Jason Bay was a pretty discouraged man at the all-star break, his Pittsburgh Pirates having stumbled to a 30-60 mark in the opening half of the season.

Everything had gone wrong, the optimism of spring training destroyed by a slow start before a 13-game losing streak in June killed any hopes of avoiding a 13th straight losing season.

The bleak situation prompted Bay to take a stand. In a harsh late-June critique of his club, he said he wasn't sure ``this is the group to get it done,'' and that ``different faces might be the answer.''

There was little solace in big numbers for the left-fielder from Trail, B.C., who was named an all-star for the second straight year and voted a starter.

``It's tough to relish individual success when the team isn't doing that well,'' Bay said in an interview from Pittsburgh this week.

Things have certainly turned around for the Pirates, who were 35-33 after the break ahead of Thursday's action. While that's no cause for celebration _ they're still a dreadful 65-93 _ the second-half resurgence has at least restored some optimism for the Pirates and their long-suffering fans.

``Definitely,'' Bay said. ``We've basically turned the reigns over to the guys we're looking at for the next couple of years, giving them a chance and that's what makes it exciting.''

Pirates general manager David Littlefield did end up making changes to his team, waiting until the July 31 trade deadline to deal away veterans like Sean Casey, Craig Wilson, Roberto Hernandez, Oliver Perez and Kip Wells.

First baseman Xavier Nady was the key player to come back, helping give Bay some protection in the batting lineup and the team another cornerstone to build around.

Third baseman Freddy Sanchez, who leads the National League in batting, and rookie catcher Ronny Paulino developed into keepers while a young rotation featuring Zach Duke, Ian Snell, Paul Maholm and Tom Gorzelanny is faintly reminiscent of the Detroit Tigers staff three years ago.

Salomon Torres and Mike Gonzalez form a formidable duo in the bullpen.

All are young, improving and firmly under the Pirates' financial control.

``That's the most exciting part,'' said Bay. ``I think if we were doing it all with guys we weren't expecting back next year, you wouldn't have that enthusiasm and optimism that we have. You're going into next year thinking, `Hey, with this group of guys we did this in the second half.'

``The second half isn't a full season, it's not like you're coming off a playoff run or anything like that, but at the same time with where we were at, it's definitely a huge positive and something to look forward to.''

The Pirates had a payroll of about US$46 million this season and will be in a similar range again in 2007. With bad-value veterans like Jeromy Burnitz ($6.7 million) and Joe Randa ($4 million) coming off the books after the season and the savings from the trades of Casey ($8.5 million), Wells ($4.15 million), Wilson ($3.3 million) and Hernandez ($2.75 million), Littlefield should have plenty to spend this winter.

Used wisely, as the Tigers have shown in the AL Central, the Pirates can fill in around their young core and take a step forward in a very weak National League Central. The Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1992, when they won the NL East with a 96-66 mark before losing to Atlanta in the bottom of ninth in Game 7 of the NLCS.

``That's the biggest thing, especially when you have young guys, myself included,'' Bay said of adding veterans. ``Three years in the big leagues isn't exactly a grizzled veteran just yet but on this team it kind of is.

``I don't try to put any pressure on the front office or anything, but a left-handed bat and a veteran, right-handed starting pitcher are two big needs that would probably benefit this team.

``At the same time, as you saw with Joe Randa and Jeromy Burnitz this year, just because you have that money to spend and you have a need, you still have to find someone to fit the need.''

A full season with Nady behind him in the lineup should also help Bay continue to progress. Ahead of Thursday's game, he was batting .284 and with career highs in homers (35), RBIs (109) and walks (100), but has often found himself fishing for pitches out of the strike zone without a reliable No. 5 hitter to count on.

``A lot of the time I find myself trying to do too much to get those runs in,'' said Bay. ``I get walked a lot and sometimes I try to make something out of nothing but that's all part of it.''

Sanchez has been key in giving Bay opportunities to drive in runs. Prior to Thursday's game, he had 196 hits and is on track to become the first Pirate to win a batting title since Bill Madlock in 1983 (.323).

``He's been a good friend of mine the last couple of years and he went from battling for a starting job in spring training to this,'' said Bay. ``Me batting behind him and getting to watch it day-in, day-out has been that much more amazing to see what he's done. I just hope over the final games he just plays steady and doesn't get too caught up in it, which he's been good about.

``Hopefully at the end of the year I can give him a big hug and congratulations.''