How many times have the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Francisco Liriano this season?

Too many for my taste.

And it seems like the ongoing saga could drag into spring training.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that general manager Neal Huntington is non-commital about signing the pitcher before spring training begins.

Liriano broke his non-throwing arm (right) in December before a contract between the teams was finalized. Reports of a deal being reached between the two surfaced before the injury took place. Since then, the sides have tried to come to an agreement without  luck.

Today, they seem to be at an impasse.

For me, the Pirates should just move on.

– Rick Green (follow me on Twitter @ETNrgreen)

Apparently the Pittsburgh Pirates are happy with the way things are going.

According to team president Frank Coonelly, the Pirates will be sticking with general manager Neal Huntington, manager Clint Hurdle, and assistant general managers Kyle Stark and Greg Smith.

Here’s the text of Coonelly’s statement:

For the second consecutive year, we put ourselves in an excellent position to meet our objective of winning our division but did not play nearly well enough during the last two months of the season to accomplish it. Our fans are understandably disappointed and frustrated, as is every individual in the organization.

As soon as we finish this season as well as we possibly can, we will turn our full and total attention to evaluating why were unable to finish the job and what we must do differently to take the next step to becoming a championship team. There will unquestionably be changes made to the way in which we operate as a result of this thorough critical self-evaluation, but we will not be making personnel changes at the very top of our baseball operations department. Neal, Kyle, Greg and Clint are dedicated and intelligent baseball men in whom I have great confidence.

Confidence in and support of Neal, Kyle and Greg should not be misunderstood with acceptance of another poor finish at the Major League level. We must understand why the quality of our execution and play deteriorated so markedly in August. Finishing was the focus from spring training but it certainly was not achieved.

Call me unimpressed with the performances of all four.

Hurdle has been at the helm of two straight collapses.

Huntington has failed in the past two seasons to acquire impact players at the trade deadline to improve the team, including this season when the Pirates were in command of a wild-card playoff berth.

And, finally, Stark is the one behind the Navy SEAL training that has made the Pirates a joke around the majors.

Here’s a link to pirates.com coverage of Coonelly’s announcement.

If you’re interested in Stark’s e-mail that made its way around the leagues, it’s here.

– Rick Green

Going into today’s trade deadline, the need for the Pittsburgh Pirates was obvious: get a power hitter.

They did that with the acquisition of outfielder Travis Snider from the Blue Jays.

In exchange for Snider, the Pirates send Toronto pitcher Brad Lincoln.

“We think Travis will fit in well with us in right (field),” Pirates GM Neal Huntington said. “He’s a hard-nosed player with power who likes to use the whole field and can make pitchers pay for their mistakes.”

With Snider, the Pirates have someone to step into the outfield right away. It should give them a starting outfield of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Snider.

I like the look of that.

Snider has serious power potential, something missing from this team. The big question is whether this helps more for this year or 2013.

Lincoln has emerged as a very good reliever this season. He could be a future closer for Toronto.

However, it’s easier to find a reliever than it is to get a power hitter.

Snider, 24, hit 14 home runs in 2010 with the Jays in 298 at-bats. A lefty, Snider hit .335 with 13 home runs in the hitter-friendly PCL this season.

Long term, I like the deal a lot. MLBtraderumors.com reports that Snider is under team control through 2016, which is a big plus for the budget-constrained Pirates.

That gives the Bucs a legit home-run threat for a few years.

The downside is the Pirates enter the final two months of the season with a rookie in left and an unproven player in right. That’s a big risk, but it could work out this season and beyond.

– Rick Green

Are the Pittsburgh Pirates buyers before Tuesday’s trade deadline?

Ask general manager Neal Huntington, and the answer might not seem obvious. Here’s what he told mlb.com:

“So it’s nice that we don’t have to go get someone specific; we can pick what we want to get, and if the acquisition cost is exorbitantly high, we can stay with what we have and continue to play winning baseball.”

The acquisition of Wandy Rodriguez was nice. It gives the Pirates a quality arm without paying a high price, kind of what Huntington was talking about.

However, most people think the Bucs need a bat, and I’m one of them.

Pittsburgh can enter the final two months of the season with their lineup as it is.

Although Starling Marte had a great first game, he’s a rookie facing MLB pitchers for the first time. And he played against the Astros. You can’t expect him to be a difference-maker down the stretch.

Alex Presley, Saturday night’s No. 2 hitter, had a .236 average and a .276 on-base percentage. And he has just 16 RBIs.

Rod Barajas is hitting .202 and Clint Barmes is at .209, and neither one scares pitchers.

Throw in the hot and cold nature of Pedro Alvarez and you have some holes on offense.

Plus the bench needs to be upgraded.

I know Huntington doesn’t want to sound the alarm, but he needs to find some offense for this team.

I have no problems giving up a promising minor leaguer to get an established hitter.

Minor league players are so unpredictable. Too many of the Pirates’ prospects have failed to live up to their billing.

How many trades have the Pirates made where they gave up the established player and the prospects they got in return never materialized.

That’s why I say deal.

It’s been quite a season. I’d hate to see it end short of the playoffs because Huntington failed to make a move to improve this team.

– Rick Green

Everyone knows the Pittsburgh Pirates have holes to fill.

It appears everyone except general manager Neal Huntington, especially with that gaping hole at first base.

Here’s what he told Pirates.com about their need at first base:

“We do have some internal options, so it’s not like we are desperate and have to overpay a free agent or overpay in a trade to fill it.”

With Garrett Jones as your leading candidate to play first base and a season after signing Lyle Overbay to play the position, I’d say you’re desperate or cheap.

Either way, there’s a need.

– Rick Green