What was the Pirates' front office thinking?

Cleaning out the notebook...

Does the front office of the Pittsburgh Pirates have a clue? At one point last year the Pi-rates' outfield consisted of Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and Nate McLouth.

Today, Nady is on the disabled list with the New York Yankees, Bay is with the Boston Red Sox and McLouth is now with the Atlanta Braves, thanks to a trade earlier this week that sent a trio of prospects to the Bucs.

When the McLouth trade was made, the Pirates were only six-and-a-half games out of first place and in the thick of things in the National League Central Division.

So why did the Bucs trade McLouth?

Pirates' president Frank Coonelly told the Associated Press, "This is a baseball trade. It had nothing to do with money."

Well, if it had nothing to do with money, then it was a dumb trade.

The Pirates are battling for a possible division title -- although, after 16 consecutive losing sea-sons, it is a long shot -- but they were battling.

The trade left the Pirates' clubhouse in shambles, with players wondering just what was expected of them.

Had the ownership of the Pirates thrown in the towel with the McLouth trade? One would think so.

Why are the Pirates looking four, five, maybe even six years down the road before any of the three prospects they received in the trade could help the team?

A lot of moves, yet few answers for Pirate fans.

Just think, if the Pirates had not traded Nady, Bay or McLouth, where would they be today? Pos-sibly closer than six-and-a-half games entering play Saturday night.

It was a bad trade by the Pirates organization and yes, it was about money.

Speaking of money

If the Atlanta Braves had added future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine to their roster this week, they would have had to pay the left-hander $1 million. Instead, they said Glavine was no longer good enough to pitcher in the majors.

They released Glavine and did it after parading him out to pitch a Single-A game earlier this week in Rome, Ga.

It was a bush-league move by the Braves; however, it kind of comes full circle for Glavine, who was the face of the MLB Players Association during the 1994 strike, which almost ruined the game and did cost us a World Series.

Can't really feel too sorry for the guy.

Rumor has it Glavine could join former Atlanta teammate John Smoltz in Boston.

Off and running

The Los Angeles Lakers blew the Orlando Magic out in Game 1 of their NBA Final series Thurs-day night at the Staples Center.

Tonight, on ABC, Kobe Bryant, who scored 40 points in Game 1, and his teammates will look to take a 2-0 lead before the series moves to Orlando for Games 3, 4 and if necessary 5.

If the Lakers win tonight, the series will not return to L.A.

The Lakers have played possibly their best basketball of the season in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Denver Nuggets and Game 1 in the NBA Final against the Magic.

A staggering stat, however: The Lakers are only 3-7 in playoff games when Bryant shoots 30 or more field goal attempts in a game. He was 16 of 34 in Game 1, however, the Lakers won.

A win tonight, and the series ends in a possible sweep, but no more than five games.

A win by Orlando, though, and the series will return to L.A., possibly with the Lakers facing a 3-2 deficit.

So how will this series go?

The Lakers will win tonight to move to a 2-0 lead and will win Game 5 to wrap the series up in Orlando.

Lakers 4-1.

Bad sportsmanship?

When the Magic ousted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Eastern Conference Final, James quickly exited the court and did not shake hands with the Magic after the game.

James proceeded to shower, dress and leave without talking to the media, somthing NBA players must do after a game.

The NBA fined James $25,000 for his actions.

In the end, what does this tell our young players about sportsmanship?

James said he wanted to win and when he didn't it was hard to shake hands with the team that beat you.

I'm sorry, LeBron, you are supposed to be a professional and not to shake hands after a loss just shows you need to mature a bit more.

James may have been named the league's MVP for the regular season. However, the best player in the National Basketball Association is still playing and wearing the No. 24 on his back.

Jeff Christian is a freelance columnist and appears in The News & Messenger each Sunday. He can be reached at christianjeff@rocketmail.com.