Pirates Keep Talking, but Aren't Giving Anyone Confidence in Doing So

If the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to do anything over the next month or so regarding making the postseason, everything has to change right now.  The Pirates, who should be a lot better than they're currently playing, just haven't been able to do enough in recent weeks. Since the All-Star break, this team has frankly not been good. I give the Pirates credit for trying to improve on both sides of the ball during Major League Baseball's trade deadline, but ultimately, as we all knew, there were moves that needed to be made much earlier for us to really feel confident about this team.  At the end of the day, the Pirates at least showed they're willing to start winning games in the future and spend a little bit of money. That's a step in the right direction and all that we can really ask for. Now six games under .500, there's a lot that needs to change, and it has to change relatively quickly. Speaking to reporters, it sounds like one Pirates player is still confident, even if the fan base isn't. "We know we’re going to click, like we’ve done this year at times," Carmen Mlodzinski said, per MLB.com.  "We still have a certain confidence to us that has been there the whole year. When times are tough and you get swept, you kind of just have to turn the page and say, ‘What do we need to do in this next series in San Diego to win?’ I think we’re going to do our best job to try and make that happen." Mlodzinski has had a decent season in his own right, even if he's far from perfect, but he doesn't really feel like a guy who many are going to have a great deal of trust in. The same can be said for nearly every other player on the Pirates at the moment, as there really hasn't been one guy who has stepped up in a major way and has carried this team on either side of the baseball.  The Pirates were supposed to have one of the best pitching staffs in the game and haven't; the offense is pretty average, and bullpen issues from earlier in the season have played a ginormous role in why this team is below .500.