My, how times have changed.

The Pirates head to Cincinnati for the 2015 season opener Monday with optimism brimming throughout the organization.

Left-handed pitching ace Francisco Liriano decided to stay with the club through free agency. Left-handed starter Clayton Richard, a reclamation project from San Diego, decided to stay with the Bucs despite the team not placing him on their 40-man roster this past week.

Because he wasn’t put on that roster, Richard was free to go — and stayed. After extended spring training, he will likely report to Class AAA Indianapolis.

Perhaps Richard has paid attention to Pirate pitching coach Ray Searage’s track record of late. In just the last couple of years, Searage has rejuvenated the major league pitching careers of Liriano, Edison Volquez, Mark Melancon, Jason Grilli and Vance Worley.

Regardless, Pittsburgh has become a pretty good place for big leaguers to call home.

The “welcome to hell” greeting of former relief pitcher Jason Christian to Pirate newcomers during the franchise’s two decades of losing seems so long ago now.

The Pirates’ lineup appears set and potentially potent: 3B Josh Harrison, RF Gregory Polanco, CF Andrew McCutchen, 2B Neil Walker, LF Starling Marte, 1B Pedro Alvarez, C Francisco Cervelli and SS Jordy Mercer.

Not an easy out among them.

The starting rotation has two anchors in Liriano and Gerrit Cole, along with a re-energized A.J. Burnett. The bullpen has two standouts in Mark Melancon and Tony Watson.

On paper, no question, the Pirates are contenders.

But what’s going to happen on the field?

The Bucs do have questions that must be answered in a positive way for the team to finally wrest the NL Central Division away from St. Louis.

Was Harrison’s 2014 season a fluke?

Will Cole and Polanco take radical steps forward in terms of their development as major leaguers?

Will Alvarez re-discover his bat and not hurt the team defensively while becoming a first baseman?

Will Morton stay healthy and can he, Locke and Worley combine for a winning record while holding down the back end of the rotation?

Will Cervelli handle the pitchers and provide enough offense — while staying healthy himself — to somewhat make up for the loss of Russell Martin?

The Pirates’ bench looks solid. Tony Sanchez can hit, Sean Rodriguez can play anywhere and Jung Ho Kang could emerge as a productive extra bat, just like Harrison did last year.

The guess here is the Pirates will continue to progress at the big league level while continuing to monitor a productive farm system.

Look for a 92-70 record, which may be good enough to win what should be a very balanced division.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle