Nothing doing on St. Louis front

It's good to see that Huntington seems to be of the mindset where he understands that if we hang on to these players, we can still get some prospects for them in the off season.  He understands that acquiring these players is much more important in the "now" sense for the buying teams, than it is for us to get those prospects right now.  With that in mind, it makes a lot of sense to ask for a little more than these players might be worth.  You know there's a desperate team somewhere that is considering dishing out the goods to get a Nady or Bay.

Seems like what we do to a lot of new guys in our fantasy baseball league too.  :)  

I think the testing comes now, but come July 31, the New York teams will panic too. As much as I'd like to see us offer up Pierce or even McCutchen for pitching instead of X, I think this new leadership will do whatever makes them most successful for the next few years.  

Here is how Huntington should spin this back: I guess that Pirate players are too expensive for teams in New York - Who would have believed it!

honestly, I really just see Marte getting moved. I applaud the staunch stand and not getting nothing in return for our trades. At the least, nothing happens and we stay with who we have and if we do get a trade or two its for a more promising team (in the future) hopefully anyway.

Just glad the this years team seems to not quit. That says a lot about both management and the players. Hopefully this team gets back to the playoffs in the near future.

Yes, I did say playoffs. Go Bucs!

I just don't see the PBC having the type of players to offer to acquire the kind of front-line pitching talent it needs. So maybe Smizik's column of a few days ago was correct. Make an effort to sign Nady long-term, get what you can for Marte, hope Lincoln and Moskos develop and sign the doggone picks from Fresno!

I think this is a lot harder for NH than we realize...the Pirates are a second-tier (or third?) team to most other fans and people expect use to give away the store every July.  Here's a good thread on this topic from OnlyBucs Forum:

forums.onlybucs.org/.../topic,1683.0.html

See the comment about Macy's vs. a yard sale.

This is such a frustrating time every single year.  Other teams (big market teams) just expect the Pirates to accept nothing for their trade pieces, and far too often, we've accepted nothing.

I'm hoping Huntington is different in that regard.  We don't "have" to trade anyone.  No one is a pending free agent.  So, I'd rather keep everyone and figure it out in the offseason than give them away to the Yankees.

Good for NH! I really like this 2008 team. Like a previous commenter said, they play hard and don't quit. Doug Mienykiewicz, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and certainly Jack Wilson are important parts of the puzzle and couldn't be traded away without some special concern for that.

Let's not forget that David K Littlefield also had a rep of shooting for the moon, and asking for teams top prospects in return for deadline deals.  But in the end, he settled on stockpiling AAA relievers.  I'm not impressed with Neal's initial asking price, check back with me on 8/1 and I"ll let you know what I think.  

1. It's not a matter of asking for the moon, as Littlefield supposedly did during his tenure, but of settling for quality players in return for Pirate players. Littlefield asked high and settled low. The goal should be to ask for whatever is product but to settle high.

2. Littlefield was his own worst enemy. He would often wait until he had to trade a player or until that player had ruined his value. This tactic undermined his leverage in his negotiations with potential trade partners. Littlefield’s thinking mimicked that of an accountant, and this kind of thinking was inappropriate to a barter market like that found around the trade deadline. The ideal GM should be fearless while also possessing a nose for the good opportunity and an eye for baseball talent. Littlefield had none of these qualities, so far as I could tell.

dejan -- long time reader and admirer -- first time post-er.  

I know that you probably don't want to reveal your "someone infinitely more experienced in this business" -- but, just for fun, can you provide any of these examples?

Dateline- Denver --- Will the real Ian Snell please stand up?

I have been reading that it's believed the Pirates are making a mistake with Bay as he may never be at this high level again.  Which of coarse may be true but what of it?  Just a few months back he was probably at his very lowest.  Had Littlefield been in charge, Bay likely would have been moved then, and regretting it now.  We are lucky of coarse that this is no longer the case.  

HOLD them until an offer that is equal to or exceeds what has been deemed thier price.  There is NOTHING to loose if they do remain here.  

There are two schools of thought here and it's easy to be torn between them at this point in time.  Since we haven't been in this position in a while, I'll just enjoy it and not worry over what I can or can't control.  Team chemestry is at an all time high, the players here wish to remain here and therefore if we do end up holding all the cards in the deck, we still win.

No money, No prospects, No Alverez (as of yet), No takers on our most marketable pieces. Heck, since our Ballpark is so revered... lets see if we can throw in the blueprint and the naming rights to the ball-club and see if we get any takers.

"Now taking the Field... The Pittsburgh "Rick James ""

This is a terrible situation for Fans to be in.... The current team not good enough to contend, not bad enough to get high, good draft picks, not popular enough to have enough money to buy any contracts, not unpopular enough to trade away the decent players in an attempt to rebuild. Last year, Offense sucked and Pitching was sustainable, this year, Offense phenominal, pitching abysmal... same poor results.  

Hey NH... get out now before you suffer the same fate as Littlefield.

ZERO~IN AND GET US THE WIN TONIGHT IAN ! !

C'MON BUCS ! SHOCK THE PLANET !

As coach Cowher used to say, it is what it is.  No pitching in the bigs and none on the way.  Looks like the bucs will make some news at the end of this season for equalling the professional  sports record for consecutive losing seasons.  :(

Nice to see the Pirates aren't really 'sellers' at the trade deadline this year in the sense of dumping salary.  They will make real baseball trades, which includes trading players for prospects.   And they couldn't be in a better position now to make those tradesthan having Nady, Bay, and Wilson playing well, healthy, and signed for another year.

Since there is no help coming from the minors, you really do have to blow this team up and start again.  

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By Dejan Kovacevic | 9:45 p.m. Friday I will be up for quite a while, if anyone wants to engage in an