Five Reasons to Believe in the Pirates' Future as Season Winds Down.

I know what you're going to say: "How can you possibly still believe in this organization?"

The signs are everywhere—literally—that the long-suffering Pirates fans have had enough of losing. In fact, I saw one the other day outside a little tavern in the suburbs south of the city.

"G-20 Souvenir: Buy the Pirates, Take Them With You!"

If that doesn't say it, I don't know what does.

But I still believe—and my feeling is that I'm not completely alone just yet.

There is hope for the Pirates, even if that hope may mostly reside in the minor leagues right now.

Here are five reasons for you to believe that the Pittsburgh Pirates are not sunk forever.

1. Organizational Depth

This has almost become a buzzword for Neal Huntington's regime. They divested the major league roster of its best (read: veteran) players and swapped them for a considerable cache of prospects.

They practically have a future team assembled through the minor leagues; more than most teams have waiting in the wings.

On the pitching side, Tim Alderson, Brad Lincoln, and perhaps even Danny Moskos and Jeff Locke are in various states of readiness for a future call to the big league rotation. Daniel McCutchen is taking his first cracks at major league lineups. Rudy Owens is tearing up the low minors.

Yes, the future of the pitching staff looks incredibly bright.

As for hitters, the Pirates have the potential to be a powerful and athletic lineup in the near future.

Pedro Alvarez is likely only a year away from his big league debut. Jose Tabata will be given an opportunity in spring training next season. Tony Sanchez is proving doubters wrong with his strong play since being drafted fourth overall this year. Gorkys Hernandez is strong and will only get better with experience.

There's also a bevy of other players who have major league upside (Chase D'Arnaud for example) working their way through the lower minors.

Add that to young stars Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones, and the Pirates have a chance to field a good lineup in the next three years.

2. Smart Decisions

Like it or not, Huntington has made good choices so far. While most of the trades he's executed will take time to pay dividends in major league victory totals, most of the players he's acquired have performed near or above expectations.

Joel Hanrahan has been a steadying bullpen force since his acquisition from the Nationals. Lastings Milledge seems to finally be finding himself after a fresh start in Pittsburgh. Ross Ohlendorf could lead the team in wins this year and has only gotten stronger as the season has progressed.

Jeff Karstens has been the reliable reliever the Pirates lacked for many years. Delwyn Young has been steady and versatile, while Ronny Cedeno is thriving back in the National League after a stint with Seattle.

Conversely, the players the Pirates have shipped out have only been marginally successful. While losing Nyjer Morgan and Freddy Sanchez may sting some, it's hard to imagine a better return.

Nate McLouth has been injury prone and only marginally better at the plate than he was during the season's first month. Sean Burnett has been steady, but no more so than Hanrahan. Sanchez has also been injury prone. Jack Wilson has been a non-factor at the plate. Ian Snell has been awful after a good start to his Seattle career.

In short, the Pirates gave up some good veterans, but they may soon be outweighed by the talented youth that came in return.

3. Steady Coaching at Two Key Positions

If Huntington has one item at the top of his to-do list for the offseason, it's to retain pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and infield/first base coach Perry Hill. 

The work Kerrigan has done with what was previously the league's worst pitching staff is remarkable, to say the least. The Pirates will likely have two full-time starters with sub-4.00 ERAs this season after having an aggregate ERA of 5.88 last year.

Kerrigan is slowly sorting out the bullpen, which will likely be a focus for offseason additions (and subtractions).

Hill has been stellar, turning Young into a reliable second baseman and working with Andy LaRoche to improve his play at the hot corner. Many players credit Hill for their improved technique. Retaining him is a must.

4. Russell's Steady Hand

Manager John Russell may not be the fireball that Lloyd McClendon was during his tenure, but Russell's quiet leadership and continual insistence on players being accountable for their performances is exactly what the Pirates need.

Management has shown continued confidence in Russell, who has probably squeezed as many wins as possible out of an underperforming and inexperienced team. While some may disagree, the Pirates do play hard virtually every game and have also staged a few improbable comebacks that previous teams could not have possibly mustered.

Continuity at the top is key to success, so Russell will likely stay at the helm as long as the Pirates show steady improvement at key positions. Eventually, that will translate to success in the standings.

5. Saving to Spend Later

Whether you like the salary dump or not, the Pirates are building with an eye to the future. There was really no better way to execute a rebuilding plan without totally dismantling the previous regime's team.

This year, Huntington, ever the brave soldier, did just that by trading the team's free agents-to-be for as much talent as he could grab in return. Huntington's vision is a team that is built on pitching, defense, speed, and versatility.

There are still plenty of holes to fill, and Huntington knows that. The good news is that the Pirates shipped out a lot of overpriced veterans who weren't going to re-sign, and would therefore bring the Pirates nothing in return.

Forget about the name recognition for a minute. No one was going to ever confuse Adam LaRoche with Willie Stargell or Snell for Doug Drabek. Wilson was going to be too expensive, and Sanchez was injured and also expensive. The Pirates wouldn't have been able to compete for Jason Bay in an open market.

So instead of letting these talents walk, they turned them into more players.

So What About Next Year?

Okay, brace yourselves. I'm going to shock you.

The Pirates will not win the NL Central in 2010. They won't even be in the conversation after the All-Star Break.

However, they will finish out of the basement (my early bet is fourth place) for the first time in a while, and they will start to field something close to a threatening lineup.

The team will make at least one free agent addition that fans will love this offseason; perhaps a bullpen arm or a middle infielder. 

They'll finish below .500 for another year, probably coming in much closer than people expect (75-79 wins).

After 2010, fans might want to start coming back to the ballpark for some real Pirates baseball.