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.

Pirates opener: A lot to like

I'm a sucker for opening day. I've been going to Three Rivers/PNC Park many years now to kick off the start to Pirates' season in good times and bad. I enjoy the crowds, the ceremonies and all of trimmings that come with the opener. Monday at PNC Park was no different. Except if you're looking at the Pirates' record at PNC. Zach Duke looked like an all-star, the offense looked like the Lumber Company of old and the crowd had one heck of a time celebrating the Bucs' 7-0 win. It was just the Pirates third win at a PNC Park opener. The game was one to remember. Adam LaRoche (!) and Ryan Doumit hit home runs, Freddy Sanchez looked like a former batting champion and the fans actually had "the wave" going around the park. But it was Duke's day. It was his third career shutout and the first shutout in a home opener since 1978. Yeah, it was a good day. It all came together for the Pirates. Maybe there's more down the road this year.

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid?

Didn't Antonio Brown just get paid? That was the first question that popped into my mind when I heard he wanted a new deal from the Steelers. I remember the details: Mike Wallace wanted more money than the Steelers wanted to offer, so the Steelers turned around and signed Brown to a $43 million deal over six years. That was 2012. Today, we learned that Brown will skip offseason workouts in the hope of getting a new deal. Honor your contract. It's that simple. Brown signed a deal that caused some people to scratch their heads at the time. It looked like a great deal for Brown. And after two seasons, it looked like the Steelers made a terrific call with the long-term deal. Brown had almost 1,700 yards receiving last year to go with 13 TD catches. That's a heck of a season. However, in exchange for long-term security, Brown looks like a bargain today. That's how it works. Or, at least that's how it's supposed to work. Now Brown wanted paid e...

The Sports Monitor

Search This Blog