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Bucs headed in right direction

So, Jack Wilson and other Pirates are tired of these trades?

I think the fans are tired of losing, I know I am. Maybe the players should be tired of losing, too.

Like it or not, the management in place have a direction to take this team. Some might argue it's to make more money for the Nuttings. That could be the case, but it seems general manager Neal Huntington has a plan in place to make the team better.

I definitely think that's the case.

You can see it take shape. They have outfielders in place in the minors or already playing at PNC Park with Andrew McCutchen, Lastings Milledge, Jose Tabata and Gorkys Hernandez. Pedro Alvarez recently was promoted to Double-A Altoona and could be in Pittsburgh next season. Andy LaRoche is showing the promise he displayed in the minors.

To review, I didn't like the Nate McLouth trade, but I did like Tuesday's moves. But, I will concede that Huntington has a blueprint. He can't be blamed for the past seasons. Let's give him time to see if these moves pan out.

So what if the Pirates don't win 82 games this season? Is the city of Pittsburgh going to throw the Bucs a parade if they finish with a winning record? I'd rather have a solid foundation that could compete for a division championship.

Wilson said that the Bucs were only five games out of first place. It's nice to see him thinking positive. But Jack, who plays hard and is a fan favorite, is missing the bigger picture.

First, this team wasn't on pace for a winning season. They were four games below .500 when they traded McLouth. They're five games below today.

Entering Wednesday, the Pirates were not in a pennant race. They were in last place in the NL Central. And, to put things in a different light, the Bucs had better records than just three teams in the National League.

By making the bold move to trade Nyjer Morgan, the Pirates didn't doom the season to failure. They can finishing with a winning record without him. That's not guaranteeing it. They could just as easily end up with 75 wins.

An 82-win season shouldn't be the goal of the franchise or the players. The return of playoff baseball is.
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