It’s March. It’s the time of hope.

This is the best time of year to be a baseball fan, particularly if you root for a team that, say, hasn’t had the best track record in recent seasons.

(Um, Pittsburgh, cough, Pirates).

In March, everyone has a chance. In March, no dreams have been dashed. No one is in a slump. No one’s ERA is sneaking up on six.

Now June, well, that’s another story.

But it isn’t outrageous to believe that something good will finally happen at PNC Park this summer. Is it?

That’s what March is all about, after all.

I remember March of 1994. I was finishing up my degree at Kent State University, a mere hour’s drive from the freshly minted Jacobs’ Field in Cleveland.

The Indians were coming off a sixth-place finish in the old American League East and a 76-86 record.

There was little reason to believe the Indians would be anything other than what they had always been since I was a little kid: a losing team.

But after a slow start in 1994, the Tribe got hot. When the strike that wiped out the rest of the season hit, Cleveland was 66-47 and about to overtake the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central.

The next season, the Indians won 100 games and reached the World Series.

Is that a likely scenario for the Buccos? Probably not. But if you asked a Tribe fan the same thing in 1993, his answer would have been strikingly similar.

Sure, Muammar Gadhafi has a better chance of winning a United Nations humanitarian award as the Pirates have of reaching the World Series this season — or even posting a winning record — but March knows no boundaries when it comes to hope.

The cruel realities of April are coming. Some questions have to be answered about the Bucs:

n

Who the heck is the staff ace? The short answer: no one. An ace? There’s not even a seven of clubs on this pitching staff. Until the Bucs can uncover a legitimate top-of-the-rotation pitcher — like the Indians did in the mid-90s in Dennis Martinez and Orel Hershiser — the Bucs are going nowhere.

n Is Neil Walker the second coming of Bill Mazeroski? Pirates fans just hope he is not the second coming of Warren Morris.n

Is Clint Hurdle the right man for the job? A resounding yes. Finally, the Pirates have found a perfect manager for their roster.Previous skippers were too laid back for a young team. In fact, John Russell was so mellow, the bat boy had to check Russell’s pulse every few innings to make sure he was in fact still alive.Young teams need fiery leaders. Hurdle is that.So, there is hope. It is the last day of March, after all.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.