Finally, the Pirates are doing the right thing

It's horrid. It's disappointing. It's the same old thing. It's sad. It's embarrassing.

Of all the emotions that come with the most recent overhauling "effort" of the Pittsburgh Pirates, seemingly the most important statement is this:

It's...correct.

As much as it pains me to say it, this strategy taken by the Bucco front office may be the only way for a once-proud franchise to become, well, proud once again.

I'm just as pissed as you are, Pirates fans, and I'd be right next to you if you boycotted this weekend's wonderful baseball series against the Nationals, but think about this: every other time the management has told you they are rebuilding, have they ever just absolutely started over? You know, admitted defeat and cleaned house? Hell, sometimes it doesn't even take losing to begin again (hello, Florida Marlins), but in the case of the Pirates, it makes loads of sense. (New idea for team slogan: Pride. Passion. The Pittsburgh Prospects)

(I'm most upset that I lost my favorite ballpark game with one of the recent trades. See, I used to play this game called "How many pitches will it take Adam LaRoche to strike out?" every time he would bat when I was in attendance [4 was my go-to number; usually he'd dig into a solid 0-2 hole, take a pitch, and then miss an inside curveball by three or four feet], but now he's in Boston with J-Bay, and I've lost my game. Oh well, maybe if the Sox make the playoffs I can take that game national)

They are finally deciding that they've failed (way to go guys, it only took 16 years to figure that one out...sheesh), and MAYBE this is the best way to turn it around.

And yes, they're going to feed you more of the "we're building for the future" junk, but you have to keep believing, because once you're a fan, it's tough to un-fan yourself. (You know who you are, you who claims to "never watch a game again until they pull their heads out of the River and learn how to manage a baseball team," how is that actually working for you? I bet you could tell me the score of their last game [1-0 loss to the Giants in 10 innings, the sixth time the Bucs have been shut out in 20 games, thank you very much])

Anyway, all I'm saying is, yes, it sucks, but they didn't just dump some of the dead weight salary on the team, they dumped all of it. They didn't just dump some of the faces of the team, they dumped all of them.

So, let's get to 2013, when the names will be McCutchen, Alvarez, Jones, Tabata, Milledge, etc.- there's no way the outlook could be as bleak for that team as it is now. That'll be year twenty of the losing seasons streak, a record in futility equaling the magnitude of DiMaggio's 56-gamer. But, if they get to 2013 and better results don't come, then fine, scream and holler just like you've been doing since '92 (you're pretty good at that by now), and until then, have a great time watching games at beautiful PNC Park, "where there will be no making fun of visiting teams here, only your own."

And hey, who knows, maybe this will work. Or maybe it won't and we'll trade everyone to the AL East to continue our tradition of being the farm system for the rest of the league.

Either way, there's always tomorrow's game to not watch.