Congratulations to the Pirates and Mr Neal Huntington in particular. You just turned a promising Pirates team for next year into another question mark team of the future with the trading of Xavier Nady and Jason Bay.

If the Pirates truly want to win they could have kept one of the best hitting and producing outfields intact and added a couple of starting pitchers and possibly a third baseman through free agency. At least they could have tried. That makes more sense than trading two of your best hitters for prospects who may never make the Major Leagues. At least you lowered the payroll. That should make the Nuttings very happy.

Pirates fans have been waiting for 15 years. It looks like we'll be waiting another 15 years if this stupidity continues.

FRANK A. DiSTAZIO
Shadyside

Bob Smizik's column was laughable ("ESPN's expose could undo Paterno," July 30). Not necessarily for the state of affairs of the Penn State football program, but rather for all the print spent without telling us anything new or insightful. The article was simply a rehash of an ESPN story, and a poor one at that.

A lot of players have had brushes with the law, and Paterno may be losing control. So? He might be nudged out after the season? Please, tell us something we don't already know.

There's a statement that Paterno claims to not know how to text message, followed by the quote "I don't even have a computer." From this, Smizik reaches the faulty conclusion that Paterno "does not know how to operate a computer." (As if -- even if true -- that would be grounds for forced retirement?) Knowing how to text message and how to operate a computer are two different things, and there are a lot of people who do not have a computer but know how to operate one.

Next time, just publish a link to the ESPN story and save Smizik's drivel.

MARK WILKINS
Wexford

Pirates management's decision to trade Nady and Marte, and get virtually "NOTHING" in return was a slap in the face to the Pittsburgh baseball fans, and then the decision to trade Bay was a second slap in the face to those same fans for supporting their team.

It's not the players who should be traded, it's management themselves. The team (before the Nady/Marte and Bay trades) as previously assembled was a great core team with high potential to finish above .500 after many years of agonizing losing seasons. If management doesn't care, why should the fans? My recommendation to the fans is to reciprocate to management by not buying any more tickets to the games. Season ticket holders should ask for a refund. If management doesn't care, why should you?

No other team has shown their lack of care for their players or fans like Pirates management has done this year -- NO OTHER TEAM. This management needs to go and only then should the fans return to the ballpark.

ANTHONY MAZZA
Binghamton, N.Y.

As any baby boomer can tell you, Jason Bay is not the first home run hitter Pittsburgh has traded to Boston. At the end of the 1962 season the Pirates sent Dick Stuart to the Red Sox after playing five years with our team, hitting 117 homers and batting in 390 runs. His .273 average was none too shabby either.

In 1963 "Big Stu" went on to belt 42 out of the park for the Sox, second only in the American League to the Twins' Harmon Killebrew, who hit 45! Stuart also lead the league in RBIs with 118, 17 more than Detroit's Al Kaline.

After four and one half seasons with the Pirates, Bay has hit 139 home runs, knocked in 452 RBIs, and boasts a .281 average. He thus surpasses Stuart's batting record for the Bucs, is a better fielder than "Doctor Strangeglove" ever was, and will probably thrill the fans in Fenway Park even more than old number seven did.

Say, is it too late to trade Ralph Kiner?

DENNIS STASUKEVICH
South Side