They just can't seem to get it together, can they? They can't bring stars in, they can't keep the ones they have, their farm system is shot to hell, and their fan base is eroding. And what's more, ownership seems to be happy raking in the revenue sharing check while watching the product on the field suffer.

T and R today said that the Pirates may hold onto Damaso Marte in hopes of getting two draft picks if he leaves in free agency. That's all fine and well, but someone has to sign him first, and someone willing to give up their first rounder next year. It might be better to trade him now for the 2-3 prospects he might bring, including at least one at AA or higher.

It wouldn't be so bad if the Pirates weren't in a perpetual rebuilding mode. It seems like they're always in the middle of another five-year plan, and it's not going over well anymore with fans. What the Pirates need to do is what the Rangers did last year. Start restocking the system. If that means trading Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Jack Wilson and even one of your young pitchers (Snell? Duke?), so be it. Sometimes, you have to give up something to get something. And right now the system needs quantity, which in the end will produce quality, which in turn will produce a competitive team that fans will want to see and free agents will want to play for.