Shouldn't there be accountability?

I'm hoping this post is a day too late. The Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs today to snap a seven-game losing streak and help preserve their playoff hopes and their chances of breaking a streak of 19-straight losing seasons. But the game was a microcosm of the last two seasons: build up a lead and let it steadily slip away. Luckily, Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan was able to stop the bleeding by striking out Dave Sappelt with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. That does not obscure the fact, however, that the Pirates have been on an historically bad downward slide that is made worse by a similar precipitous free-fall a year ago.

If things continue to go poorly, someone needs to be held accountable. I like Clint Hurdles enthusiasm and his endless reserves of positive energy, but his in-game decision-making has been questionable at best. His Spring Training mantra that hung on the lips of every player who survived last season's implosion seems to have fallen on deaf ears. These Pirates have not yet learned how to "Finish". At some point, management has to notice.

Speaking of management, Neal Huntington's record continues to be spotty. I loved his plan of re-stocking the farm system through trades and being aggressive in the draft, but his ability to judge talent has come into question. Just look at his free agent signings: Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Erik Bedard, Lyle Overbay, Matt Diaz, Bobby Crosby, Ramon Vazquez and so on. At some point you have to say he has vision, but not execution.

This year's trade deadline, too, was baffling to many observers. The Pirates had a real chance in a weakened NL Central to make the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Their deadline acquisitions, though, were underwhelming and looked toward the future, not the present. Sure, guys like Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez are likely upgrades over Alex Presley and Casey McGehee, but not considerably. Huntington liked their talent and thought they could be had at a modest acquisition cost and (most importantly to him) they were under team control for many years. Look, I get it. The economics of baseball are tough. But at some point you have to put your foot down, forget about next year, and start investing in right now. When the Pirates were playing well earlier this summer, average attendance was up over 2,500 a night. The Pirates have also announced a ticket increase next year after many years stagnancy. That's fine, but then you've got to remember that the priority is the team on the field in the major leagues each day. Otherwise, you can keep saying "next year" until that's the year after McCutchen's contract expires, or more likely, the year after Huntington is dismissed.

Maybe this team was playing over their heads for four months. That was certainly the case last year. But last year's team didn't have A.J. Burnett or Wandy Rodriguez or a mashing Pedro Alvarez. It can't always be the same excuse. I know they're trying. I know they haven't given up, but many fans are. There needs to be some accountability here, even if it's painful. Too much is at stake for the city, the fans, the team. I hope I'm wrong about all of this. I hope there's enough time to go on a run and be competitive in the playoff race down to the last series. I hope they do break their streak of 19 losing seasons. I just hope that if those things don't happen, someone stands up and tells us why.

Did the Pirates deadline deals make them better?

As has become customary since Neal Huntington took over as the Pirates GM, today's trade deadline was an active one in Pittsburgh. After being buyers for the first time in nearly two decades last season, the Pirates were once again in a position to seek upgrades to the major league team. As of this writing, the Pirates were three games back of the Reds in the NL Central and tied for the NL Wild Card lead with the Atlanta Braves. What was tricky about this deadline for the Pirates was striking a balance between upgrading the team right now for the stretch run, while avoiding giving up top prospects that are expected to help the team contend for many years to come. Huntington made it clear he was unwilling to give up top prospects Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon and most observers got the impression that Starling Marte, Josh Bell, Luis Heredia and Alen Hanson were also off the table.

So what were the Pirates able to do? The Pirates acquired LHP Wandy Rodriguez, OF Travis Snider, 1B Gaby Sanchez and RHP Chad Qualls for the major league squad. The Pirates also acquired minor league reliever Kyle Kaminska in the Sanchez deal and received cash in the Wandy Rodriguez trade. On the flip side, the Pirates gave up RHP Brad Lincoln, OF Gorkys Hernandez, INF Casey McGehee and minor leaguers Robbie Grossman, Rudy Owens and Colton Cain. Additionally, the Pirates gave up their recently-won competitive balance draft pick in the Sanchez deal and included cash in the deal for Qualls. Finally, the Pirates designated Drew Sutton for assignment.

That's a lot to digest, but a clear pattern is discernible. Huntington tried to upgrade the major league roster, while keeping his farm system mostly intact. He also focused on acquiring pieces with several years of control, rather than short-term rentals. Huntington called the prices for rentals "prohibitive" and was unwilling to give up much of value to acquire one of those pieces. He felt the prices for rentals had gone up this year, despite the fact that the new CBA eliminated draft pick compensation for players who are traded mid-season. One reason for that is the implementation of the new Wild Card spot. Since more spots are available, more teams feel they are still in it and, therefore, there's a limited trade market that develops. That demand drives up the prices.

It is clear that the Pirates upgraded to some extent. Snider has good pop and won't hurt you on defense. He's likely to struggle some with strikeouts, but showed good patience in the minors. He's been up and down from the majors for a few years in Toronto, but is still only 24. His profile is somewhat similar to Pedro Alvarez, who is a year older than Snider and is just coming into his own at the major league level. Hopefully hitting coach Greg Ritchie can work his magic with Snider in the same way he's turned Pedro's season (and possibly career) around. Snider's acquisition pushes Alex Presley to the bench, a clear upgrade over Gorkys Hernandez.

The move also pushes Garrett Jones to first base in a platoon with newly acquired Gaby Sanchez. Sanchez has really struggled this year after being an All-Star for the Marlins just a year ago. Sanchez was presumably pressing after nearly losing his job to Albert Pujols this offseason. Hopefully, a change of scenery will do him good. Regardless, he's had pretty good platoon splits and should at least be a bench upgrade over McGehee who had a couple decent weeks with the bat and surprisingly good defense at first, but overall struggled to gain any traction.

Rather than DFA McGehee, Huntington swung a last-minute deal to flip him to the Yankees for reliever Chad Qualls. This was a bit puzzling since Qualls has had a poor season and Huntington included $225,000 in cash in the deal; however, Qualls has had decent numbers against righties and might serve as a decent late-inning righty specialist. He will take the spot of Brad Lincoln who was shipped out in the Snider deal.

The most visible upgrade was Huntington's first strike this year. Houston Ace Wandy Rodriguez was acquired for a trio of mid-level prospects. Houston is covering a portion of his contract as part of the deal. Rodriguez slides into the three spot in the rotation and pushes Correia into long-relief and spot-starting duties. Correia requested a trade, but Huntington did not find a suitable deal at the deadline. Correia still has the chance to be a solid swing man if he can adjust to the routine of bullpen duty and stays stretched out enough to spot-start during a brutal upcoming stretch of 20 games without an off-day.

Overall, the Pirates moves will seem unimpressive to some, but they should certainly upgrade the team. Their rivals in the NL Central (the Reds and Cardinals) did not do much to upgrade at the deadline outside of Cincinnati acquiring relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton. Remember, the Pirates can still make trades in August as well, as long as the player passes through waivers. There are a number of waiver-trade candidates this season, including SS Stephen Drew, OF Alfonso Soriano and P Joe Blanton. Activity in August may be higher this year as teams start to drop out of contention.

Huntington managed to upgrade the team, while not sacrificing the future. None of the team's top 6 prospects were traded and the guys he acquired retain several years of control. The only questionable deal involved bringing in Chad Qualls, but it was an exchange of players ready to be designated for assignment. Pittsburgh had an opening in the bullpen with Lincoln being traded and the Yankees needed corner infield depth with Alex Rodriguez on the DL. It may not have been the kind of all-in approach that some folks were looking for, but there's no reason this team can't compete for the playoffs as constructed right now. Before the moves, the team was on pace for 92 wins and the team is clearly better on paper than it was a day ago.