Huntington happy with rotation despite Burnett rumors

The Pirates have continued to seek starting pitching -- trade talks were heating up with the New York Yankees regarding A.J. Burnett -- but general manager Neal Huntington was adamant that should not be taken as a sign of dissatisfaction with his current rotation.

"We're always looking to get better, at every position," Huntington said. "That's never going to change as long as I'm here."

The rotation consists of left-hander Erik Bedard and right-handers Charlie Morton, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens and Kevin Correia. Karstens was the most consistently good, but all of the other four had long stretches of effectiveness.

"The key is to bring that out for all of them," Huntington said. "I like our pitching."

Where the pitching clearly falls off, though, is the depth at No. 6 and beyond. Brad Lincoln and Jeff Locke gained some experience last season, but neither came close to showing he was ready to take on a prominent role should one of the above five get hurt or falter. And rather than trying to fill a No. 6 need, management has gone after someone who could step into the rotation and push someone else out.

That was highlighted -- or lowlighted -- by a failed bid to acquire free-agent right-hander Edwin Jackson. The Pirates offered three years at a guaranteed $30 million, almost three times as much as the franchise record for a free agent, but Jackson turned them down to take one year at $11 million from Washington. The Nationals also were a losing team in 2011.

What will it take to change players' perceptions of the Pirates?

"Honestly, we just need to keep playing better ball," Huntington said. "When we win, we're going to see those results change, along with a lot of other things. We have a great pitcher-friendly ballpark. We have a lot of pieces in place. But the winning has to happen first. And it will. We still feel very good about the team we'll have in 2012."

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