Let me clarify...

OK, before the comments come pouring in on that post right below this one let me be a little clearer. I am NOT blaming McClendon for everything that's wrong with the team. I'm not saying that by firing McClendon I think we're going to be a Wild Card contender. All I'm saying is that, from my point of view, over his 4+ years I can't really think of a team the Pirates have consistently overachieved. I can't think of a full year where we got a team that McClendon promised we would, one that always played hard and wouldn't quit. And the fact that Jack McKeon could get canned this summer, two years after resurrecting a team from the dead and while one of his aces battles blisters while his third baseman's bat has disappeared, but no one even points to the fact that Lloyd is NINETY NINE GAMES UNDER FIVE HUNDRED IN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS drives me nuts. Should we be 100 over .500 since 2001? No. Should be we .500 since 2001? Probably not. Should we be a good sight better than 99 games under? I'd say yes. Look at the rosters. The players haven't been THAT bad.

UPDATE (MIDNIGHTish): This summarizes what I'm trying to say. Today Dejan was asked (yeah, it was Q&A day, I didn't have time to read it until now) if the team was showing any "sense of panic (or urgency) that you can sense from the players, manager, or front office." His response:

No. None. Seriously. If it is there, I do not detect it.

Not being glib here. I have covered teams where anyone from the upper reaches of management to the lowest-level player can let it known he has become infuriated with losing. If that is happening here, it is well hidden from the reporters' eyes and ears.

That's the problem. They suck and they don't care. And they don't care if anyone notices. Yes, it's the players fault to a certain degree. But an atitude like that comes from the manager, the GM, the owners, and from everyone else, as well as the players. And that's my problem. Lloyd is just an easy target for me because he's a problem I feel like we shouldn't have any more (simply because I'm not sure what he's done to earn a stay this long). But I'm equally upset with Littlefield, McClatchy, and anyone affiliated with the team.