A couple of Pirates seem to have charmed lives when it comes to their performance and their continued opportunities to play. Barmes and Tabata are the two that come to mind. I know the team has invested money and contracts into these two, and managers and central office hate to see their decisions go sour on the field and they therefore tend to give longer looks and more chances to the club "favorites." As a Steeler fan, it bothered me that Redman would lead the team in Training camp, but never really get a chance during the season unless the team had no choice. Mendy had the contract, the money and the high draft pick that management invested and would hate to see look bad. Although Barmes and Tabata have been lousy (in my opinion), others (Mercer, Presley and Harrison) have just as good a record when given a chance, but are always on the back burner, sent back to AAA or have a short leash. I realize that this is to be expected, but if winning is the most important thing, then you have to know when to cut your losses and move on. I expect that I will get beat up on this site for this post, but will enjoy the discussion non the less. Anyway, the game just started so I will ck back later to see what you have to say.