Never Give Up, Never Give Up, Never Give Up!

In the book of Proverbs, we read "The night is always darkest before the dawn". Of course, most of you know that quote from the movie Batman: The Dark Knight. I believe that this applies to the Pirates right now. This is undoubtably their lowest point and any more losing seasons after this are just solidifying a record that the Washington Nationals will soon break. So, there is really no further to fall. Therefore, I'd say the dawn is about to kick in. New Pirates' management has begun pulling the team out of a monstrous hole that Dave Littlefield and Kevin McClatchy left it in. Neil Huntington has done a fantastic job at trading what they had (which was not winning us any ballgames) for players that very well could win us some games in the future. He has not focused on just one level to build though, as previous management had done. The organization is deep at every level, assuring that this team has no where to go but up. 

I'm not going to list any names now, if you're interested in what future players are going to help the Pirates, you can check out my Prospect Chart. Now, during these last 17 years of losing, the Pirates have had very little talent in any level of play. It seemed that almost all of those prospects the Pirates drafted and traded for turned out be duds (see Brian Bullington, John Van Benschoten, Neil Walker). The Pirates made some fetal attempts as strengthening their future through trade, which resulted in some solid players, however was far too small-scale to make a significant difference. Management also made a couple of trades to save or gain money (see Aramis Ramirez for Bobby Hill). They also missed out on some trade opportunities that could've made this team a lot better if researched more intently (see Kip Wells for Ryan Howard). When you string all kinds of these incidents together for 10+ years, you are deserving of setting this kind of record. However, things are about to change. 

The new management has a plan, a plan that revolves around being a perennial World Series competitor instead of hoping for a 1 season surge to get over the .500 mark. The trades and signings made over the last 2 years may not have been liked by the fan base, but that's just do to a very unintelligent following. How can fans expect to get out of a huge rut like 17 straight years of winning with 30-somethings and one year wonders starting at every position? What damage could you possibly do with 3 decent major league starting pitching and virtually nothing compliment them at any level of play? You simply cannot compete for a World Series like that. That is precisely why these trades were made. 

Now, instead of Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, and Adam LaRoche in Pittsburgh being respected and liked by the fans, getting their share of national attention, but playing for a team that is still no where near a winning record, and much less a World Series ring, we have young talent with sky-high ceilings that are giving the Pirates a hope for the future and a legitimate shot at World Series in the near future. 

In less than 3 years, the Pirates are going to be a respected, competitive team and everyone will finally realize Neil Huntington as the Pirates' saviour, and all be well in Pittsburgh.