PITTSBURGH — Without any bluster or bold predictions, the Pittsburgh Pirates used their annual media luncheon Friday to say the team would be better than its recent history.

"We're a much stronger club, offensively, defensively and pitching-wise," general manager Dave Littlefield said.

"Things are going to be done differently than they've been done in the past, I can promise you that," new manager Jim Tracy said. "And it's going to be different in a good way."

Things could not be much worse.

Pittsburgh finished 67-95 to match the Colorado Rockies for the fewest victories in the National League last season. It was the Pirates' 13th consecutive losing season, the longest active drought in the game.

But members of the front office, coaching staff and players were universally optimistic after an offseason in which ownership boosted payroll by $13 million and added experienced players such as first baseman Sean Casey, outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and third baseman Joe Randa to a promising pool of young talent.

"On paper, no question, we're a better team," outfielder Jason Bay said. "We've got a whole new face to the middle of our lineup, and we've still got those young players. That's reason for optimism. At the same time, we've got to start turning the young talent into wins. You can't keep coming into every new season talking about young guys."

Kevin McClatchy, the Pirates' managing general partner since 1996, declined to predict if this team might be his first to finish above .500. But he praised Littlefield for the makeup of the roster and for hiring Tracy, who spent the previous five years as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Obviously, it's been a monkey that's been on this organization's back for too long," McClatchy said of the losing streak that started in 1993. "The only thing I can do is to try to give Dave more tools, and I think Dave's done a great job of using them."

Pittsburgh's projected payroll for opening day is $47 million, which would be the team's highest since 2003.

At the Pirates' media luncheon a year ago, McClatchy used the platform to criticize fellow owners for what he perceived as excessive spending on free agents.

McClatchy avoided any such declarations Friday when asked to assess the free-agent activity this winter.

"Teams do what they have to do," he said. "Teams like Kansas City and Toronto and Pittsburgh spent more money this offseason. Were there some bad signings out there? You know what? We've done bad signings in the past, so I probably shouldn't point fingers."

Notes:

The Pirates agreed to a minor league contract with INF Jose Hernandez, who spent part of the 2003 season with Pittsburgh. Hernandez, 36, played 84 games for the Cleveland Indians last season and batted .231 with six home runs and 31 RBIs. If added to the major league roster, Hernandez would get an $850,000, one-year contract and the chance to earn $150,000 in performance bonuses. ... The team also invited minor league C Steve Lerud to the major league camp.