BRADENTON, Fla. - With opening day only a weekend away, 10 questions about the Pittsburgh Pirates' season - and who might supply the answers.

1-Was Jason Bay a one-season anomaly or the Pirates' next big deal?

The first rookie of the year in club history, all signs point to him having the talent and makeup to be a star. The key is keeping him healthy; he's been nagged by injuries during his still-short career and missed most of this month with a bruised left wrist bone.

2-Is Oliver Perez the next Randy Johnson - or the next Mark Fidrych?

No young Pirates left-hander had a better debut season since John Candelaria in 1975. Perez struck out 239, the third most in club history, and his 2.21 ERA at home was the majors' lowest. The Pirates spent much of last season smoothing out a delivery that was erratic and placed considerable stress on his arm. That's why they'll closely monitor his pitch count and make sure he's not falling into bad habits mechanically.

3-Can the Pirates keep their other promising young pitchers healthy?

Their rebuilding efforts

haven't been helped by the recurring injuries to top pitching prospects John Van Benschoten, Sean Burnett and Bobby Bradley, all former first-round draft picks. No wonder everyone from general manager Dave Littlefield down is crossing his fingers that Perez doesn't wreck an elbow or shoulder.

4-When will Zach Duke make his Pittsburgh debut?

The left-hander had the best statistics (15-6,

1.46 ERA) of any starting pitcher in the minors last season, and was arguably the best Pirates' starter this spring (0-1, 3.75 ERA). Many in the organization wish he was in the rotation now rather than Dave Williams; unless he's a complete flop at Triple-A Indianapolis, he could be in Pittsburgh by Memorial Day.

5-Which Wilson will have the better season:

Jack

or Craig?

Jack Wilson's .308, 201-hit season may be difficult to repeat, but the Pirates expect Craig Wilson to build on his 29-homers, 82-RBIs season - and cut down on his club-record 169 strikeouts. He's been hitting the ball to right field more, and isn't seeing as many 0-2 counts because he's been more aggressive early in the count.

6-Will right fielder Matt Lawton be the All-Star player he was during the first half of last season, or the player who hit .232 after the break?

Lawton hit .249 in 2003 and .236 in 2002 during injury-disrupted seasons, so this is a big year for him. He's in the final year of a $28 million, four-year contract that has seen him have only one-half of a good season, and there is much at stake for him financially.

7-Who is the key to the Pirates' rotation: Perez? Wells?

How about left-hander Mark Redman, who won

33 games the last three seasons with the Tigers, Marlins and Athletics but seems to change addresses every season? PNC Park's spacious left field should help, and a solid No. 3 starter would be a huge asset to a team that has long lacked starting pitching depth.

8-Can Jose Mesa repeat or better his 43-save season?

If he does, he might not finish the year in Pittsburgh, as he could be dealt to a contender. The Pirates plan to move promising left-hander Mike Gonzalez into the job; Gonzalez was 3-1 with a 1.25 ERA last season.

9-Are the Pirates destined for a 13th consecutive

losing season - three away from the major league record?

They must make a 10-game turnaround to go 82-80 (they were 72-89 last season). The last time the Pirates made such a rapid turnaround to enjoy a winning season was 43 years ago; they went 93-68 in 1962, a year after going 75-79. But there's an asterisk attached; they played a 154-game season in 1961 and a 162-game season in 1962.

10-Will McClendon or Littlefield be fired if the losing continues?

McClendon is 84 games under

.500 in four seasons, but generally gets high marks from opposing managers for keeping the Pirates competitive with limited talent. But ownership is restless despite plowing little money into the club - the payroll is the majors' second-lowest - and no manager in club history has had five consecutive losing seasons. Billy Meyer, Jim Leyland and Gene Lamont each had four consecutive losing seasons, but none of the three returned to try for a fifth - Leyland moved to Florida and won the World Series a year later.