CBS: Dobrow: Save This Franchise: Pirates still mired in suckiness

Move over Wheeler & Woolsey…Lobrow Dobrow is back!

Short-term outlook: Sucky. In the seasons since 1992, the Pirates have won 75, 53, 58, 73, 79, 69, 78, 69, 62, 72, 75, 72, 67, 67, 68 and 67 games. They have sucked on the field and off. They have sucked at home and on the road. Objectively, they have sucked. Subjectively, they have sucked. Statheads think they suck. Joe Morgan thinks they suck. If there is anything within or without the game of baseball that is beyond dispute, it is that the Pittsburgh Pirates suck.

1. Trade Nate McLouth now: Quick! Go! Stop reading this article and trade him before the few people who don’t yet realize he can’t play center field get religion!

McLouth received a Gold Glove because he committed only a single error and made his share of highlight-reel plays. Still, in true Edmondsian fashion, a great majority of these plays were necessitated by a poor read off the bat and then an exaggerated, uniform-soiling dive for the ball. Add to that his running feud with the outfield fence—McLouth plays balls hit off or around the wall as if they’re contagious—and there’s an easy case to be made for shunting him off to a corner as soon as possible.

That is, if his bat is up to the task. McLouth hit much better in 2008 than he did before it, setting career highs in every offensive category that matters and a few that don’t. He’s a year older, which means he’ll get a nice raise in arbitration but not so much that he won’t have value to budget-minded teams. If the Pirates can snag a few bona fide prospects for a “proven young All-Star” soon to be exposed as a fourth outfielder, that’d be a nifty trick.