One out of four isn't very good in any sport.

Those numbers are especially bad if the four represents the number of young starting pitchers in your rotation being counted upon to turn the corner and produce.

Thus the plight of the 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Revert back to the preseason and the excitement pitchers Zach Duke, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny and Paul Maholm had over the hiring of Jeff Andrews as the club's pitching coach.

Andrews had been their minor league pitching guru. They felt comfortable working with him and believed he knew them better than anybody.

All that's good in theory.

But if theory doesn't produce results, said theory is worthless.

To say Duke, Snell and Gorzelanny have been disappointments would be kind. Truth be told, they fell flat on their collective faces:

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Zach Duke. 5 wins, 14 losses, 4.96 earned run average, second to Colorado's Aaron Cook in the National League with 223 hits allowed. Opposing hitters are batting a .305 against him.•

Ian Snell. 6 wins, 11 losses, 5.69 ERA, 197 hits allowed, 83 walks allowed in 153 innings. Opposing hitters are batting .313 against him.•

Tom Gorzelanny. 6 wins, 9 losses, 6.66 ERA, 70 walks in 105 innings. Earned a demotion to Class AAAIndianapolis for his ineffectiveness.All three of the above have given plenty of work to an overworked bullpen. Each is averaging barely five innings per start.Then there's Maholm — the most well-disguised ace in the National League this year.The 26-year-old left-hander has thrown at least six innings in 25 of his 30 starts, including 20 in a row from May 8 to Aug. 24. No Pirates starting pitcher had enjoyed such a streak since Rick Rhoden more than 20 years ago.For his efforts, Maholm is sporting a mediocre 9-8 record. But his pitching has been stellar.If the Pirates had scored a mere four runs in each of Maholm's starts this year, he would be a 19-game winner right now.Maholm had 10 starts in which he's allowed three runs or fewer, only to come away with a loss or no-decision. And that's without a great defensive team behind him.Left-handed hitters are batting a .181 against him.Maholm's overall ERAof 3.68 is nearly a run and a half lower than the Pirates' team ERAof 5.17, which ranks dead last in the National League.Maholm reached 200 innings for the year in Thursday's no-decision against Los Angeles. No other Pirate will hit that mark in 2008 and Maholm feels stronger than ever.This is one starting pitcher in Pittsburgh who demonstrated accountability.This is one starting pitcher in Pittsburgh who has earned his spot in the 2009 rotation.This is one Pirates pitcher who elevated himself from the status of mediocrity.Other Pirates pitchers should follow the leader.