The Pirates may or may not have serious problems with their player development. So far, though, the general public has had limited hard facts on which to make a judgment beyond stories about what has been called "Navy SEALS training" that the Pirates have held for their minor league players. Whatever other problems there may be, the SEALS story has dominated the discussion from the beginning. It's not surprising, since the notion of ballplayers going through a shortened version of one of the most intensive training regimens known to man has easily generated charges that the Pirates are putting their prospects through highly dangerous routines that have no possibility whatsoever of yielding any benefits to baseball players.

From the first time I read about this supposed horror, the question I've had is, Isn't it obvious that somebody should ask the people who did the training about the risks and rewards. But nobody did.

Until now.