DownSwinging.com

Just ignore the fact that you know the Pirates are bad. What if I told you that a certain team traded away one of its players, and the outcry from the fans was so great that the GM had to write a letter to the fans explaining why he made the trade and why its going to be good for the franchise. Doesn’t sound like things are going to well for that team.

Well on Saturday, Pirates GM Neal Huntington had to write that exact letter, after he traded away the team’s prized possession, 27-year old outfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta for three prospects. Well things aren’t going well for Bucs. They’ve had 15 straight seasons of losing baseball, and there is no end in sight. If I was a fan, I would be a little disgruntled too.

But you know what, I’m going to back up Huntington on this one. And I’m surprised at myself too, when I saw the headline “Pirates GM tries to explain McLouth deal in letter” I was going to come out attacking him. But think about it this way: the Pirates have a lot of work to do to win a championship. A lot. And while the fans and the organization might hope that they can do it soon, they really can’t. So the best way forward is to rebuild. Again. Therefore, trading McLouth after his breakout season, even when he’s only 27, isn’t so bad. I can’t say I know about the quality of the prospects they got, but they sound good if San Diego was looking at them for Peavy, and thats a better option than hanging onto McLouth. McLouth’s average is down a little bit, and what if it’s going to stay there? Plus, they can get the most value for him now while he is in the prime of his career and about to enter his best years of production. So they did. Instead of getting to the point when he is 30-years old, losing him to free agency or just having him but not having a winning team around him.

Huntington does a hard job. He works with a struggling team under what I’ve heard is one of the worst owners in baseball, Bob Nutting, and he has to continually rebuild. And they weren’t going to be ready in 2 years. So what did he do, he pounced when he had a good offer, and the Pirates might now have a chance in a few years. With a bit of luck (and a good draft) the Pirates can fill their farm system and rise to the top. So back off Huntington, he’s making the moves he has to.