Huh?

The cynical side of me loves January. That's because it's the time of year that the players say stuff like this:

"I like it," closer Matt Capps said. "I think it's a great sign of commitment on their part. It shows they believe in what we're all capable of doing. I believe it, too. There are some good players in here, and a lot of us can do better than we did last year."

"There's no doubt in my mind we all can get better, including myself," first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "And I think we will. I like the direction this team is headed in, just like I did last year."

"We've got the pieces," starter Paul Maholm said. "But, like they've said, it's a matter of having some accountability. We need to step up. We need to win. No excuses."

I love the smell of optimism in the winter! I also love this quote:

"I'll tell you, I saw that Pittsburgh team last spring, and I liked it," a prominent American League executive said recently. "I didn't think they were going to win the World Series, but I liked what their lineup was going to be, and their starting pitching ... well, everybody liked that. I'm not sure what happened to them."

Someone probably needs to be fired.