Monday Q & A

Here is a link to Dejan Kovacevic's Monday chat.

Conceding that Shealy's potential may be overhyped, I would regard the acquisition of him as a potential "big deal" (read the Q & A to get my context here). So I disagree there with DK. To me, such a deal would depart from the predictable, too-well-established losing strategies of the last few years. These losing strategies have gone unpunished, and they will continue to go unpunished. If this trading deadline comes and goes like the last few trading deadlines, I see no cause for hope. If Littlefield starts showing that he is willing to do things differently, I would be encouraged.

Trading a young player from a position of surplus, for a young player at a position of need, would be an innovation for Littlefield. Littlefield appears to "wheel and deal" with a chip on his shoulders, as though the rest of the league owes Pittsburgh some favors. If he thinks, once again, that he should get the kind of talent we need for the kind of players he wants to trade, he's going to be disappointed. And so will we.

The Pirates need more talent to compete in 2007. Period. Where does Littlefield expect to find that talent? It's not on our minor-league teams. It won't be in the second- and third-tier free agent pool. Where will he get that talent?