It’s been months since I’ve written anything of significant length, and yet I still define myself as a Pittsburgh sports blogger. I’m glad Alan and I are finally getting around to kickstarting Titletahn. We’ve been talking about it for some time, and even though this is a modest launch, I’m excited about our long-term plans.

Stay tuned.

But first, I want to talk about the Pirates.

Dejan’s most recent Q&A brought management’s planning into question, and it made me think.

I bought a 10-game Pirates ticket package on Monday, and my commitment toward the 2009 season seems to be at the same level as Neal Huntington’s is.

By no means am I disinterested in the team as it’s currently constructed, but I’m not ready to sit through 81 games at PNC Park, either. Attending an eighth of the schedule? I can handle that.

Aki Iwamura isn’t likely to be a game-changer, but at the same time, $5 million and a marginal relief pitcher is a small price to pay for a two-win player. Matt Holliday he isn’t, but as a bargain-priced transaction, Aki is okay.

Neither Neal nor I are breaking the bank with our investments, and in all likelihood by September we’ll have seen small returns (mine coming in the form of mildly entertaining baseball and fireworks; the Pirates’ in the form of unspectacularly solid second base play). Is that valuable?

Maybe not — or maybe so.

The ceiling is low, but that doesn’t mean what we’re doing isn’t worthwhile. By my math*, the Pirates had a two percent chance of winning 87ish games and the NL Central in 2010 before deciding to trade Jesse Chavez for Iwamura. After, assuming they stay committed to their not-really-a-plan-according-to-James-Conlin-from-Wheeling plan, the Pirates have a five or six percent chance of making the playoffs. And maybe a 15 percent chance of finishing over .500.

*And by math, I mean unsubstantiated speculation.

If I were Huntington, the next item on my checklist would involve trading Brandon Moss for an interesting A-ball project. After that, I’d sign Xavier Nady to a $1.5 million deal. I’d give Erik Bedard $7 million, Octavio Dotel $3 million, and Kiko Calero $2 million. I wouldn’t be blocking any significant prospects or spending big-time dollars, and yet, all of a sudden, if everything breaks right, my team would be competitive:

C Doumit, Jaramillo 1B Clement, Nady 2B Iwamura, Young 3B LaRoche SS Crosby, Cedeno OF McCutchen, Milledge, Jones, Raynor

SP Bedard, Maholm, Morton, Duke, Ohlendorf RP Jackson, Hart, Calero, Lopez, Meek, Dotel, Hanrahan

If April and May turn out well, then Pedro Alvarez and Brad Lincoln show up, Young is dumped, and a marginal arm like Dan McCutchen is shopped for an upgrade around the diamond. If June hits and it’s clear attention should shift to 2011 and beyond, then it’s possible to sell your free agent signings to the highest bidders.

It could be shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, or it could be buying a winning lottery ticket. No matter what, I won’t miss Chavez’s mustache, Aki’s impression of Freddy Sanchez should be spot-on, and Tim Alderson’s rise through the minors will be, hopefully, meteoric.

And I’ll be there to watch, for better or worse, from section 316. Sounds like a plan.