The Pirates: A defense

The Southpaw objects to the fire sale because he says this Pirates team could have contended, that if things fell the right way, the 2009 Pirates could have been the 1993 Phillies. To that, I say the '93 Phillies led their division wire-to-wire. And unlike the 2007 Rockies, these Pirates didn't have a core group of young players poised to take a big step forward. I think their best-case scenario was finishing a game or two above .500. More realistically, I think they would have won 75 games.

Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRouche, were all known quantities. All good players who do some things great. All championship teams have good players like this. But when all of a team's best players are only good, they don't win pennants. They spend October golfing. Nate McLouth has promise, but he alone wouldn't have put this team over the top.

So the Pirates sold. And unlike past years where they traded a player or two without committing to a total rebuild (think the favor to Los Angeles and Boston that was the Jason Bay deal), they sold big. The important thing is that's not all the Pirates have done. The fire sale is part of an attempt to become an efficient, well-managed franchise for the first-time in decades.

For years, the Pirates had a shoddy baseball academy in the Domican Republic (owner Bob Nutting called it a field and "an unkempt closet") and very limited international scouting. They made almost no effort at all to find players in hotspots of baseball talent. That would be like Penn State deciding not to recruit the state west of Johnstown. Well that's changing. In May, they opened a proper baseball academy in the Domican Republic, with living facilities, classes, etc. They've also said they plan to expand international scouting.

Then there's the draft. After a decade of selecting players based upon signability -- e.i., cheapness -- the Pirates have signed several picks above the commissioner's office suggested slot price. They inked sixth rounder Zach Von Rosenberg for a million dollars more than the estimated slot. The offer got the right handed pitcher -- the No. 2 prospect in Louisiana and number 16 in the nation -- out of his commitment to play college baseball for LSU.

Those newly drafted players will mature through a farm system stocked with prospects gained in this summer's deals. Are any of those prospects blue chippers? No, but neither were the players they were dealt for. But the Pirates just greatly increased their odds of developing solid everyday pros and a few all-stars for the future. Von Rosenberg and the other draftees can offer real potential for the mid-teens.

Should the Pirates have a higher major-league payroll, given their take in revenue sharing? Probably. But they'll never be the Red Sox or Yankees, or even a mid-level club like the White Sox or Braves. Barring a dramatic economic change in the region, they'll always be one of the lowest revenue clubs in baseball. The only proven way for low-revenue clubs to be competitive for more than a fluke season is commitment to the draft, international scouting and minor league player development. That's what's worked for the Marlins, A's, Twins and Rays.

If they're going to spend money in one place, it should be trying to win pennants in 2014, 2015, 2016 and beyond, not finish with a .503 winning percentage for one year. In the long run, trying to build an actual contender is doing your fans a greater service than selling a few tickets in August and September on the hype of a doomed wild-card run. If their fans are going to be outraged about anything, it should be the last 15 years of under-funded mismanagement, not the first concerted effort to rebuild what was once a proud franchise.