Let's make two things perfectly clear:
1) The Pirates have the most beautiful ball park in the major leagues.
2) The most beautiful ball park in the major leagues hosts the worst franchise in baseball.

The organization is a disgrace. The fans are deprived. The beautiful ball park is wasted. And this may continue to go on for the foreseeable future. The city of Pittsburgh deserves better.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had sixteen consecutive losing seasons. To put that in perspective, The Tampa Bay Rays, have been the doormats of the AL...and they've only had ten consecutive losing seasons. But being only ten years old as a franchise, and being a team on the rise, they get a pass. The Pirates have no excuse other than the organization being misguided and improperly run, especially over the past eight years.

Sure, it's easy to blame it on the economics of baseball, and that the Pirates are at a disadvantage being a "small market" team, but there are other small market teams that have played respectable over the past decade, such as the Marlins, Twins, A's, and recently...the Brewers. It is clear that the Pirates have never had a plan in place. If they do, it is quite unsuccessful. How long does it take one organization to learn from its mistakes? Let's take a look at some of their deals since the 2000 season, and you decide:

4/11/01 - Signed RHP Ramon Martinez as a free agent, and he promptly retired a month later.
7/30/01 - Acquired OF Armando Rios and RHP Ryan Vogelsong (assigned to Triple-A Nashville) from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for RHP Jason Schmidt and OF John Vander Wal. How did that one work out? Despite injuries, Schmidt has had dominating seasons while Rios and Vogelsberg did little for the Pirates.
12/28/01 - Traded OF Gary Matthews Jr. to the New York Mets in exchange for cash considerations. Matthews (despite being overpaid) is the starting CF/LF for the Angels and playing well.
1/31/03 - Designated RHP Bronson Arroyo for assignment. He's sure been serviceable for Boston and Cincinnati.
7/22/03 - Acquired IF Jose Hernandez, minor league RHP Matt Bruback and a played to be named later from Chicago Cubs for 3B Aramis Ramirez, OF Kenny Lofton and cash considerations. Perhaps one of the worst deals in baseball history. Hernandez was released three months later by Pittsburgh, and the minor leaguers made no impact, while Ramirez remains one of the top hitters in the NL.
8/26/03 - Traded OF Brian Giles to the Padres for LHP Oliver Perez, OF Jason Bay and Cory Stewart. What do you know? They swung a great deal here.
3/31/04 - Released LHP Joe Beimel. Today, Beimel is an important part of the Dodgers bullpen.
2/23/04 - Raul Mondesi: Signed free agent OF Raul Mondesi to a one-year contract with a club option for 2005.
5/11/04 - Placed OF Raul Mondesi on the restricted list, removing him from the 40-man roster. Another smart free agent signing. You have to wonder who was bumped from the 40 man roster in favor of Mondesi.
11/27/04 - Acquired P Mark Redman and Arthur Rhodes from Oakland in exchange for C Jason Kendall and cash considerations. It's difficult to argue with this deal, because they dumped Kendall's ridiculous salary that was given to him by the Pirates boneheaded staff in the first place.
5/5/05 - Designated INF Alfredo Amezaga for assignment. Today, Amezaga is an important tenth man for the Marlins.
7/28/05 - Acquired Minor League INF J.J. Furmaniak from the San Diego Padres in exchange for C David Ross. Ross has gone on to have two great seasons with the Reds and is a solid catcher. Where is Furmaniak today?
2/8/05 - Released 3B Ty Wigginton. Less than a year after acquiring Wigginton, he was released despite being a solid hitter.
1/4/06 - Signed OF Jeromy Burnitz to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2007. Typical free agent signee for the Pirates.
1/19/07 - Acquired 1B Adam LaRoche and Minor League OF Jamie Romak from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for LHP Mike Gonzalez and Minor League SS Brent Lillibridge. Okay, this was perhaps the smartest deal they made in the past ten years. How long will it take before they give LaRoche away too?
7/31/07 - Acquired RHP Matt Morris from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for OF Rajai Davis and a player to be named. A team with a history of being frugal trades for an over-the-hill ten million dollar a year pitcher.
8/10/07 - Signed RHP Victor Zambrano to a Minor League contract. These are the players they need to avoid...not sign!
4/27/08 - Released RHP Matt Morris. Did you really think this would end up well? It was obvious to everyone that Morris was finished.

And so it goes. Sure there were other head scratching moves, but those mentioned above stand out (good and bad). Perhaps what is the saddest part for Pirate fans, is that there is no end of the winning drought in sight. They do have some talented young pitchers on their staff, but their bullpen is suspect, as is their offense. The Marlins are a young team, but with good young talent. The same can be said for the Rays and the Reds. The same, however, can not be said for the Pirates.

It's time that the Pirates trash the plan (if you can call it that) they have in place and change their strategy. The fans of Pittsburgh deserve better. And if they can't commit to making changes and bringing in talent, then they need to sell this team to someone who gives a damn. Owner Robert Nutting has only been in control for two years, but it's time for him to bring a winner back to Pittsburgh. Based on this past "do-nothing" off-season, it appears painfully obvious that he plans to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Kevin McClatchy. That spells more losing for the Pirates and their fans.

For a storied organization that has had players such as Ralph Kiner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Jim Bunning, Honus Wagner, Barry Bonds, and Manny Sanguillen, it's sad to see what the Pirates have become. Perhaps one day, the Pirates will return to their glory days. It may take Mark Cuban to purchase the team in order for that to happen. Until it does become a reality, the Pirates and their fans may just be looking at another 16 year rebuilding plan.


Court Adjourned!