Stay with me folks, this is the home stretch. This series of articles was never intended to turn into the basbeall blog equivalent of War & Peace. It started out as a short look at some of the right fielders that the Bucs were talking about acquiring. But the more I started to think about it, the more I started to reflect on some of the choices the team has made in the past. When I first started with this, I had assumed that the Pirates attraction to short-term solutions was a recent phenemonen. Digging in, I was surprised at how far back the policy really went. If anything, I hope my two previous installments (part one and part two) made that abundantly clear.

I think most fans would agree that you can't build a winner by continually going for short-term solutions. Short-term solutions have their value, but more often than not, they are only useful for supplementing your talent -- not building it. I truly believe that in order to build a winner, you need to start with a good core. You simply can't do it piece meal. The core is the foundation -- any rebuilding efforts will fall apart without a good foundation. As of now, the Pirates have no core to build around.

That's not say that the picture is all bad. I think the Pirates have the start of a good core. Jason Bay is a good part. So is Oliver Perez. Kip Wells is a good part (provided he's healthy). The Bucs also have some promising arms on the way. All of these things are positives, but they are not quite the core of a good team. We have some of the ingrediants, but we can't fool ourselves into thinking that we have the complete package.

I like to categorize players into two types: core players and complimentary playrs. Right now, aside from the names mentioned above, the Pirates are a collection of complimentary players. I like Craig Wilson and Jack Wilson, but I think they are clearly complimentary players. One of the biggest mistake bad teams make is that they mistake their complimentary players for core players. We can't afford to make this mistake, if we want to move forward.

Previously, the Pirates core consisted of guys like Brian Giles, Jason Schmidt, Jason Kendall, Aramis Ramirez and Kris Benson. It wasn't a bad core, but those guys never quite gelled while they were here in Pittsburgh. In addition, management never really added the right group of complimentary players to make them better. The window on that core passed, and management began dismantling. The problem is, with the exception of the Giles deal, they have not added new blood that could create a new core. That is inexcusable. Especially when you consider that the farm system has failed to produce any reliable offensive talent. Where is the new core coming from? I understand why the "old guard" were sent packing, but I expected to get something in return that will help the team move forward. That did not happening.

That brings us back to right field -- the issue that kicked-started this rambling diatribe in the first place. In recent interviews, Littlefield has pinpointed the right field position as an opportunity to add some power. I totally agree. But I guess I am just weary of year after year of short-sighted decisions made concerning that position. Don't get me wrong, I think Jeromy Burnitz and Matt Lawton could help, but how much? Are either potential core players? Not really. They are merely meant to get us through a year or two.

What's the upside? If they perform well enough, perhaps we could trade them to a contender. We have tried this route and the Pirates have not netted anything of value in return. That's not to say that its impossible, it just to say that the Pirates have been incapable of capitalizing on the opportunities when they present themselves. And when they are gone, either by trade or at the end of their contract, where will the Pirates be? Right back where they started. That was the most striking thing about looking back. We keep getting ourselves in this position. It's like we're caught in some kind of weird "Groundhog's Day" loop. Management can cry "rebuilding" all they want, but you actually have to put your money where your mouth is every once in awhile. You can't rebuild with retreads.

Instead of engaging in these "one-year stands", why not invest in more long-term solutions? The Orioles Jay Gibbons' name has been mentioned as one of the ones that the Pirates are interested in. Gibbons is Baltimore's property for the time-being, but they have indicated that they will probably not tender him a contract later this month -- effectively putting him on the open market.

Let's make something clear. Gibbons is far from a safe bet. His stats last year are not pretty. Gibbons was battling injuries last year, so his health would have to be carefully considered before anything could be done. Guys like Burnitz and Lawton are safer bets than Gibbons -- you essentially know what you are getting with those guys. But what I like about Gibbons is that he has the potential to get better. You can't say the same about Bunitz and Lawton.

And that's what I think the Bucs should be looking for -- guys who could get better. Let's build that core -- then we can look to these short-term type of guys to help fill out the roster. Until we have that core, to do anything otherwise is an effort in futility. If we haven't learned anything from the last 10 years, we should have at least learned that.