One hears it time and again about baseball: Pitching and defense wins championships.

And it might well be true.

But not necessarily for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club.

To fully understand why new management should take great care before dismantling one of Major League Baseball's most productive outfields -- Jason Bay, Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady -- it might be helpful to look back at the franchise's first 121 years to appreciate the role the outfield has played in its greatest successes.

Going backward through time ...

The three division champions in 1990-92 had sound pitching and defense, but were fueled by the outfield of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla. Bonds was an MVP in two of those seasons, runner-up in the other. In the first of those seasons, Bonds had 33 home runs, Bonilla 32 and Van Slyke 17, while Bonds and Van Slyke won Gold Gloves.

The Family of 1979 had Bill Robinson, Omar Moreno and Dave Parker. Parker had 25 home runs, Robinson 24, and the leadoff man Moreno stole 77 bases. Moreno was exceptional in center field, and Parker had the game's most feared arm. And John Milner added 16 home runs off the bench. Willie Stargell, Bill Madlock and a deep rotation was instrumental, but the outfield made the difference.

The 1971 team had Stargell -- in his left-field days -- hitting a career-best 48 home runs, a young Al Oliver in center, and Roberto Clemente as the World Series MVP after batting .414 against Baltimore. Dock Ellis and Steve Blass had fine seasons, Blass an epic Game 7, but again, it was the outfield.

The fabled 1960 group will be remembered for the contribution of a certain second baseman, but the outfield that year was Bob Skinner, Bill Virdon and a rising Clemente. Bill Mazeroski and Dick Groat were anchors in the infield, and the pitching might have been the best in franchise history with Vernon Law, Bob Friend and rubber-armed ElRoy Face. But that outfield, which remained wholly intact for an uncanny seven years, might have been the glue.

The 1927 Pirates, best known as the group that fell to the '27 Yankees, might have had the best outfield of all with the Waner brothers, Lloyd and Paul, and Kiki Cuyler before Cuyler was benched for the postseason. All three are in the Hall of Fame.

The 1925 edition, the most underappreciated great team in Pittsburgh's sporting lore, got this from their outfield: Cuyler batted .357, Max Carey .343 and Clyde Barnhart .325. Carey also ended up in the Hall.

The team's first World Series winner, in 1909, provides the lone exception, as it rode the formidable back of shortstop Honus Wagner and a deep pitching staff. But the outfield did have one great Hall of Famer in Fred Clarke, along with lesser lights Tommy Leach and Chief Wilson. And it bears noting that this came in the era before power-hitting outfielders.

In all, of the 13 players in the Hall who spent five or more seasons with the Pirates, eight spent most of their careers in the outfield, including Ralph Kiner on all those losing teams in the 1950s.

None of which is to suggest that the current outfield is comparable. But it might be more important to the Pirates' future success than most think.

Considering all options

The Pirates have made quite clear they will not pick up reliever Damaso Marte's $6 million club option after this season, and it is equally unlikely they will pick up the only other option on the docket, that being outfielder Jason Michaels' $2.6 million.

But that should not be taken to mean Michaels is a goner. He is 32, has performed well since coming from Cleveland, can play all three outfield spots and has the pedigree that he can do more than just pinch-hit.

Expect general manager Neal Huntington to approach Michaels about staying at a rate lower than that option.

"You can see he's a very good fit for what we have now, and I think he has a chance to be a very good fit going forward," Huntington said. "Obviously, there's a lot of time left but, when we brought Jason here, we weren't thinking about six weeks. We were thinking about the whole season, and who knows how it will play beyond that?"

"I know I'd like to stay here," Michaels said. "I like the team, the staff, and I like where things look like they're heading for the future. I think Neal is going to take this team to the next level, and I'd like to be part of that."

The Pirates will have two club options for 2010, but those are much larger: Freddy Sanchez's $8.4 million and Jack Wilson's $8 million.

The 'book' rules in the minors

Clearly, it takes more than big numbers to get promoted in the Pirates' system.

How else to explain Jamie Romak? He is the 22-year-old outfield prospect who came in the Adam LaRoche trade, and he is clobbering the Carolina League for Class A Lynchburg with a .303 average, 17 home runs -- four in the past week -- and 49 RBIs. His total of 28 walks boosts a healthy .382 on-base percentage and somewhat offsets a gaudy total of 79 strikeouts.

Altoona, anyone?

"We're not going to get caught up in results," director of player development Kyle Stark said, citing a familiar organizational refrain.

What the Pirates want from Romak, as well as all prospects, is to fulfill the goals set in what is called their "book" before advancing. That way, a specific shortcoming that could be exposed perhaps permanently at the next level instead is addressed emphatically at the current level.

In Romak's case, Stark said, that means three things:

1. He needs not only to lay off bad pitches, as he already does, but also to "hit the pitches he should." Which is to say Romak is being too selective, likely with a goal of swinging only at pitches he can annihilate. That is not a luxury one gets at higher levels.

2. He needs to adjust better to hitting in two-strike counts, as was evident again Friday when he fanned all four times up.

3. His defense needs to improve, and part of that is some recent work Romak has done at first base rather than his natural position, right field.

Every prospect has his own "book," and it follows him all the way to Pittsburgh.

They call this a break?

The Pirates will not be getting much of a breather for the All-Star break. They will be off tomorrow and Tuesday, then must reconvene in Pittsburgh late Wednesday afternoon for the flight to Denver. Their game with the Rockies on Thursday will be one of just four played in the majors that day.

Any big plans?

"Sure," infielder Chris Gomez said. "Getting out into God's country. Long walks, barbecues, the whole family. It will be outstanding."

"Back home with the family," reliever Sean Burnett said of West Palm Beach, Fla. "We'll make the most of every minute."

Not everyone will have the luxury: The front office, which never sleeps, will continue to have business as usual, with some out scouting the two minor league teams still active during the break.