Jul 12, 2002 3 min read

Littlefield: ‘We do have some challenges ahead of us’ PITTSBURGH (AP) – As his one-year anniversary as Pittsburgh Pirates general manager approaches Saturday, Dave Littlefield is thinking about carrying a sign to stop would-be questioners in their tracks.

The sign would read: We’re better, but we’re not satisfied.

Those six words sum up Littlefield’s state of the Pirates address, as the team heads into the second half of the season at 38-49 with a four-game series starting in Milwaukee Thursday night.

“It’s hard to say you’re happy when you’re (11) games under .500,” Littlefield said.

“With the competitive nature we all have, it’s hard to stomach that.”

Still, the Pirates were 20 games under .500 at last year’s All-Star break and 18 games out of first place, instead of just 10 this year.

“I don’t know how to sugarcoat it other than to say we do have some challenges ahead of us. I feel better where we’re at … we’re much more competitive,” Littlefield said.

“But I’m not at all satisfied.”

Littlefield’s immediate goals are upgrading a weak offense and tightening up the defense, which could make the team’s one bright spot – surprisingly effective starting pitching – even stronger.

The team’s 4.09 ERA is ninth in the National League and Pirate pitchers have the fewest strikeouts in the league.

But the staff does have two nine-game winners, Kip Wells and Josh Fogg, and Kris Benson has improved with each start since coming back from elbow surgery in May. Lefties Jimmy Anderson and Joe Beimel remain question marks.

The defense should improve, if only because third basemen Aramis Ramirez, second basemen Pokey Reese and rightfielder Armando Rios are expected back from injuries soon.

“If we can get a couple of guys healthy, that should help with our production,” said manager Lloyd McClendon. “Getting a healthy Ramirez and Rios back, that’s like making a trade.”

Speaking of trades, despite recent speculation involving catcher Jason Kendall and outfielder Brian Giles, Littlefield downplayed the chance of a major deal before the July 31 trade deadline.

“I’m very interested in doing something if there is a fit for us, but we have a limited number of marketable players and we’re only going to do things that make sense and will help us not only today, but next year and down the road,” Littlefield said.

So, while the Pirates likely won’t avoid a franchise-record 10th straight losing season, they’re recovering from last season’s 100-loss debacle.

“You can chop it up and look at it any way you want to. After 87 games, we’re in much better shape than we were last year. We’re going to be a competitive ballclub,” McClendon said.

“But the fact is, we still have some missing pieces to the puzzle. You look at the lineup.

Even in our division, we just don’t match up with the Cardinals, the Astros. Give our kids a little time and we’re going to be all right.”