The good news for Pirates fans is that Barry Bonds probably won't have another of those horrendous postseasons -- at least not for Pittsburgh. The bad news, though, is the salary market seems to be driving the Pirates from contention.

To win their third straight Eastern Division, the Pirates must replace John Smiley's 20 wins, Bill Landrum's 17 saves and Bobby Bonilla's 100 RBIs. It won't be easy in a division including the beefed up Mets.

And Bonds, even if he remains in Pittsburgh for the full year, will most likely command more millions than the Pirates could pay when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. The Pirates have offered Bonds around the league but he has not yet drawn sufficient interest.

The Pirates have committed to manager Jim Leyland, one of the best in the business, when they signed him to a longterm deal. But management's commitment to winning may be in question.

Already this spring, the Pirates have made two surprising moves. Last year's pitching staff -- which finished with the best earned run average in the majors -- was split up when Smiley was traded and Landrum, last year's slave leader, was released.

The only significant addition the Pirates have made is Kirk Gibson, an oft-injured 35-year-old backup outfielder. Gibson has always been a clutch player and should be valuable as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter.

But even with Smiley's exit, the Pirates have four proven starters.

Doug Drabek, the 1990 Cy Young winner, overcame a slow start to win 15 games. However, Drabek showed in the playoffs that he was the ace of the staff.

Second starter Zane Smith throws a big curve, slider and sinker and won a career-high 16 games last year. He has fantastic control -- he walked only 29 in 228 innings -- and seems to have rebounded from his catastrophic 1-13 start in 1989.

The other two proven starters are Randy Tomlin (8-7, 2.98 ERA) and veteran Bob Walk (9-2, 3.60 ERA in 25 games).

The fifth starter will either be Vincente Palacios (6-3, 3.75 ERA) or promising prospect Danny Neagle, who they received from the Minnesota Twins in return for Smiley. The 23-year-old was 9-4 for Triple A Portland last year and is having a tremendous spring.

Landrum (and his $1.7 million salary) was released to make room for 21-year-old Miguel Batista, who must remain on the roster for the full year or be offered for nothing back to the Expos. Although the 33-year-old Landrum had 17 saves last year, none came after Aug. 29. Still, he was instrumental as the Pirates distanced themselves from the pack.

Batista will be added to a committee of relievers including Port Matilda native Stan Belinda, journeyman Roger Mason and Bob Patterson. Not having a dependable closer could be a major problem for the Pirates.

The closest thing the Pirates have to a stopper out of the pen is Belinda, who saved 16 games last year. However, he also surrendered 10 home runs. The sidearmer delivers a 93-mph fastball and has shown that he can be tough on National League hitters -- as long as he can find the strike zone. Opponents hit just .184 against him last year but he walked 35 in 78 innings and finished with a 3.45 ERA.

Mason had a career year after his callup from Triple A Buffalo. Though the 33-year-old's career was resurrected with a new split-fingered fastball, his age and past elbow injuries could be problems.

This spring, Mason has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances.

Their battery mates, catchers Mike LaValliere and Don Slaught, are an effective combination. Although neither has much power, they are both good backstops and drove in a combined 70 runs.

The offense will be centered around leftfielder Barry Bonds. The Gold-Glover recovered from a horrendous start to hit .292, drive in 116 runs, (second best in the league) score 95 runs and steal 43 bases. Undoubtedly, Bonds is one of the best all-around players in the game. However, he no longer has Bonilla to draw attention from opposing pitchers.

Bonds' spring has started on the right foot -- he is hitting over .400 and doesn't seem affected by a scratched cornea suffered last week when he was leaning on the netting of the batting cage. A hot start by Bonds would be a good sign for the Pirates who are going to need his pop from day one.

Outfielders Andy Van Slyke and Orlando Merced, who is moving to right from first, shorstop Jay Bell and third baseman Steve Buechele also provide offensive firepower.

Van Slyke hit a solid .265, drove in 83 runs and scored 87. He also is an excellent defensive centerfielder.

Merced, who started last year in Buffalo, ended the season second in the Rookie-of-the-Year voting. The second-year player looks to play full time in right after platooning at first, where he hit .275, and scored 83 runs in 411 at bats.

Defensively, the Pirates middle ranks with the best in the league. Along with Slaught, Lavalliere and Van Slyke is one of the best double-play combinations in baseball --Jay Bell and the acrobatic Jose Lind.

Bell had career-highs of 16 homers and 67 RBIs. He hit .270 and had a league-best 30 sacrifice bunts. As a fielder, showed how intelligent he is by fielding 754 chances, tops in the league.

At second, Lind was behind only Ryne Sandberg with a .989 fielding percentage. He arguably covers more ground and turns the double play better than any other major leaguer. Lind also provided some spark from his No. 8 spot with 54 RBIs.

Steve Buechele, who the Pirates got from the Rangers for last year's stretch run, is one of the game's best defensive third baseman. He had a career year last season. Combining his stints with Texas and Pittsburgh, Buechele hit 22 homers, drove in 85 runs and had the best year of his career.

Jeff King moves across the diamond to first base. King is recovering from back surgery that limited him to 33 games last year. The Bucs are hoping that he lives up to what was expected of him two years ago -- he has good power and is an adequate fielder.

The Pirates won't drop too far back in the Eastern Division, but it would take a perfect season for them to repeat. Though there are no real weaknesses in the lineup, it is not so fearsome. Bonds is going to have to be on the ball all year. The Pirates also don't have the speed to manufacture runs. Gary Redus, a 35-year-old, back-up first baseman, is the only Pirate besides Bonds who stole more than 10 bases last year. He had 17.

While Drabek should be able to rebound from last year's 15-14 record, the Pirates are relying on young pitchers to step in to the lineup and on veterans like Walk and Mason to have stellar years like they did last season.

Unfortunately for baseball, smaller-market teams are being driven out of contention. Consistently losing top players can do nothing but hurt pennant chances.

And the future -- at least for the Pirates -- looks ever dimmer. Even if the Pirates are in the race this year, they face the loss of Bonds and Drabek at the end of the season.