Maybe this explains why members of the Pirates' upper management never cite specific goals for the team going into a season.

Even the most modest objectives can come back to bite them.

In the spring, owner Kevin McClatchy praised general manager Dave Littlefield for doing a "great job" in acquiring talent in the offseason, but the only goal he would set is that the team "continue to grow and get better."

It has done neither.

Littlefield stated repeatedly, through the winter and deep into the season, that the Pirates have a "more-talented" roster than last season. He wanted to see "improvement."

He has seen a huge step backward.

Manager Jim Tracy, almost daily through spring training, would cite the team's 13-28 record last year in one-run games under his predecessor, Lloyd McClendon. And he would do so to stress that he and his staff could make the difference in reversing that. At the moment, the Pirates are 8-22 in one-run games, by far the worst such mark in Major League Baseball.

Strike three.

Overall, they are 27-53, worst in the National League and, but for the slightly greater misfortune of the Kansas City Royals who swept them last week, worst in the game.

Tonight brings the season's halfway point, and coming up with a midterm grade for the team as a whole is easy as can be: It is a large, flaming F, by any reasonable standard.

To break it down ...

General manager

It is difficult to imagine a worse first half for any executive in the sport.

As if the Pirates' travails were not enough, Littlefield had to be haunted by national attention given to past mistakes such as the release of Chris Shelton, Bronson Arroyo and Duaner Sanchez, the failure to interview Jim Leyland, and even a sizzling start by Ty Wigginton in Tampa Bay.

It was no better on the home front, lowlighted by Littlefield's two most expensive signings of the winter, Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Randa. They not only performed below career standards but also stalled younger, more productive players from getting onto the field.

Even so, what stands was not the moves Littlefield made but, rather, those he did not.

He has yet to make any significant transaction, barring the release of Ryan Vogelsong, the demotion of Oliver Perez and those three recalls of Mike Edwards. As a result, almost nothing was done to avert the disaster that clearly is at hand and, maybe just as important, a powerful signal was sent that the status quo is acceptable.

Grade: F

Manager

Tracy has displayed unwavering confidence in his ways, regularly mentioning his achievements in Los Angeles, where he one division title in five years despite a nine-figure payroll that annually exceeded the other four teams.

His bottom line in Pittsburgh has been this: None of the traits he hoped to instill in the Pirates has taken root. He emphasized, in particular, throwing more strikes, upgrading situational hitting and developing a general belief in winning. Almost unimaginably, the team has regressed in each of those areas from where it was under McClendon.

Moreover, Tracy has shown little leadership. Time and again, he has taken credit for players' successes while never assuming blame for their shortcomings, something that has not resonated well in the clubhouse. He also has shown little emotion, a trait that seems to have been assumed by the team, which has called one players-only meeting all year.

Grade: F

Starting pitching

Ian Snell has blossomed into an occasionally dominant starter, in part because of Tracy sticking by him early in the season -- Snell was in dire need of confidence in April -- and the work of pitching coach Jim Colborn.

But the other two newcomers to the rotation, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, have not approached their fine form of last season. This could be the natural up-and-down wave for young pitchers, or it could be the result of the coaching staff's seemingly unnecessary tinkering with their deliveries in the spring.

Perez was no less unpredictable than in any previous year and has been dispatched to the minors to iron out his inconsistencies elsewhere.

Victor Santos performed above expectations, buoyed by Colborn's pushing him to use his fastball more often, but that resulted in three victories in 14 starts.

Kip Wells recently returned from a three-month rehabilitation.

Overall, the group has a 5.34 ERA that ranks 14th in the 16-team National League and, more important, has delivered an average of 5 2/3 innings per start and a league-high 206 walks.

Grade: D-plus

Bullpen

This was to have been a strength, and it has been for stretches.

First-year closer Mike Gonzalez has 12 saves in as many chances. Although that masks that he has been pulled prematurely in such situations when struggling and has been wild at times, he counts among the positives in progressing as he has.

Roberto Hernandez and Matt Capps have been sharp from the right side, but Salomon Torres has been surprisingly unreliable, perhaps because of over-use. John Grabow and Damaso Marte also have been below par, and the team finally ran out of patience with Vogelsong.

The bullpen's average of hits and walks per inning -- the statistic best suited to weighing relief -- is 1.46, which ranks 11th in the league. It is safe to say it would rate higher with more help from the rotation.

Grade: C-minus

Catcher

Ronny Paulino has been the team's most pleasant surprise, although no one might have known if not for an emergency recall in April when Ryan Doumit was hurt. He is widely credited for stabilizing the pitching staff through sound game-calling, and his .305 average is second among the league's rookies.

He still must upgrade all other aspects of his defense and show at least some occasional power.

Humberto Cota? The Pirates are 4-16 when he starts, and he appears to have lost the confidence of the coaching staff.

Grade: C-plus

First base

When healthy, Sean Casey has delivered as expected, providing contact in the middle of the order and sound defense.

There was no dropoff, either, when Craig Wilson filled in for six weeks.

Grade: B-minus

Second base

Jose Castillo has upgraded his power in matching his career high of 11 home runs and more consistently follows his natural swing to the opposite field, a credit to tireless work with hitting coach Jeff Manto. He also ranks second on the team with 43 RBIs despite hitting seventh, another sign he is coming of age at 25.

He continues, though, to have mental lapses in the field -- 11 errors -- and on the basepaths.

Grade: B-minus

Third base

The told-you-so crowd had its way when Freddy Sanchez took over at third in early May -- Randa was down to .221 when he went out with a fractured foot -- and continued to perform as he had last season.

Even better, actually.

Sanchez is nothing less than the league's leading hitter with a .363 average, and his defense has been as dependable as ever. He might never fit the prototype for power at the position, but Castillo might render that moot by offering it somewhere unexpected.

That home run yesterday, given the attention it will receive, just might propel him into the All-Star Game.

Grade: A-plus

Shortstop

Jack Wilson added 20 pounds in the offseason, and his bat has shown more pop -- seven home runs -- than at any point in his career. But a June swoon has dropped his average to .266 and rekindled memories of his sluggish 2005.

Wilson's defense has been below his previous standard, too, as evidenced by his 11 errors. He rejects the notion that his bulk has lessened his range, but that is difficult to discern.

Grade: C-plus

Left field

Jason Bay continues to show more power than anyone might have expected with 20 home runs, and his general consistency has done plenty to validate the Pirates' best move of the offseason, which was to sign him to a long-term contract.

But his .228 average with runners in scoring position -- miles below his regular average of .285 -- is a sore-thumb indicator that he might have brought in much more than those 57 RBIs.

Grade: A-minus

Center field

Still searching for their first standout center fielder since Andy Van Slyke, the Pirates already have tried three.

Chris Duffy fell below the Mendoza Line, then left the team. Nate McLouth was just above Mendoza, and he gave way to Jose Bautista.

Although Bautista spent almost all of his time in the minors at third base, he has looked smooth in center, to the extent Tracy has compared him to some of the game's elite. The power has opened eyes, too -- nine home runs in only 141 at-bats -- but his .234 average has him looking miscast in the leadoff spot.

Grade: D-plus

Right field

Burnitz has hit better of late and has 12 home runs, but he is far from undoing the damage of his first two months, as his .229 average attests.

Craig Wilson has shared time with Burnitz the past few weeks and continued a typical season for him: .278 average, 12 home runs, 36 RBIs. But much of that production -- including seven home runs -- came in April, when he was either coming off the bench or sporadically filling in.

Grade: C-minus

Bench

This was a strength when Wilson and Sanchez were on it, but it has delivered next to nothing since. Jose Hernandez's 2-for-3 start yesterday nudged him to .206, and McLouth is 3 for 17 as a pinch-hitter.

Grade: D