Keith Srakocic, Associated Press Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Michael Gosling gets a pat on the back from first baseman Adam Dunn before being lifted after giving up 7 runs to the Pirates in the Pirates 10-run first inning of a spring training baseball game in Bradenton, Fla., yesterday. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Pirates Notebook: Young pitchers take a turn for the better, impress Tracy Spring Scorecard: 3/19/06

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates' new slogan is short -- for sure. But simple? Not quite.

"We Will."

OK.

But "We Will" what?

Win?

Not so fast.

"It's more internal," said Kevin McClatchy, the Pirates' managing general partner. "When you say, 'We will,' you always worry that people will think it's some sort of prediction, but it's not.

"It's more just something we go by. It's about how we go about our business. It's an attitude and it's a philosophy -- how everybody in our organization will go about it.

"We're trying to be the benchmark in the sports industry in everything we do -- whether it's the grounds crew or whether it's ticket sales or whether it's marketing.

"We will work hard in our marketing department. We will give our customers the best service. We will give our customers the best experience at a ballgame. 'We Will' can go to a lot of different areas. It's more of a positive outlook on how you go about your business."

So there you have it. "We Will" has nothing to do with winning on the field.

It isn't "We Will Win."

In that regard, maybe the slogan should be "We Haven't." Or the longer version: "We Haven't -- Yet."

"I don't think that's really going to inspire people," McClatchy said, smiling, albeit slightly.

	Online warmup Teams have been getting ready for weeks. The Post-Gazette gives fans the chance to get their prognosticating muscles in shape, too, when it comes to the season's hot topics. Find the second reader poll by clicking Baseball 2006: A fan poll. Results will be published in the week leading up to the MLB opener April 2.

One supposes that's probably true. But also true is that the Pirates haven't won since 1992. That's 13 consecutive seasons of "We Didn't."

Maybe that will change this season. Maybe it has to.

Until the Pirates' starting rotation turned into a guessing game this spring, there was much optimism about these new Pirates and about what newcomers Sean Casey, Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Randa could do in the offense.

There's still optimism. After all, April 3 isn't here yet.

And the Pirates do have the All-Star game in beautiful PNC Park to highlight the season.

But it's on the field that counts. And McClatchy acknowledged as much last summer on a radio talk show when the host asked him if 2006 is an important year in which to win.

"From my standpoint, it's an important year -- to win," McClatchy answered.

But McClatchy isn't about to predict a number of wins.

"We have an opportunity [this season] to get the fans back into the ballpark on a regular basis," he said. "We've seen our attendance go up 20 percent last year and it's probably going to go up another 20 percent this year. Some might call it a 'do-over.' The fans are giving us a second chance."

Or a third chance. Or fourth chance. Of fifth.

"We need to give them something to hang onto," McClatchy said.

The fact that Pirates attendance increased last season to 1,817,245 from 1,583,031 in 2004 (the lowest in the five PNC Park seasons) could have been because of the All-Star Game and the chance to purchase All-Star tickets.

"It really didn't have much to do with the All-Star Game at all," McClatchy said. "I think it was because the fans do like the young players we have and they like the progress they saw out of Jason Bay and Oliver Perez.

"This year we'll get a benefit from [having the All-Star Game], no question. We're selling sponsorships for years out. We're trying to lock up things so we don't just get a one-year benefit, we get a multiyear benefit.

"It's also a great opportunity for the city to show itself off in a national venue, which we haven't had since probably the last All-Star Game here [in 1994]. The city's changed a lot. The city needs to do a lot itself just to put its best foot forward. And I think they have. They've been working well with us and things are going fine."

Off the field, anyway.

"You want to have a decent year so when the All-Star Game's over and the season's over the fans have a reason to come back to the ballpark again," McClatchy said.

That will be the real test. If the Pirates continue to lose, will people keep buying tickets when there isn't the All-Star Game carrot to lure them?

That's why this season -- on the field -- is so important.

"The biggest thing [general manager Dave Littlefield] did was go out and get [manager] Jim Tracy," McClatchy said. "That started everything off. Jim has really done a great job in a short amount of time and has a great approach to things. I think after getting Jim, other things sort of fell into a place.

"Obviously [Sean] Casey's going to be a huge addition and [Jeromy] Burnitz and [Joe] Randa are going to help us.

"We have a lot more depth now just because of those players. Craig Wilson's still going to get a lot of at-bats. Freddy Sanchez is still going to get a lot of at-bats. We're going to be better defensively. We're pretty strong up the middle.

"To me, we've improved in almost every area. The one question mark is the starting pitching. We don't even know who our top five starters are as of today."

Is McClatchy at all worried about a post-All-Star Game letdown if the Pirates don't improve on the field this season?

"No," he said. "I'm thinking more about this season than I am about the All-Star Game right now. When it's over, there will be a relief because we're working very hard on it, but we'll just play. I don't like to predict anything -- not even the weather."