Players win, not good attitudes.

It's a good thing we swept the Astros, because since then the Pirates have been ugly: 1-5 and sitting under .500 for the season, at 4-5.

The Pirates, of course, are not able to compete, talent-wise, with the rest of the league. (Not because of money, but because of stupidity.) So the manager and players have this annual ritual to stir up optimism in which they emphasize how the "culture" in the clubhouse has changed, and everyone is more "confident." They go into games "believing they will win." Everyone is "on the same page this year."

They couldn't just say "we've really upped our talent level this year" because they never do. (And The New Guy hasn't exactly put up Albert Pujols numbers at 1B. Heck, he hasn't put up Daryl freaking Ward numbers yet.) So instead we hear about how we "know how to win" this year, and how "we're building off of last season."

It usually doesn't take long for everyone to forget about all this optimism. This season, it has taken nine games, a respectable run. But now it's all over. It is suddenly obvious to every Pirate fan and player and coach that we are a below average MLB team. This is not going to subconsciously make us play worse, and maybe we'll still get to 77 wins as I predicted, but it's still the facts!

This brings me to another point: managers don't matter very much. Period. Last season I was jealous that the Tigers hired Leyland (our former skipper), believing that if we had Leyland and the Tigers had Jim Tracy, we'd be the competitive team and the Tigers would still be near the cellar. But, I thought, we should at least improve because Tracy is a better manager than Lloyd McClendon.

This is, of course, absolutely silly. The Tigers got better because their players got better. Not because of Leyland. And Jim Tracy does not make the Pirates play better than Lloyd McClendon.

Lloyd was universally thought to "suck" by all Pirate fans, but you know what? Lloyd could have gotten just as many wins as Tracy will get this year, and he could have been way more entertaining doing it. Firing McClendon was just the front office's attempt to pass the blame.

Lloyd was fine. Not great, but if he were managing the Yankees, he'd give them a chance every year. Managers don't make great teams, and either does a culture of winning or a good attitude. Players win ballgames, period.

I'll be gone all weekend, at a Jars of Clay concert and at a conference in Indy. So my next post should be Monday.