Maybe we expect too much from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Remember, this is a team that was 30-60 at the All-Star Break last season. This is a franchise that celebrated as glasses overflowed with champagne and hearts overflowed with joy when they guaranteed themselves a non-100-loss season.

This year, the Pirates aren't bad. They are merely mediocre. Isn't that better than nothing?

The Pirates aren't even in last place in their division. There are six teams with worse records than the beloved Buccos.

Heck, the New York Yankees have only two more wins than the Pirates.

Still, fans are up in arms. Critics are smacking the team around like a Zach Duke fastball.

It's been another long summer in the 'Burgh and the yearly July ritual of counting the days to Steelers training camp already has begun.

We have to face the facts. The Bucs, no matter what they do, are never going to be good — at winning baseball games, that is.

Oh, the Pirates are plenty good at other things, like:

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Messing up promising pitchers. They've done a splendid job turning Duke, who just two years ago was a rookie of the year candidate with an 8-2 record and a 1.81 ERA, into a human batting practice pitching machine.They got Oliver Perez so messed up, he was pitching like Oliver Twist.Now, he's having a solid season with the Mets.•

Keeping pitchers healthy. The Bucs have single-handedly kept Dr. James Andrews in business with the disproportionate amount of pitchers who have had to have their arm ligaments replaced.•

Making promises. The Bucs liked their "We Will" slogan so much, they kept it for a second year.If you think about it, "We Will" is not a very good mantra for a professional sports team. It's something you say to your wife when she asks you to take the garbage out."Yeah, honey, I will."But you wait until the last minute to do it.It's like the Pirates are saying, "We Will ... win, eventually, just not right now. We're watching 'Lost.'"That is hard for ardent Bucco fans to accept. But the sooner they do, the better off they will be.I have come to the conclusion that we all need to just take the Pirates for what they are.Take this as an example.When your son strikes out three times in a Little League game, you don't wear green, put a bag over your head and walk out on his game in the third inning, do you?No. You don't because you have come to the realization that maybe baseball isn't his true calling. Maybe he is destined to cure cancer or invent a solar powered automobile. Hitting .500 isn't going to happen.But, you still enjoy watching him try. And he still enjoys wailing away.That's the attitude Pirates fans should take.It's a lot easier going to PNC Park expecting the Pirates to lose. That way, if they do win, it's a bonus.And maybe, someday, the Pirates will surprise us and their slogan will be "We Are."Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.