Getting mad at the Pirates is a pretty common thing to do in Pittsburgh. It has been for most of the past three decades. Sometimes we just do it out of habit.

And not for the right reasons.

Don’t get me wrong. At 10-23, there are plenty of reasons to be mad at the Pirates. Even in this aberration of a covid-19 season.

The starting rotation isn’t Major League caliber. The bullpen’s predicted lack of depth has been exposed. The promising top six of the lineup has underperformed. And, as usual, ownership is rolling out an on-field payroll that is vastly insufficient.

That should be enough when chronicling a list of complaints.

Or, at least, a good start.

However, some fans and media have extended that angst. A portion of both groups seems to feel as if the franchise failed to embrace the concept of a rebuild at this year’s trade deadline. They also want the front office to embrace it publicly when trying to communicate its goals.

A lot of time was spent in print, on talk shows, and in Ben Cherington’s Monday Zoom press conference probing the general manager about not wanting to use the word “rebuild” when discussing what the Pirates are going through.

“I’ve used the word ‘build.’ I’ll continue to use it. It’s actually the word I believe is accurate because that’s what we’re working to do,” Cherington said Monday after the trade deadline passed with the Pirates failing to make any trades. “We’re working to build a winning team. We believe some of the pieces of that are here.”

I’m having a hard time finding fault with that explanation.

Now, do I believe any of that will manifest? Pftt! No. C’mon. I’ve been watching this team for 45 years. Thirty-six of them have ended without a playoff berth. I’ve heard words to that effect spun a million times over from Pirates management. It’s not like I ever expect it to become reality.

I’ll take the occasional three-year pleasant surprise like 1990-92 and 2013-15, chalk that up to the planets aligning for a little while and be happy with it.

It doesn’t make what Cherington said wrong, though. And it doesn’t matter how he describes this process.

Resurrect. Reconfigure. Restructure. Rebuild. Build. Flip. Who cares?

It’s hard for me to worry about semantics when I know the team’s MVP balloting is going to come down to Jacob Stallings or Erik Gonzalez. I’m worried about the team having at least one front-line starter for Opening Day 2021. I’m not getting hung up on Cherington’s use of a thesaurus.

It’s no secret that Cherington and his predecessor Neal Huntington have a good relationship and have a lot of common views. Huntington liked to edit himself when it came to using “rebuild,” too. He did so back in 2018 after the Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen trades.

The difference is that Huntington — at the time — tried to pretend the team wasn’t being gutted. Also — at the time — people were allowed to be in the seats. And Huntington was doing whatever he could to sell fans on the return for two former core members of the club.

Those factors aren’t in play for Cherington right now. No one can come to the games. And no one is questioning where this team sits in the process of roster building.

It’s in Phase 1. Ground Zero. Control-Alt-Delete. Again, whatever term you want to use.

I consider the negative blowback toward the Pirates for failing to sell off more players before Monday’s deadline misplaced.

First of all, the organization can still trade guys this winter. Plus, the market should be more active given that teams were leery at the deadline about offering anything decent in compensation. That makes sense given the screwy truncated schedule, playoff format and coronavirus concerns in 2020.

Secondly, the Pirates are already fielding a team primarily composed of young cheap players. Most nights, the lineup is dotted with first- and second-round picks in Josh Bell, Kevin Newman, Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker. Ke’Bryan Hayes now, too.

Colin Moran was part of the Cole trade. Gregory Polanco was a perceived cornerstone player.

If most of those guys were dealt, all Cherington would be getting is someone else’s young cheap players in return.

“I would 100% agree with those sentiments,” manager Derek Shelton said of Cherington’s quotes. “It’s completely not a rebuild. We are building. We have good components here.”

I’m not as convinced. But I get where Shelton is coming from.

So why are we worried about splitting hairs over the language being used to describe this process?

It doesn’t matter if you call it a “build” or a “rebuild.” We’re just arguing whether the materials should come from Home Depot or Lowe’s.

It’d just be nice if they pour a sturdier foundation this time. For a change.

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