Anybody who knows anything about baseball knew that the 13 game stretch the Pirates were facing against the Reds, Cards, Braves, and Phillies was going to be the truest test this ball club has faced all year. That is why anybody who actually cares about the Pittsburgh Pirates and it's oh so loyal fans wanted to see some offensive help acquired PRIOR to the July 31 deadline. This 2011 team has a chance to be something special but still needed an additional bat to make any sort of serious run at the Central division title. Seeing the lineup the Bucs trotted out last night, only a game out of first place, I feel obligated to question the true motivation of the men at the top over there in the Tax Payer funded offices on Federal Street.
But it isn't just those with control over the company checkbook that have shown reluctance to have the Pirates seen as a baseball team taken seriously by their peers. There are many pros out there with a myriad of excuses why this team should "stand pat" at the trading deadline. The cost is too high, we don't want a rental, we don't want to mortgage the future. Honestly, when I see that, all I read is this: WE DON'T WANT TO WIN. It's funny, those who run this blog and those who follow us and comment here are the ones whose loyalty to the Pirates is frequently called into question. But how can one seriously make those allegations against us when WE are the ones who want nothing more than to see the Pirates win.
These Pros who are calling to stand pat now say to do so because this team isn't actually a contender. Yet our loyalty has been questioned when we made the same points various times on this blog and in the SmizBlog comments section. These Pros who are calling to stand pat in 2011 say they want to do it because 2015 is the year we need to wait for. 2015 is the year that a bunch of kids who are now barely out of high school are PROJECTED to simultaneously arrive at the major league level at the same time that we miraculously managed to maintain the 2 current viable MLB bats we have, the one potential power source in the system, and a bunch of speedy slap hitters. 2015 is the year we are waiting for guys who have never played about Single A and in some cases Double A to show up in the majors and wreak havoc upon opposition.
By 2015, we could all be dead. By 2015, Jameson Taillon could be coming off Tommy John Surgery. Andrew McCutchen could be in a Yankees uniform. Pedro Alvarez could be 350 lbs. 2015 is a LONG way away; even longer for a fan base that has suffered being the laughing stock of the league for 18 going on 19 years. 2015 has just as much of a chance as being the year the Bucs turn it around as 2011 does/did. We have been planning for the future in Pittsburgh for so long, I have lost track of which 5 Year Plan we are currently following. We have been down so long, I am DESPERATE to see the Bucs pay $5 million for the rest of the season for a guy batting .225 because he would be an upgrade over our current options.
If you think long and hard about where the Pirates are today, it is the perfect situation for Nuthouse. He got his packed houses, the fans did their part! He may still get many more as the team flirts with respectability and fans are so downright desperate for something resembling winning baseball that they will still come out in droves, buying overpriced food and false hope by the gross. Now that he can say " See, we're not ready to contend" he doesn't have to spend any of his precious money. Opie can come out and say the demands were too high and we didn't want to mortgage the future, because everybody clearly seems to buy that excuse. He can trade Maholm or not pick up his option. In the offseason, let Diaz and Overpaid walk, then sign 2 more guys like them to make it seem like the team is trying, then field the 3rd lowest paid team in the league yet again.
It's the Pirates Cycle. We all know it too well and I have zero confidence that things will be any different in 2015. Between now and then, we will see the veterans coming up on arbitration or free agency traded away for Andy LaRoche and Andrew Lambo. I have no reason to believe otherwise because I have seen nothing from this organization that proves to me they have any interest in playing meaningful baseball at the major league level. They pat themselves on the backs when they draft guys they should be drafting and then have a circle jerk over putting the appropriate amount of money into the draft. They should be doing that; it's their jobs. They have the money to allot for the draft because they're not putting the money into the big league club, that's for sure.
This 2011 season has been the epitome of lightning in a bottle. The organization did nothing different than in years past. They picked up Correia off the scrap heap and he is performing above career levels, just like very other pitcher on the staff. The offense is absolutely awful and the main keys to it's "success" were Littlefield's guys. The FO said they needed to see a commitment from the fans, in terms of attendance, before they would open their padlocked wallet. Well, what better time than now to buy some goodwill with the fans and prove to them you are in it to win it? You have a team that was heading into this sold out weekend series in 1st place. You have attendance increased by 500,000 and sellout upon sellout on weekend games. For a team that came into this season looking to extend it's own record for futility, I would say the fans have taken an awfully big leap of faith. If your landlord told you he wants to raise your rent from $500/month to $1,000/month and in turn he may eventually improve your apartment to be worth $1,000/month, how many people would renew that lease?
The FO knew who the team was facing coming into this weekend. They knew where they were in the standings and they knew the history. BUT, they also knew the games were sold out whether they added a bat or not. Once again, the fans step up, the city steps up, the players step up. And once again,the FO kicks the fans square in the nuts.
And once again, I implore Bob Nutting: SELL THE F***ING TEAM.
This has got to be the most honest, intelligent, reasoned post ever about the Nutting Pirates.
ReplyDeleteYou bring out a valid point: --------- Why do we as "antis" get our fandom, intelligence and logic questioned/ripped to shreds, when we are the portion of the fanbase that wants the Pirates to succeed both NOW and in the FUTURE?
And I have stated for over 2 years now --- why wait til 2015?? Injuries, trades, Free Agency could all wreak havoc with the "kids".
It is like a parent saying to their kids ---- Gee guys, I will give you an allowance raise, and all kinds of XBox stuff in 2015, if you can get the highest grades in school every year. Oh by the way, we arent giving you the resources to achieve those high grades, and we wont allow you to do homework. Good Luck in 5 years!
Anyway, will be interesting to see the direction of the team in a week, and this offseason.
I pray for the best.
I sadly expect the worst.
Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteI see this 2015 thing thrown around a lot. I've never seen anyone say anything like that. I'd rather the Pirates be truly competitive for several years in a row than sell what few assets they have to chase this year's dragon.
ReplyDeleteroger et al, I think it is wrong for anyone who rips your fandom just because you want to see the team add at the deadline. There's a huge difference between that and Scooter who openly roots for the Pirates to lose just so the team gets sold.
This team is still in the asset accumulation phase. Rushing the plan at this point is foolish. The Indians are being smart about it - from Paul Hoynes, Indians beat writer for the Plain Dealer: "Hoynes notes that the Tribe's dealings are tempered by the fact that while they have a chance to win the AL Central, they probably don't have a realistic shot at the World Series so the team doesn't want to mortgage the future for just a token playoff berth."
The Pirates are in the same boat. Throw as much cash around as you want, I think they should, but this team is dangerously thin on elite or even everyday starter prospects and they should be held on to. If they can break the streak this year and bring back much of this team while making some noise in free agency they should continue to improve and REALLY be players in the NL for a few years to come. That's when the real fun begins.
Sorry, but I'm not interested in being the Chicago Cubs or Oakland As every year - making the first round and bowing out.
There isn't anyone who is against adding someone who can help the team at the right price. Pros want the team to win now and in the future. Antis want the same thing, but some want to go about in a different fashion. The differences between the two groups are actually pretty small except for the extremists on both sides. Those people are insane and should be ignored.
ReplyDeleteSome pros act as if the money is coming out of their own pockets. They protect prospects as if they were their own children. They think every decision made by NH is 100% correct.
Some antis think that every move made is wrong or has some hidden motive behind it to save BN money. They find conspiracy theories behind every corner and just want to spend BN's money at every turn.
Ignore both groups and recognize that the majority of pros and antis are very similar. The biggest difference is that the antis are a little angrier at the Pirates for sucking for so long.
Dog
@Dog,
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence is a very true. But I think that is also the reason that Anti's look at every Nutting move with skepticism and assume everything is predicated on spending the absolute minimum at every turn.
Great analysis Burress. What perplexes many over the years is the contradictions and double talk we have been fed over the years by this management team. There is plenty of reason for us to be skeptic. Sure, we all would like to see our team in the World Series; every baseball fan has that dream. But in reality I believe we would accept respectability. I’m tired of our team being the blunt of baseball jokes year after year. Now that we can actually shed that image we are considering standing pat? We are afraid to depart with the next Lambo or Millage (the list is endless) and worried about breaking up the “future dream team”.
ReplyDeleteThere is a buzz heard in diehard Bucco fans that has not been heard for more seasons than I’d care to count. We welcome the people who have decided to jump on the bandwagon. Sales of tickets and merchandise are at a high. Ride the tide PBC and show that you are serious. You can play this to your advantage without radically altering your “master plan” and in doing so show the fans we have a ball club that opposition will have to contend with. Think of the adage “you have to spend money to make money”. We hold hope that a deal or two can be made so fans still feel the excitement through the end of the season and it carries over to the future.
You guessed it correctly!
ReplyDeleteAll the Pro-Nutters (about 80% of which I truely suspect are FO douchebags paid to type crap) are circling the wagons (and probably their pivot man Kipper too) to protect the wallet of Nutting.
This makes me want PUKE!
The time is now, if ANYONE thinks we can sustain the pitching we seen this year for years to come...well lets juts xsay I have a bridge in brooklyn to sell!
A kipper disciple (FightingScot82 or something like that)whined on Smizblog that Anti's would still complain that the payroll was still to low if it was raised to $75 because it would still be $15 million less than the Reds and Brewers.
ReplyDeleteWould you guys complain as long as the money was spent on good trade acquisitions and free agents? I know I wouldn't considering that would be almost doubling the current payroll.
Some of those idiot pros on there complain about how Antis would react in their minds to made up scenarios. They just need someone to be against even if they make up the confrontation. Dudes need to get a life.
NAILED IT
ReplyDelete