Spring is the time of rebirth, of renewal, of hope.

Unless you root for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Then spring is black and desolate.

Spring is death.

I have to admit I was a bit optimistic about this season — cautiously optimistic as 20 straight losing seasons would demand — but still hopeful. I would like nothing more than to live in a market with a good baseball team for a change.

The last two seasons were promising ones, after all.

Last year, the Pirates looked destined to break the cycle of losing. Then, they remembered they were the Pirates in August and came up more lame than a Carnival cruise ship.

The collapse was epic. The offseason was anything but. Jettisoned was Joel Hanrahan, arguably the Bucs’ best closer since, well, ever — or at least since Elroy Face.

They also did little to improve a lineup that was adequate at best.

And it’s showing. Through the first seven games, the Pirates hit .126 and needed a GPS device to find home plate with just 13 runs scored.

Even the Houston Astros fared better.

Sure. It’s early. It’s been just one week and seven games is an extremely small sample size in Major League Baseball.

After all, in the same sample of games, Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis slammed four home runs and drove in 17. I’m fairly certain Davis will not keep up that pace. I’m willing to bet he will not finish the season with 92 home runs and 393 RBI.

And sure, the Bucs’ offense has shown signs of life in Arizona the last few days.

But there are huge, gaping holes in this lineup.

The only two players consistently producing right now are Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen.

McCutchen is the only bona fide star. A team can not be considered average, let alone a contender, when guys like Garrett Jones and Neil Walker are the next best bats in the lineup.

Pedro Alvarez is approaching the Bustville city limits. His numbers are promising as a whole when you look at them — .244 average, 30 homers, 80-plus RBI last season. But on closer inspection, you will find far too many 0-for games with two, three and sometimes four whiffs.

He’ll have the monster 3-for-4, multi-homer game, then go into an 0-for-12 slump. He is helpless against left-handed pitchers, but the Bucs have no right-handed bat who can play third base to spell him at the moment.

The biggest problem is the Pirates can’t hit good pitching. They are incapable of squaring the bat up on anyone who has electric stuff.

They can smack average pitching around, like they did for two nights in Phoenix. But guys like Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and even Jeff Samardzija, make them look silly. To be good, you have to hit good pitching.

Until that changes, the Pirates will never win.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.