Could this be the year at last?

Can the Pirates end their 14-year streak of losing seasons?

Yes! Yes! Yes! It really can happen, but not so much because of the Pirates themselves. Their talent level has improved, but they still are young in many areas.

It can happen because the rest of the National League Central Division no longer has a starting pitching edge on the Pirates — except the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yes, I said the Brewers.

Milwaukee's top three starting pitchers of hard-throwing Ben Sheets, 2006 all-star Chris Capuano and free-agent signee Jeff Suppan are the only trio in the division who can top the Pirates' front three of Ian Snell, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm in terms of potential production in 2007.

The defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals are not a powerhouse. They won 83 games last year and no longer have Suppan or Mark Mulder, who was lost to an injury, in their rotation.

In fact, St. Louis is entering the regular season with former Pirate Kip Wells as its No. 2 starter behind Chris Carpenter.

Enough said there.

The Houston Astros still have Roy Oswalt as their staff ace, but no longer have old reliables Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens behind him. They've been replaced by Jason Jennings and Woody Williams, two veterans who have been inconsistent in recent years.

The Chicago Cubs also have a strong No. 1 starter in Carlos Zambrano. But because of the continual arm woes of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, Chicago was forced to throw millions of dollars at .500 pitcher Ted Lilly and take a gamble on Jason Marquis, who was left off the Cardinals' postseason roster last year because of ineffectiveness.

The Cincinnati Reds have Aaron Harang and ex-Pirate and Red Sox Bronson Arroyo, who faded badly in the second half last year, at the top of their rotation, followed by Eric Milton, who delivers home run balls with regularity.

While the Pirates don't have a clear-cut edge in starting pitching within the division, they are certainly competitive with the other teams in that category.

And it's been years since such a statement could be made.

In terms of upside, it's the Pittsburgh and Milwaukee rotations that come to the forefront.

Former Pirates third base coach Rich Donnelly mentioned on Opening Day 2005, when he was the Brewers' third base coach, that the Pirates and Brewers would rise to the top of the division within a couple of years and that starting pitching would be the reason.

Perhaps he knew what he was talking about.

Hey, there's no guarantee Snell is going to win 14 games again, that Duke is going to revert to his 2005 form or that Maholm will blossom into a consistent, quality left-handed starter.

There's no guarantee that they won't, either.

And if they do, well, this string of losing seasons has to end some time, doesn't it?