Dan Marsula, Post-Gazette

BRADENTON, Fla. -- In a not-so-flattering way, the 120th edition of the Pittsburgh Baseball Club that takes the field tomorrow in Milwaukee will look not terribly different than so many others from the past decade.

There will be some very young players, others very old. Some who offer hope for the future, others who could be shipped off to contenders by the trade deadline.

A little of this, a little of that, and not much by way of definition.

Because of that, to some, the Pirates will continue to look like a team without a vision, without a plan.

Is that the case, though?

General manager Dave Littlefield, the man responsible for all baseball matters, is adamant there is a clear view of what he wants to achieve and how.

He points to the franchise's core of young talent, to the smooth ascent of recent high draft picks, to the long-term extensions recently signed by keystones Jason Bay and Jack Wilson and, above all, to the elimination of burdensome contracts he felt were weighing down progress.

He laughed when asked if there is a plan in place.

"Is there a plan?" he replied. "Yeah, there's always a plan. Every day. For everything."

Ultimately, though, any plan must produce results. In sports, that means winning. The Pirates have done none of that since 1992, including the 4 1/2 years under Littlefield's watch.

Why is that?

And what is the organization, from owner Kevin McClatchy on down, doing to build a winner?

Click on the links below for a four-part special report examining the Pirates' baseball operations: