The Pirates' tortured philosophy of trying to win in the present with rental players, while at the same time building for the future with prospects, is on a collision course with baseball reality.

It's hard to have it both way. When a team tries to do what the Pirates are doing, it often ends up with nothing, which should surprise no one who has watched the team's struggles this season. Even after a 12-1 win last night at PNC Park against the Milwaukee Brewers, which featured a two-home run, six-RBI performance by Jose Castillo, the Pirates are 16 games under .500.

As a partial result of their philosophy, the Pirates have the worst of both worlds: They're not winning often enough and not properly developing their young players.

The Pirates' plan for this season was to bring in veterans to add power to the lineup while their younger players, deemed not ready, developed. It was not a bad idea, if they had been able to bring in the right veterans. That's not easy to do because quality players have no interest in signing with a perennial loser. The Pirates came away from their free-agent shopping with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and third baseman Joe Randa. Neither was a significantly better option than players already on the team, Craig Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. They also traded for Sean Casey to fill a large void at first base.

The plan went awry early when Casey and Randa were injured. Compounding the problem is that several of the younger players, who the organization believed to be not ready, have developed more quickly than expected partially because they got a chance to play because of injuries to Randa, who is still out, and Casey, who returned to the lineup Monday.

Which means the Pirates, a team going nowhere this season, are in the rather ridiculous position of playing veterans who have no future over young players who are the future.

Ryan Doumit, long considered one of the organization's top offensive prospects and a potential middle-of-the-lineup hitter, has started twice in the past week. When he was injured early in the season, Doumit lost his starting job at catcher to Ronny Paulino. To keep his bat in the lineup, the team experimented with Doumit at first base. With Casey, who is making $7.5 million this season, back in the lineup, first base no longer is an option. Doumit, a switch-hitter, also has been tried in right field. But that position belongs to Burnitz and Wilson.

The fact neither Casey, Burnitz nor Wilson likely will be with the team next season, or even in August, doesn't seem to be a factor.

The notion these older players are being showcased for a future trade doesn't stand up under scrutiny. Such free-agent players bring little in the way of compensation.

Nate McLouth, who emerged as the team's starting center fielder when Chris Duffy flopped, has been relegated to a platoon role with Jose Bautista, another top prospect who opened the season in the minors. There's nothing wrong with playing Bautista, who has a high upside, but both of these young players need to be getting starting time, not splitting it.

Once Randa returns, most likely in the middle of next month, the situation becomes darker.

General manager Dave Littlefield has indicated Randa will take back the starting third-base job. He has said this, even though Randa, 36, has been a massive disappointment -- a .221 batting average with one home run and seven RBIs in 77 at-bats -- while Sanchez, his replacement, has been a revelation. Sanchez, 28, is batting .342 and is second on the team with 27 RBIs after a four-hit game last night.

The opinion here is that as long as Sanchez continues to be productive Littlefield wouldn't dare make such a move. Even if Sanchez slumps, the third-base job should not go to Randa but to Bautista, who is 25. Third base is considered Bautista's best position.

Randa has no future with the Pirates and no trade value. Inserting him into the starting lineup, ahead of two players who are younger and better, would be Littlefield's call, not manager Jim Tracy's, and should be an offense worthy of getting the GM fired.

The decision to add Casey, Burnitz and Randa was a calculated move to improve the team. It hasn't worked. This is not to suggest the veterans should banished. Casey has been effective in the two games since his return, and Burnitz, who did not start last night, has raised his average 51 points since May 13.

But priority should go to the young players on the roster. The future must come before the present. To do otherwise will doom the team to a continuation of its awful recent past.