The Pirates are an utter disgrace, may they continue to suffer

It's official: I hate the Pittsburgh Pirates. At about 8:30 EST I stopped feeling sorry for their pathetic trek of 15 straight losing seasons when they effectively handed the New York Yankees a playoff berth with the trade of Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte for a box of pizza (okay, technically four garbage prospects, but what's the difference?)

The Yankees once again get what they want, and didn't have to bat an eyelash to do it. The Tampa Bay Rays desperately needed Nady's bat. A plethora of other teams could've used Marte's left arm. Did the Pirates actually take the time to see if they could get quality players for these two? No. Instead, they shipped them off for nothing to the Evil Empire. Surely, it's another "rebuilding" phase for the despicable franchise. The Yankees, meanwhile, will rally around their near-$200 million payroll but claim they truly had to dig deep for this one. With a few players on the disabled list, that only left about $150 million worth of talent on the field. However did they make the postseason in that case?

The (expletive)-burgh Pirates are to thank for that.

From one Yankee-hater-turned-Pirate-hater to you, I propose this question. Now that their top man is off the table, do the Tampa Bay Rays turn their attention to Ken Griffey? Regardless, the Yankees got their way. In the end, that seems to be all that really matters.