A very common argument of the Pro's is that Nuthouse has only been in charge since 2007 and therefore he has not had very long to implement an upswing in results. Like many assertions made by the Pro's, this is only a half truth. Bob Nutting became principal owner of the Pirates prior to the 2007 season but served as Chairman of the Board beginning in 2003. That means that the Littlefield Era occurred mostly under Nutting's watch. That means that the firesale trades occurring between 2003 and now happened on his watch. That means that the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had anything even close to a winning record on his watch.
So why are people so quick to defend Nuthouse, saying he has only been in charge for a couple of years and he needs time to to put his imprint on the ballclub? I am here to tell you his fingerprints are now, and have been, all over this ballclub, for a considerable amount of time and nothing has changed for the better. Not even remotely, not one iota.
Even since 2007, we have seen Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, and Jack Wilson traded away for nothing. We did have a profitable trade involving Nady and Marte, but surely that has been overshadowed by the countless other terrible personnel decisions. Jose Bautista, anyone? Spare me the " Did anybody really see that coming" because when Jose Bautista was here, he was more valuable to the team than many everyday players. He was better then, and certainly FAR better now, than his replacement Andy LaRoche. If you recall, Andy LaRoche did absolutely zilch to warrant being named the starter over Bautista. That was all rendered moot a short time later when Bautista was traded for a slow, unproven 3rd string catcher.
Nobody may have seen 54 home runs on the horizon for Bautista, but he definitely displayed raw power during his time here as well as good plate discipline, even if he struck out a lot he walked a lot as well. As Pucks_and_Pols will cover later, a small adjustment and some good coaching saved his career. Bautista has 16 HR already this season and his OPS is a redonkulus 1.365. Andy LaRoche is gone and our current 3B, the second coming can't miss Kdro, has 1 HR and 7 RBI, an OPS of .563, and 41 K's in 34 games.
Does anybody recall the promise to drastically increase the 2011 payroll versus 2010? Yeah, it went up $2 Million bucks and is almost $6 million short of the $50M figure the Lying Liar and Nuthouse spoke of during the offseason. Who is to blame for that? Not Dave Littlefield or any of the current FO's predecessors, that is for sure. This was just another ploy to try and drum up hope and get some dolts to buy season tickets. This was just another example of the FO demanding the fans open their wallets before they would ever consider doing as much. This was another PR gaffe, another misstep by the top brass. And it probably isn't even the worst thing they are going to do to the fans this year.
Since 2007, the team has lost nearly 400 games. 204 over the past two seasons and there is no clear end in sight. I have not seen any reason to believe things are going to change. The FO makes the same statements and the same half-ass promises. They aim to sign Cutch to an extension but they are really just trying to buy up his arbitration years so they don't get taken again like they did with Ohlendorf this past season. There is no real commitment to the future and no immediate help on the way. The FO believes they should get a pat on the back for drafting players in the first round that were no brainers, bragging about how much they spent on the draft. What would impress me is if they did what most other MLB clubs do and spend on both the draft AND the MLB club.
So tell me, what has changed since Bob Nutting went from Chairman of the Board to Principal Owner and chairman of the board? Based on what I have seen on the field, in the books, and in the press, it's more of the same. I have heard the definition of insanity is attempting to do the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Trade proven talent for mid-grade prospects, rinse, repeat as necessary. This Nuthouse fella is driving me insane.
Good information and post Burress....
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that As far as how long the nutting family has been pulling the strings, The Nuttings like people to believe they've only been involved the
past 3 "glorious" years which they have lost 95 games, 99 games, and
105 games, when in fact the name Nutting has been associated with this
team for 14 of the 18 losing seasons. He/They also had far more say for much longer than many like to believe
From the postgazette article (Jan 27, 2007 - Dejan)
"Mr. McClatchy said he
initiated the move by raising the subject with Mr. Selig two months
ago, explaining that he hoped to establish "some clarity" about the
Pirates' ownership. Mr. Nutting already had the last say on all
matters but, because of the Nutting family's seemingly deep and
genuine respect for Mr. McClatchy, it was Mr. McClatchy who continued
to represent the team in MLB affairs and in public."
additionally, 3
Nuttings and their CFO (4 Nuttings) are on the board calling ALL the
shots, so Nutters,spare me the "the board makes decisions/he has to report to
the board " nonsense As you can see, it is much more complicated and
sinister than Bobby would like us all think. He has been lurking
behind the scenes calling the shots much, much longer than any of the nutting
would like us to think.
And by the way...... Who the Hell ever heard of Bill Nutting, Bob's brother, prior to this year? Who is this mystery man? Quietly lurking in the shadows.......
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery nice article (and blog!), but I believe this goes even further back than 2003.
ReplyDeleteBig Daddy G. Ogden walked through the financial doors in 1996, and I believe he strolled in with alot more power than one can imagine.
I remember well that McClatchy needed cash, and needed it bad.
I also don't believe that G. Ogden is the kind of WV green back swindler that was going to lay down a mil +, and have no say so in what was happening.
The Nutting Regime sprouted in '96....Blossomed in '03....And became a full force machine in '07.
We (the fans) have been suffering since '96 courtesy of the stingiest family on earth
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYour timeline nailed it, Daquido.....
ReplyDeleteGET OUT OF OUR BALL PARK NUTTING!
I certainly remember hearing about the shadowy Nuttings and their influence on 'the board' well before 2007. Didn't 'the boards' financial decision have something to do with the club struggling to meet payroll, which in turn lead to the Kenny Lofton/Aramis Ramirez for Rob Mackowiak/Bobby Hill terrible salary dump? I seem to recall Nutting fingerprints all over that back breaking trade...
ReplyDeleteCorrection: it was Jose Hernandez, not Mackowiak that came over in that deal, which actually somehow made it worse then I remembered. Eh Gads.
ReplyDeleteI certainly believe that there has been Nutting involvement prior to the period is covered here, but as far as what I found with the little research I did, 2003 was the jumping off point.
ReplyDeleteAnd quite honestly, whether it was '96,'03, or '07, the team has still royally sucked the entire freaking time!
Agreed - regardless, the team has been pathetically run into the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that pisses me off is this fary tale of Nutting just taking over payroll decisions and calling the shots in the past few years.
That is Nutter 101.
When you counter Nutter 101 with , well, even if that was true, look at the payroll in the past 4 years, they claim - "well, he has to go to the board for payroll matters" - Nutter 102
This is why I found those paticular quotes by McClatchy telling MLB that Nutting had been calling the shots well before 2007 interesting, as well as the names of the board members. 3 nuttings & their CFO make up 4 of the 5 votes.
Regardless of how Nutters try and spin it,the Nuttings have had their slimy fingerprints all over this mess in one way or another for too darn long.