I have been a Pirate fan all my life . In 1973 I was 14 when it seems the first time the  Pirates did not make the post season. It was so great but that was a farm system that came up with good to great players and it showed on the field . In the 1980s we needed someone with the right stuff and Sid Thrift was the man that had a plan . He made hard trades and if you think Jason Bay was hard to take Tony Pena , Rick Rhodon , Don Robonson and others were traded and along with drafting Bonds and Jeff King along with others it  was the start of a great team so always have hope .