I'm not the hydraulics guy (though there's someone here that is, maybe he'll check in), but I know I've read somewhere that a good chunk of long straight pipe coming out of the pump like that is a good thing. It might even be in the manual for some pumps, as in "required." More importantly, a tight curve so close to the pump's exit can mess with its flow (somehow). Now sure why, off hand, but I'm fairly certain that's why the original plumber did it that way. The length of pipe before the pump is also important. Read up on that a bit before you chop-chop...
Your system looks a lot like mine used to. That's a tab feeder, right? Do you use a lot of tabs? Exclusively? Do you know how tabs can affect your pool's chemistry? If not, may I interject some advice about that? Using a lot of tabs can send your pool's water into a spin. TFP's Pool School can get you on a better path. Worth a read. (Link above.) I know that wasn't your question, but I wish someone had warned me about tabs before they caused me more than a little grief...