I’m proud of my children.”

Elster, Martin and Sveum have taken the young Pirates under their wing, answering questions, setting an example.

“I’m fortunate to have made some money in the game, but all I ever wanted to do was drive a truck,” said Sveum, who does.

“What you’ve got in this clubhouse is a lot of truck drivers. There are no mercenaries here, no Ken Griffey Jr., no superstars. We have to battle every day to keep our head above water.”

A group headed by newspaper heir Kevin McClatchy inherited a $20-million debt when it bought the Pirates on Feb. 14, 1996. It wasn’t long before McClatchy ordered the payroll reduced from $21 million to $9 million.

Sixteen players from last year’s opening-day roster are gone, including Denny Neagle, Charlie Hayes, Jay Bell, Danny Darwin, Carlos Garcia, Jeff King, Orlando Merced and Dan Plesac.

Manager Jim Leyland, a Pittsburgh institution, left for the Florida Marlins, rejecting another rebuilding project in favor of what he assumed to be a better chance to win.

The ’97 marketing slogan of “Let’s Go To Work” is accompanied by a metal lunch pail.

Martin laughed and suggested it should be a doggie bag, but what’s wrong with guys clipping coupons or pilfering an occasional care package from the postgame buffet to make ends meet?

The resiliency and work ethic of the young Pirates has had an impact in the Steel City.

Attendance is up about 115,000 from last year, when the Pirates drew a league-low 976,030. But the real test will come in November, when voters in a 10-county area will consider a sales tax increase to fund major development projects, including a 35,000-seat ballpark in the downtown area. If financing for a new park is not in place by Feb. 28, McClatchy can trigger an escape clause and begin a process that would ultimately enable him to sell to outside interests.

New Manager Gene Lamont said he accepted the challenge of a four- or five-year rebuilding project, “but I didn’t take it with the understanding that the payroll would stay $9 or $10 million forever. The vision is a new stadium that would give us the flexibility to add a player and keep many of the type players that have left Pittsburgh in the past.

“We’ll never be in a situation [because of market size] where we can keep everybody, and I accept that, but we have to handle it better than they did before. We can’t wait for our best players to get in their sixth year [when eligible for free agency] and then try to battle the big markets for them. We can’t do that.”

Said McClatchy: “One complaint I’ve heard from the fans is that they’re tired of seeing brand new faces every year. They’d like to see players stick around, and we’d like to accomplish that.”

The Pirates have started the process by giving Martin an extension that could be worth as little as $3.5 million or as much as $10.5 million if he stays through 2002. Catcher Kendall agreed Saturday to a four-year, $7.2-million extension. How far the Pirates will take this if the sales tax is defeated remains to be seen. Charlotte or Northern Virginia could be the team’s future home.

In the meantime, it’s unlikely management will add a salary before the trade deadline to augment the stretch run.

“We’re not going to lose sight of the long-term objective,” Lamont said. “We’re not going to mortgage the future. I’d be surprised if we made a deal.”

Lamont, the former Chicago White Sox manager who spent seven years as a coach with Leyland before and after his Chicago stint, is widely praised among Pittsburgh players for his patience, for his support when they’re doing poorly or hurt and for maintaining a relaxed and loose clubhouse.”

“I think some of the young guys are more comfortable with Gene than they might have been with Leyland,” Martin said.

“Leyland could be intimidating. He could have young guys looking over their shoulder.”

Said Lamont: “You have to be patient in this situation or it isn’t going to work. You have to give young players a chance to see if they can perform, but patience doesn’t mean you turn your back and accept anything. You still have to demand a hard day’s work, 100% effort.

“It’s been rewarding to see guys get the chance and be successful. They’ve played well and should get better. We’re fortunate to have been in a division where no one has taken charge, but the goal for us was to get better as the season progressed, and I think we’ve done that.”

Lamont managed the White Sox to a 1993 division title, had them 21 games over .500 and in first place when the strike started in 1994 and was fired after 31 games in ’95.

A season of redemption for the Pirates would seem to be a season of redemption for Lamont, but he said, “I don’t think I needed redemption. I don’t think I should have been fired, but I didn’t take this job to prove that.

“Some people said to me, ‘If Leyland didn’t want it, you’re crazy to take it.’ But I knew Jim didn’t want to go through another rebuilding, and I felt this was an even better opportunity than an expansion job as far as how quickly it could be turned around.”

Lamont and the Pirates are doing it with players still largely anonymous to most fans and with an offense that ranks near the National League bottom in batting average, runs, home runs and on-base percentage.

The only category the team leads the league in is strikeouts. The backbone has been a pitching rotation in which the five starters--Cooke, Francisco Cordova, Esteban Loaiza, Jason Schmidt and Jon Lieber--have not missed a turn.

The Pirates are 43-25 when a starter pitches six innings, and 44-1 in games they lead after eight.

Closer John Eriks was sidelined because of a back injury in April, but Rich Loiselle and Ricardo Rincon, one of the Pirates’ three Mexican-born pitchers, have combined for 20 saves.

“Pitching is the nucleus of any team and ours has been pretty good,” Sveum said.

Better than pitching, said Martin, the veteran out of Rowland Heights High, has been the chemistry, a vast improvement from the playoff team he joined in 1992, when he was “treated like junk” by Barry Bonds and other veterans.

If the chemistry holds and the farm system, brimming with talent from the fire sales and a series of advantageous draft positions, can fill a void or two, “we seem to be rolling down the right road to a world championship, and I hope I’m here to enjoy it,” Martin said.

Might there still be that storybook finish in ‘97?

“Well,” he pondered, still trying to capture that certain something and reflecting on second-half developments, “I don’t know if it’s destiny, but when you get blown out, 18-0, in two games by Houston and then come back to win with a no-hitter, and when you lose two of three to the Phillies but beat Curt Schilling in a game he strikes out 15, you have to think something is going right.

“And on a personal level, well, when your most frustrating season [because of injuries primarily] is also the season in which you’ve had your most fun, you have to know something is going right.

“Like I said, it’s been magical.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Bargain, Not Basement

The lineup for the most cost-efficient team in baseball:

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Pos. Player Salary Stats C Jason Kendall $235,000 .298 Avg. 1B Kevin Young $350,000 .315 Avg. 2B Tony Womack $160,000 .271 Avg. SS Kevin Polkovich $150,000 .286 Avg. 3B Dale Sveum $325,000 .283 Avg. LF Al Martin $2,266,667 .274 Avg. CF J. Allensworth $160,000 .245 Avg. RF Jose Guillen $150,000 .261 Avg. SP Steve Cooke $175,000 8-9, 3.44 ERA SP Francisco Cordova $210,000 6-6, 2.90 SP Jon Lieber $335,000 6-10, 3.65 SP Esteban Loaiza $200,000 7-7, 4.29 SP Jason Schmidt $210,000 5-6, 4.14 RP Rich Loiselle $155,000 15 saves

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HIGHEST PAYROLL (Avg. per player): Yankees $58,449,544 ($2,166,650)

LOWEST PAYROLL (Avg.): Pirates $9,071,667 ($355,988)

MIDDLE OF THE PACK (Avg.): Dodgers $43,400,000 ($1,607,407), Angels $29,196,579 ($1,006,779)

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(Southland Edition) Total Payroll: $9,071,667

(Southland Edition) Average salary: $335,988

Doing the Most With the Least

The Pirates have the lowest payroll but lead baseball in victories per dollars spent in salary, based on payrolls at the beginning of the season that were obtained by the Associated Press:

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Team Payroll Per Win Pittsburgh $9,071,667 $174,455 Detroit 16,454,500 350,096 Montreal 18,485,500 355,490 Milwaukee 21,420,333 446,257 ANGELS 29,196,579 521,367 Oakland 21,911,000 521,690 San Francisco 33,464,780 576,979 Houston 32,930,000 577,719 N.Y. Mets 38,432,900 651,405 Seattle 39,421,395 657,023 San Diego 34,692,579 667,165 Minnesota 32,947,500 716,250 Kansas City 31,225,000 761,585 Atlanta 50,488,500 764,977 DODGERS 43,400,000 775,000 Florida 47,738,000 823,069 Colorado 42,851,500 857,030 Baltimore 55,085,778 874,377 Boston 43,138,750 880,383 St. Louis 44,129,167 882,583 Toronto 45,894,833 917,897 Chicago Cubs 39,829,333 926,264 Texas 50,112,268 1,002,245 Cleveland 54,122,460 1,002,269 N.Y. Yankees 58,499,544 1,008,613 Cincinnati 46,237,000 1,050,841 Chi. White Sox 54,205,000 1,062,843 Philadelphia 35,503,500 1,183,450

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