Murray Chass' grip on reality gets more tenuous

He had this item on his blog about the Pirates:

The people who inherited the mess two years ago should not be blamed for the streak, but their start to their part of the operation has not begun with promise. They threaten to extend the streak for many more years because like their predecessors, they have traded their best players under the guise of accumulating good young talent.

Who were the Pirates' "best" players? Jason Bay could play for most teams. Xavier Nady is hurt all the time. Freddie Sanchez and Jack Wilson are nice complementary players, but pretty worthless without big hitters in the lineup. Nate McLouth? He's a .260 hitter.

I saw the Pirates earlier this season when they still had their "best" players, and they were awful. I recognize that Murray probably hasn't seen a non-Yankees game in 15 years, but he should have enough contacts that he doesn't blunder like this.