In three days, the Pittsburgh Steelers will play in Super Bowl XLIII.

It's their seventh Super Bowl appearance and they will be shooting for their sixth title.

Since 1971, the Steelers have had only seven losing seasons and have never failed to win five games.

Because of that impressive track record, there is a growing sentiment that the Steelers are the best professional organization of all time.

It would be hard to argue against that.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates may be the worst.

The Buccos' struggles are well known.

It's been 16 seasons and counting since the club posted a winning record and the drought doesn't look to end any time soon.

In many ways, the Pirates are the antithesis of the Steelers.

One team wins at a prodigious rate; the other team loses with alarming regularity.

The difference now is the Pirates don't appear to be trying to get better.

The biggest offseason move was snaggingDonald Veal in the Rule 5 draft and acquiring pitchers Harold and Kumar from a White Castle.

The pitching was horrendous last season, and the Pirates did little to improve that area.

Staff ace Paul Maholm is the next to be cursed. Ian Snell was the "ace" coming into last season, and his ERA nearly doubled. Tom Gorzelanny was the "ace" the year before that, and he was riding a bus to Louisville, Toledo and Columbus last summer after being demoted because he couldn't get anyone out.

Getting outs is a valuable skill for a pitcher — one that too many Bucco hurlers lack.

And the management did nothing to improve it.

Crying small market doesn't work anymore.

Woebegone franchises like Kansas City spent money this offseason to improve their fortunes and are — hold your breath — a dark horse to win the American League Central.

The Royals upgraded their outfield by acquiring Coco Crisp and their first-base situation by getting Mike Jacobs from Florida.

Kansas City anted up Monday to lock in ace Zack Greinke for four years.

The Pirates will enter the season with the second lowest payroll in baseball, ahead of only the Florida Marlins.

Even the Washington Nationals are spending more. The Nats made a bid for Mark Teixeira. The Pirates are instead focusing on Pedro Martinez, obviously trying to recreate the success they had when they signed his brother Ramon several years ago.

Ramon went 0-2 with an 8.62 ERA in his brief stint with the Pirates, which is what John Van Benschoten would call "a career year."

Meanwhile, there is considerable bargain-basement free agent talent available. But the Pirates aren't even going after guys like Ben Sheets, who could be had at a reasonable price now and who could give the team a legit ace.

Instead, the Pirates' brass expect better results with an unchanged roster.

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Insanity: the 2009 Pirates motto.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.