I'm sick of it...

...all of it. The 16 going on 17 straight years of losing. The horrible circus at PNC Park that's occasionally interrupted by baseball. The awful logos. The ridicule by other fans and un-funny late night hosts. The half-cooked trades of idiots-masquerading-as-GMs Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield. The embarrassing moments, including, but not limited to: Operation Shutdown, Lloyd stealing first, the Matt Morris trade, the Jimmy Anderson Experience, and the Kendall contract.

I've tried to take all of that in stride, but I've reached the breaking point. I've had it up to here with the media and fan criticism. We finally have a general manager who uses statistical analysis to evaluate talent. He's finally shipped away our mediocre at best major leaguers to create organizational depth and talent levels we haven't had since the 80's. Management has cut dead weight on the field and on the payroll. I know it looks like same old, same old rebuilding, but it's not. This is different. This is a plan of sustained success. This is a GM who doesn't let emotions or fan reactions get in the way of making personnel moves. This is a GM who understands the business of Major League Baseball better than the fans who think they could do better. This is progress toward the future.

Yes, the Pirates still stink. And they will stink next year too. But all I am saying is, give Neal a chance. Any GM deserves at least 4 years to rebuild a franchise, especially one so royally screwed up as the Pirates were when he arrived. Don't judge the trades by what we gave up, or by how much you loved the player(s) that left. GMs don't make trades based on emotion. Judge the trades based on what we acquired -- which admittedly, cannot be judged for a few years. And remember that all Huntington did was dis-assemble a team that had gone no better than 75-87 and finished no better than 4th place in the 8 previous years to his arrival. There was no hope in sight when he arrived. There is now hope, even if that's all there is right now. So get off Neal's back.

And finally, if you insist on criticizing Huntington and bad-mouthing these "worthless" prospects, be sure to put it in writing. That way, in 3 years when you start praising Huntington and jumping on the bandwagon as the Buccos are competing for a division title, you'll be able to literally eat your words.