After 19 years of embarrassment, it's not much of a reach to imagine Pirates fans are desperate for hope. The readers and writers of this blog are certainly no exception. We all HOPE the Pirates eventually turn it around and become a respectable organization that miraculously has a winning season. A winning season is one that ends with a team having won more games than it lost. I felt the need to elaborate as it has been SO LONG since the Pirates have won more games than they lost over an entire season. I guess I really didn't need to explain that, since the other teams in town manage to have such an occurrence on a fairly consistent basis.
With the recent injury to newly acquired AJ Burnett, many desperate fans have begun to speculate that luck is a driving force behind the Pirates misfortunes. You know, the same AJ Burnett who has had back to back seasons with a 5+ ERA, is 35 years old, and has had Tommy John Surgery. Now, nobody is attributing the entire collapse of the organization to bad luck. That would be foolish. But when a team has been down so long, it is hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
The amazing thing is, there are many people who do see that light and think it is not that far away. I have written here before about my astonishment at the number of people who think WE are crazy for thinking a team that hasn't had a winning season in 19 going on 20 seasons is not run properly. There have a been a myriad of excuses to support the current FO team and their actions. Blaming Littlfield and McClatchy is reasonable; they were certainly not making the team any better. Blaming luck because of an injury to a washed up pitcher that probably would have been relegated to the bullpen by September seems ludicrous to me.
Maybe it is my overall bitterness to the 19, going on 20, straight seasons of losing baseball. I can't imagine why.... After all, we are lucky to just have a team. The previous GM sucked. The previous "principal owner" sucked. The current group has obviously done a much better job, judging by losing 390 games the last 4 seasons. That is improvement to some people, I guess.
Maybe I am clearly an idiot for thinking that a team who hasn't won more games than they lost for 19, going on 20, straight seasons is not worthy of praise.
This past NFL season, a handful of struggling teams were "vying" for the top spot in the 2012 draft ( sound familiar?). The coveted prospect they so desperately wanted to acquire is Andrew Luck, the outstanding Stanford quarterback who most believe will be an NFL superstar. Ultimately, the Indianapolis Colts won the "Suck For Luck" Sweepstakes by finishing with the worst record and securing the top spot in the NFL Draft, almost certain to be used on Luck. However, Luck is far from a sure thing.
For 11 straight years ( not including having the #8 pick in 2012), the Bucs have had a Top 11 pick with two #1's, two #2's, and three #4's. They have had top 20 pick every year since 1994. Despite having such high picks over the years, the Bucs have little to show for it, nothing to show if you are looking for a winning season. The Pirates haven't had one of those in 19, going on 20, seasons.
Recently, this was blamed partially on luck as in many years, the "once in a lifetime player" was JUST out of reach for the Bucs. That is impressive, considering they have had 6 top 5 picks in a row. With the #1 pick in 2002, the Bucs took Brian Bullington, who never lived up to the hype of being a #3 starter. They chose him over BJ Upton, Prince Fielder, Zach Greinke, Cole Hamels, Jeff Francoeur, and others. I don't know if you can chalk that up to bad luck.
But that was with a different "principal owner" and GM. Things have changed since then, despite not having the W/L record to prove it. After all, the Pirates haven't had more wins than losses for 19, going on 20, straight losing seasons. Why should the last 4 matter? In the end, it is all just a matter of luck.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Frank the Tank
Where to begin? Saying it has been a long time would be a gross understatement. Plenty has transpired since our last post, both in the world of Pirates baseball and in our personal lives. I found it of little use to post information of the free agent signings this offseason as they were not much of a splash nor an aberration from what we've come to expect from this ballclub. I had a good chuckle over the Bucs taking GI Jones to arbitration over $225K and have little insight on the acquisition of over the hill AJ Burnett.
But I could not ignore the latest PR debacle that has fallen upon the PBC:
Team President Frank Coonelly Arrested for DUI.
Pardon the one sentence paragraph; I swear I'm not trying to ripoff Ron Cook.
Not only was Frank Coonelly arrested for a DUI, his citations also included reckless driving, driving with a revoked or suspended license, and driving the wrong way. This account of activities actually leaves us with more questions than answers. But having ZERO journalistic ability, let alone credentials, unanswered questions is the best I can do right now.
On to the questions. First off, what is the substance behind the "driving with a suspended or revoked license" charge and why was it thrown out? DK's original story on the matter didn't even mention this charge, which I would consider to be an egregious oversight. Even if the charge was dropped, why was it submitted in the first place? Was this not FC's first DUI? Without any further information on the matter, we can only jump to conclusions. For all we know, he may have forgotten to renew his license and it was expired. On the other hand, it;'s possible this wasn't Frank the Tank's first Wrong Way Rodeo on the 279 off ramp.
My next question is another that, will also likely remained unanswered for some time: How the hell did this story go two months without seeing the light of day? I have taken into consideration the fact that the Pirates have secretly extended employees in the past but I also know that there is thing called police blotter. There a number of local outlets that report every arrest made by PD's in the area, especially DUI's. But this story never made print. Did the Pirates PR department squash it or was the Ross PD lax in their reporting?
In my opinion, those are two questions that need answered in order for the fans and public to understand the scope of events. If this was some Joe Lawyer partner of a local law firm, most people wouldn't give a hoot. If it was Stephen Zappala, I would imagine there would be a public outcry for his resignation. I venture to say the Coonelly's status falls somewhere in the middle. While he is not the DA that we trust to put dangerous criminals behind bars to protect us from them, Coonelly is a highly visible public figure working in an office in a ballpark funded by public money. The success of his employer is highly predicated on public goodwill; not only from the players on the field but also the individuals who decide who those players will be and sign their paychecks.
In all honesty, Frank Coonelly seems like a nice guy. But I don't trust him as far I could throw him and considering I'm all of 5'11'' 185 lbs and he's got a good 3 inches and 20+ pounds on me, that wouldn't be a lengthy toss (although still better than the one Barry Lamarr Bonds made on the Day the Franchise Died). FC has never built up any amount of goodwill among the fans of our dreaded ballclub due to his asinine proclamations and outright lies. That is how he earned his original nickname on the Mutiny, one we haven't backed down from even though it is slander to publicly call someone a liar if they hadn't actually lied and a.) the Pirates are not above bullying an outfit like ours and b.) we cannot afford to be sued. Given those facts and circumstances, we still feel safe calling him the Lying Liar but our glossary is certainly going to be adding a new alternative nickname.
Considering those same vital statistics mentioned above, Frank the Tank was not merely driving buzzed. A .16 BAC is not merely a few cocktails or a couple beers over a couple hours. For a guy his size, that's a solid 9-10 drinks, according to this chart: http://www.lcbapps.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/edu/0.8PercentUPDATE.ASP. He had to be bombed when they pulled him over and he is damn lucky that he did not hurt himself or anybody else.
While the suspended license and the curious delay of the story's release are the two biggest questions right now, I also wonder how DK got this information. I believe DK to be the best sportswriter in Pittsburgh by a long shot, but I do feel that since his transition to the Trib, he has been far too generous to the Pirates. I have yet to read today's column in it's entirety, but it appears that he is a times coming to Coonelly's defense and more or less making excuses for him. In other instances, he is scathing in his criticism of FC's choices and the team's mishanlding of the situation.
But DK's initial report adds another question to the pile, along with whether FC's job should be safe. This is a question that has existed long before this DUI fiasco: Why does the local media seemingly give the Pirates a free pass?
But I could not ignore the latest PR debacle that has fallen upon the PBC:
Team President Frank Coonelly Arrested for DUI.
Pardon the one sentence paragraph; I swear I'm not trying to ripoff Ron Cook.
Not only was Frank Coonelly arrested for a DUI, his citations also included reckless driving, driving with a revoked or suspended license, and driving the wrong way. This account of activities actually leaves us with more questions than answers. But having ZERO journalistic ability, let alone credentials, unanswered questions is the best I can do right now.
On to the questions. First off, what is the substance behind the "driving with a suspended or revoked license" charge and why was it thrown out? DK's original story on the matter didn't even mention this charge, which I would consider to be an egregious oversight. Even if the charge was dropped, why was it submitted in the first place? Was this not FC's first DUI? Without any further information on the matter, we can only jump to conclusions. For all we know, he may have forgotten to renew his license and it was expired. On the other hand, it;'s possible this wasn't Frank the Tank's first Wrong Way Rodeo on the 279 off ramp.
My next question is another that, will also likely remained unanswered for some time: How the hell did this story go two months without seeing the light of day? I have taken into consideration the fact that the Pirates have secretly extended employees in the past but I also know that there is thing called police blotter. There a number of local outlets that report every arrest made by PD's in the area, especially DUI's. But this story never made print. Did the Pirates PR department squash it or was the Ross PD lax in their reporting?
In my opinion, those are two questions that need answered in order for the fans and public to understand the scope of events. If this was some Joe Lawyer partner of a local law firm, most people wouldn't give a hoot. If it was Stephen Zappala, I would imagine there would be a public outcry for his resignation. I venture to say the Coonelly's status falls somewhere in the middle. While he is not the DA that we trust to put dangerous criminals behind bars to protect us from them, Coonelly is a highly visible public figure working in an office in a ballpark funded by public money. The success of his employer is highly predicated on public goodwill; not only from the players on the field but also the individuals who decide who those players will be and sign their paychecks.
In all honesty, Frank Coonelly seems like a nice guy. But I don't trust him as far I could throw him and considering I'm all of 5'11'' 185 lbs and he's got a good 3 inches and 20+ pounds on me, that wouldn't be a lengthy toss (although still better than the one Barry Lamarr Bonds made on the Day the Franchise Died). FC has never built up any amount of goodwill among the fans of our dreaded ballclub due to his asinine proclamations and outright lies. That is how he earned his original nickname on the Mutiny, one we haven't backed down from even though it is slander to publicly call someone a liar if they hadn't actually lied and a.) the Pirates are not above bullying an outfit like ours and b.) we cannot afford to be sued. Given those facts and circumstances, we still feel safe calling him the Lying Liar but our glossary is certainly going to be adding a new alternative nickname.
Considering those same vital statistics mentioned above, Frank the Tank was not merely driving buzzed. A .16 BAC is not merely a few cocktails or a couple beers over a couple hours. For a guy his size, that's a solid 9-10 drinks, according to this chart: http://www.lcbapps.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/edu/0.8PercentUPDATE.ASP. He had to be bombed when they pulled him over and he is damn lucky that he did not hurt himself or anybody else.
While the suspended license and the curious delay of the story's release are the two biggest questions right now, I also wonder how DK got this information. I believe DK to be the best sportswriter in Pittsburgh by a long shot, but I do feel that since his transition to the Trib, he has been far too generous to the Pirates. I have yet to read today's column in it's entirety, but it appears that he is a times coming to Coonelly's defense and more or less making excuses for him. In other instances, he is scathing in his criticism of FC's choices and the team's mishanlding of the situation.
But DK's initial report adds another question to the pile, along with whether FC's job should be safe. This is a question that has existed long before this DUI fiasco: Why does the local media seemingly give the Pirates a free pass?
Friday, November 4, 2011
Come Together
Since the inception of this blog, our intention has been to have a place for those openly dissatisfied with Pirates ownership to come together (see what I did there?) to voice our displeasure. As the season wore on and the Pirates began to play at their usually decrepit pace, posts became increasingly redundant and basically hard to write. How much can you write about how bad a team stinks? Sure, the PG and Trib's beat writers do it, but that is because they are getting paid for it.
But now, nearly 2 months since our last post, an earthquake is shaking up the foundation of the Buccos fan base. Many fans, even those who were decidedly in the middle, have begun to suggest an all-out boycott in order to send a message to the Nutting Regime. With the league-forced sale of the Dodgers, in some part due to fan's vociferous disdain for the ownership group, Pirates fans are starting to wonder aloud if the same results could be had in Pittsburgh. I'd be lying if I said that I truly believed a full-on boycott would hurt the Nuttings in such a fashion that they would consider selling their cash cow. But that doesn't mean I don't believe the passionate fans who want to see change in ownership should stand by idly.
There is little doubt that profit comes before winning for the Nuttings. They are the team's owners and they have a right to turn a profit. But that also doesn't mean the fans have to contribute to further lining their already deep pockets. While same may argue their pockets aren't deep enough to fund a competitive team, my rebuttal would be to simply the sell the team if you can't afford to win. Despite the fact that the Nuttings are using a Taxpayer funded stadium to churn out cash, the fans can't merely show up and force them to sell the team. Pretty much the only way this happens is if the team is no longer profitable. That is one aspects the fans do control and if people stay away from the ballpark, there is nobody to blame but those at the top.
We need to organize. A simple passive boycott will not be enough, though. In order to convey our message, we will need to have a voice and a presence. We will need that voice to be heard, that presence to be seen. We need to be there at PirateFest, in the public eye. We need to be there at opening day, loud and proud. We need to get an organized and unified message that is concise and crystal clear: No more waiting on five year plans. No more watching other cities, with comparable population bases, have higher payrolls and win world titles (St. Louis) and NO MORE NUTTING BULLSHIT about building for the future!!!
The Nuttings have had plenty of time to get their guys in place. And yet they seem more interested in turning a profit than winning baseball games. When a player, no matter the skill level, is due for a salary increase as he reaches his free agent years, that player is dumped, regardless of what kind of replacement is ready to step in. It is a cycle that continues to repeat itself, with well heralded power hitters like Aramis Ramirez. Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, and lesser lights (but capable major league players) like Nate McLouth, Matt Capps, Paul Maholm. If that money saved would be spent on bringing in better players, we would have no complaint. Instead, the labor cost of the major league operation are kept artificially low, and the revenue keeps streaming in as fans are sold on a circus like distraction of Fireworks, Prospects, Rock Bands, Baseball Nostalgia, Gimmicks, and hope for a future that is always dawning on the horizon, but never seems to get here.
There are a few choices as proud Pirate fans. You can continue to go to games, and hope against hope the Nuttings catch lightning in a bottle one year, the entire (always underpaid) roster over performs, and success magically comes about for a few fleeting moments before the economic realities of the team’s situation wash it away once again, much like in 2011. You can lose your interest in baseball all together, and exclusively follow the many other well run, winning organization that our city is blessed to have. I have a feeling many fans have taken this route.
But there are those of us who are both still passionate about the Pirates, and utterly dissatisfied and disgusted with the way the team has been run for the past two decades, the majority of which has been under Nutting control, despite their outright lies about how long they have owned the club. Kevin McClatchy was always their puppet since the late 90s, just like President Frank Coonelly is now. The time has come for us to not only not go to the games, in silent protest, but to loudly show up at the gates, but not enter, but instead besmirch and embarrass the misers sitting atop their piles of gold in their stately palace of baseball.
Pirates Nation Rise UP!!! You have nothing to lose but more baseball seasons, 19 and counting.
Any comments, suggestions, solutions, etc can be sent to mutinyontheallegheny@gmail.com
But now, nearly 2 months since our last post, an earthquake is shaking up the foundation of the Buccos fan base. Many fans, even those who were decidedly in the middle, have begun to suggest an all-out boycott in order to send a message to the Nutting Regime. With the league-forced sale of the Dodgers, in some part due to fan's vociferous disdain for the ownership group, Pirates fans are starting to wonder aloud if the same results could be had in Pittsburgh. I'd be lying if I said that I truly believed a full-on boycott would hurt the Nuttings in such a fashion that they would consider selling their cash cow. But that doesn't mean I don't believe the passionate fans who want to see change in ownership should stand by idly.
There is little doubt that profit comes before winning for the Nuttings. They are the team's owners and they have a right to turn a profit. But that also doesn't mean the fans have to contribute to further lining their already deep pockets. While same may argue their pockets aren't deep enough to fund a competitive team, my rebuttal would be to simply the sell the team if you can't afford to win. Despite the fact that the Nuttings are using a Taxpayer funded stadium to churn out cash, the fans can't merely show up and force them to sell the team. Pretty much the only way this happens is if the team is no longer profitable. That is one aspects the fans do control and if people stay away from the ballpark, there is nobody to blame but those at the top.
We need to organize. A simple passive boycott will not be enough, though. In order to convey our message, we will need to have a voice and a presence. We will need that voice to be heard, that presence to be seen. We need to be there at PirateFest, in the public eye. We need to be there at opening day, loud and proud. We need to get an organized and unified message that is concise and crystal clear: No more waiting on five year plans. No more watching other cities, with comparable population bases, have higher payrolls and win world titles (St. Louis) and NO MORE NUTTING BULLSHIT about building for the future!!!
The Nuttings have had plenty of time to get their guys in place. And yet they seem more interested in turning a profit than winning baseball games. When a player, no matter the skill level, is due for a salary increase as he reaches his free agent years, that player is dumped, regardless of what kind of replacement is ready to step in. It is a cycle that continues to repeat itself, with well heralded power hitters like Aramis Ramirez. Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, and lesser lights (but capable major league players) like Nate McLouth, Matt Capps, Paul Maholm. If that money saved would be spent on bringing in better players, we would have no complaint. Instead, the labor cost of the major league operation are kept artificially low, and the revenue keeps streaming in as fans are sold on a circus like distraction of Fireworks, Prospects, Rock Bands, Baseball Nostalgia, Gimmicks, and hope for a future that is always dawning on the horizon, but never seems to get here.
There are a few choices as proud Pirate fans. You can continue to go to games, and hope against hope the Nuttings catch lightning in a bottle one year, the entire (always underpaid) roster over performs, and success magically comes about for a few fleeting moments before the economic realities of the team’s situation wash it away once again, much like in 2011. You can lose your interest in baseball all together, and exclusively follow the many other well run, winning organization that our city is blessed to have. I have a feeling many fans have taken this route.
But there are those of us who are both still passionate about the Pirates, and utterly dissatisfied and disgusted with the way the team has been run for the past two decades, the majority of which has been under Nutting control, despite their outright lies about how long they have owned the club. Kevin McClatchy was always their puppet since the late 90s, just like President Frank Coonelly is now. The time has come for us to not only not go to the games, in silent protest, but to loudly show up at the gates, but not enter, but instead besmirch and embarrass the misers sitting atop their piles of gold in their stately palace of baseball.
Pirates Nation Rise UP!!! You have nothing to lose but more baseball seasons, 19 and counting.
Any comments, suggestions, solutions, etc can be sent to mutinyontheallegheny@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
(NO) Moneyball
Well folks, there is no use sitting here and going over the last week of Pirates baseball. While the season has been unofficially over for about a month or so, it's now turned into complete I don't care mode. Luckily, the team has adopted the same attitude; they just get paid a hell of a lot more to suck than I do. As an homage to the Nutting Style of baseball, I am going to take the focus off of the current product at hand and discuss a few things that are mildly related.
I have seen the trailers for the upcoming film Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, Jonah Hill as 'Peter Brand' (based on former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta), and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Pittsburgher and fellow Shaler Alumni Art Howe. This trailer made me wonder about a few things. #1.) In Hollywood, where appearance seems to mean everything, why did they cast 2 fat guys to play skinny guys? and #2.) How long until somebody writes a book and/or makes a movie about the Pirates of the last 19 seasons, perhaps entitled "No-Moneyball"?. It could be out there already, but I was too lazy to take 10 seconds to do a Google search.
Normally, sports books and movies go one of four ways. The first is chronicling the success of a particular player or franchise with examples such as the films 'Miracle' or 'Pride of the Yankees'. The second is covering scandals such as the movie ' Eight Men Out' or the novel ' The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven'. Third is the screwball comedy we've seen with 'Major League' and 'Bull Durham'. Number four is the kids genre with epics like 'The Sandlot', 'Little Big League' and 'Rookie of the Year' among many,many, many, many, many,many others.
In this blogger's opinion, a book and/or movie about the last 2 decades of Pirates baseball could encompass the first three without a doubt. While on the surface it would appear that this team's 19 straight losing records is not a marker of success in any fashion, you have to face the facts at some point and admit just how impressive it is to go that long without a winning season. I mean, you almost have to try to suck that bad. For the scandal part, much has recently been made about the true intentions of the ownership and management group's intentions for this ballclub. Using a tax payer funded venue to churn out profit year after year while taking no personal risk has drawn the ire of many Pirates fan who are sick of losing and the Nutting's miserly ways. Interestingly enough, the same reason the story could be classified under the first category is also the same it would fall under #3, the screwball comedy: 19 straight losing seasons. That's laughable in and of itself.
Had 2011 gone differently for the Bucs, had they sustained that over-their-head pace of play, a novel would probably be in the works as we speak. The true underdog story of a once proud franchise looking to recapture the hearts of it's fans and put itself back on a national stage. Everybody loves those kinds of underdog stories where the little guy triumphs over it's competition against all odds. Nobody likes a loser, especially not 19 in row. Look at Major League; they sucked for about 10 minutes before they were deadset in a pennant race with the Yankees. Therefore, the story of the Pirates woes heads back into development hell with Duke Nukem Forever and Chinese Democracy.
Wait, those have both been released? Really? Next you're going to tell me that Ghostbusters III is going to be green lit before the Bucs have a winning season............
Maybe it is time to start chronicling the bad years. After all, those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it, right?
I have seen the trailers for the upcoming film Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, Jonah Hill as 'Peter Brand' (based on former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta), and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Pittsburgher and fellow Shaler Alumni Art Howe. This trailer made me wonder about a few things. #1.) In Hollywood, where appearance seems to mean everything, why did they cast 2 fat guys to play skinny guys? and #2.) How long until somebody writes a book and/or makes a movie about the Pirates of the last 19 seasons, perhaps entitled "No-Moneyball"?. It could be out there already, but I was too lazy to take 10 seconds to do a Google search.
Normally, sports books and movies go one of four ways. The first is chronicling the success of a particular player or franchise with examples such as the films 'Miracle' or 'Pride of the Yankees'. The second is covering scandals such as the movie ' Eight Men Out' or the novel ' The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven'. Third is the screwball comedy we've seen with 'Major League' and 'Bull Durham'. Number four is the kids genre with epics like 'The Sandlot', 'Little Big League' and 'Rookie of the Year' among many,many, many, many, many,many others.
In this blogger's opinion, a book and/or movie about the last 2 decades of Pirates baseball could encompass the first three without a doubt. While on the surface it would appear that this team's 19 straight losing records is not a marker of success in any fashion, you have to face the facts at some point and admit just how impressive it is to go that long without a winning season. I mean, you almost have to try to suck that bad. For the scandal part, much has recently been made about the true intentions of the ownership and management group's intentions for this ballclub. Using a tax payer funded venue to churn out profit year after year while taking no personal risk has drawn the ire of many Pirates fan who are sick of losing and the Nutting's miserly ways. Interestingly enough, the same reason the story could be classified under the first category is also the same it would fall under #3, the screwball comedy: 19 straight losing seasons. That's laughable in and of itself.
Had 2011 gone differently for the Bucs, had they sustained that over-their-head pace of play, a novel would probably be in the works as we speak. The true underdog story of a once proud franchise looking to recapture the hearts of it's fans and put itself back on a national stage. Everybody loves those kinds of underdog stories where the little guy triumphs over it's competition against all odds. Nobody likes a loser, especially not 19 in row. Look at Major League; they sucked for about 10 minutes before they were deadset in a pennant race with the Yankees. Therefore, the story of the Pirates woes heads back into development hell with Duke Nukem Forever and Chinese Democracy.
Wait, those have both been released? Really? Next you're going to tell me that Ghostbusters III is going to be green lit before the Bucs have a winning season............
Maybe it is time to start chronicling the bad years. After all, those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it, right?
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
19 years and counting
Following Wednesday's 3-2 loss to St. Louis, the Pirates dropped their 82nd game this season.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, Pittsburgh will finish below .500 for the 19th consecutive year.
In the aforementioned stretch of bad baseball, the Buccos' closest 79 wins in 1997 and 78 in 1999.
Maybe it's because that was the first year I started paying close attention to baseball, it's caused me to be more cynical as each year passes, but I really believe the 1999 team had the best chance of breaking the mark, even though the '97 squad had 0ne more win.
In '99, Jason Kendall missed more than half the season, Brian Giles and Ed Sprague went down for part of the season, but they still managed to put it together. They had some decent power, strong pitching and I really think they could've done it had Kendall not went down.
I know, coulda, woulda, shoulda, but that was a decent team. I still remember Warren Morris' strong rookie campaign. He sure fell off the face of the Earth. Plus, Todd Richie's 15 wins, Kris Benson before Anna, or maybe after, but what a crazy lady, and I use that term loosley, and Frankie Cordova.
Al Martin wasn't bad, but they just couldn't quite put it together. That team wasn't the best fielding club, either.
I was optimistic after that, but the team went from bad to worse. They lost 100 games the year PNC Park opened, has some decent clubs in 2004 and 2005, hosted an All-Star game in 2006 and had some individual honors like Nate McClouth winning a gold glove, a batting champion in Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay winning the rookie of the year award.
Even with all that, Pittsburgh's hasn't seen winning baseball since '92.
They have improved this year, but I don't think it will matter. You have to realize that pre-July 28, the pitching was out of its mind, but the rest of the components weren't there.
I don't think the pitchers will perform like that next year. They are trying to keep the core guys, but outside Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and maybe Jose Tabata, I don't think it's good enough.
I say it will be a long time before we see winning baseball in Pittsburgh. I may be drawing social security by then.
Eh, maybe not.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, Pittsburgh will finish below .500 for the 19th consecutive year.
In the aforementioned stretch of bad baseball, the Buccos' closest 79 wins in 1997 and 78 in 1999.
Maybe it's because that was the first year I started paying close attention to baseball, it's caused me to be more cynical as each year passes, but I really believe the 1999 team had the best chance of breaking the mark, even though the '97 squad had 0ne more win.
In '99, Jason Kendall missed more than half the season, Brian Giles and Ed Sprague went down for part of the season, but they still managed to put it together. They had some decent power, strong pitching and I really think they could've done it had Kendall not went down.
I know, coulda, woulda, shoulda, but that was a decent team. I still remember Warren Morris' strong rookie campaign. He sure fell off the face of the Earth. Plus, Todd Richie's 15 wins, Kris Benson before Anna, or maybe after, but what a crazy lady, and I use that term loosley, and Frankie Cordova.
Al Martin wasn't bad, but they just couldn't quite put it together. That team wasn't the best fielding club, either.
I was optimistic after that, but the team went from bad to worse. They lost 100 games the year PNC Park opened, has some decent clubs in 2004 and 2005, hosted an All-Star game in 2006 and had some individual honors like Nate McClouth winning a gold glove, a batting champion in Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay winning the rookie of the year award.
Even with all that, Pittsburgh's hasn't seen winning baseball since '92.
They have improved this year, but I don't think it will matter. You have to realize that pre-July 28, the pitching was out of its mind, but the rest of the components weren't there.
I don't think the pitchers will perform like that next year. They are trying to keep the core guys, but outside Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and maybe Jose Tabata, I don't think it's good enough.
I say it will be a long time before we see winning baseball in Pittsburgh. I may be drawing social security by then.
Eh, maybe not.
On The Verge
After last night's disappointing loss (aren't they all?), the Bucs now stand on the doorstep of extending their own record for putrid performance. With 81 losses heading into today's game with the Cards, the Bucs are looking to make it 19 straight and if their second half performance is any indication, there is no end in sight.
The Bucs appeared poised to take another one from the Cards last evening, but another unbelievably bad call negated a run that would have sent the Bucs into the 9th with a lead. However, as is always the case when playing LaRussa and his Cards, the ump completely blew the call at 3rd and gave the Cards a huge break.
On the play in question, Derrek Lee hit a fly ball to right field and upon the ball hitting Berkman's mitt, Ciriaco took off from third base. After he crossed the plate, the Cardinals appealed to third base, probably because the umpire told them to, and they were awarded an out and the run was negated. Extensive replays CLEARLY showed Ciriaco left on time, but unfortunately the call was unable to be overruled because MLB replay only applies to plays that don't completely screw the Pirates.
After the game, LaRussa was about to address the call but passed out drunk behind his desk because he thought it was his Cadillac.
The Bucs appeared poised to take another one from the Cards last evening, but another unbelievably bad call negated a run that would have sent the Bucs into the 9th with a lead. However, as is always the case when playing LaRussa and his Cards, the ump completely blew the call at 3rd and gave the Cards a huge break.
On the play in question, Derrek Lee hit a fly ball to right field and upon the ball hitting Berkman's mitt, Ciriaco took off from third base. After he crossed the plate, the Cardinals appealed to third base, probably because the umpire told them to, and they were awarded an out and the run was negated. Extensive replays CLEARLY showed Ciriaco left on time, but unfortunately the call was unable to be overruled because MLB replay only applies to plays that don't completely screw the Pirates.
After the game, LaRussa was about to address the call but passed out drunk behind his desk because he thought it was his Cadillac.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Three More Years of Opie
The Buccos have officially announced what many of us already deemed to be a foregone conclusion: Opie, aka Bad Deal Neal, has been extended. Those Commissioner's Trophies behind Neal are a Mirage.
Huntington's tenure has been at best average and at worst extremely disappointing. He brought in Jose Tabata and Jeff Karstens ( along with The Guy Who Cried and Ross Awfuldorhf) in exchange for oft injured Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, who played the most unimportant position in baseball. BTW, Prince Fielder was 2 for 9 career against Marte with 2 singles and 3 Ks; Ryan Howard 0 for 3 with 3 Ks. Lefty specialists are overrated my @$$,.
In that same summer, Opie also dealt Jason Bay to the Red Sox in a deal that saw the Sox get Bay, the Dodgers get Manny Ramirez, and the Bucs get Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss. I don't need to rehash how that one worked out, but let's just agree the Bucs were not the winners in that deal. These are 2 of his more notable deals and they certainly show both sides of the spectrum.
As far as free agency goes, there isn't a whole lot write home about. Overbay and Diaz were the most recent disasters, with neither doing anything to really help the young ball club along. Correia started out looking like a real find but shrunk back down to his career levels of mediocrity. GI Jones is similar, sometimes looking like a diamond in the rough and others looking like the guy we got off the Twins scrap heap. There is also the Dana Eveland years of control signing. And Hayden Penn. Letting Matt Capps walk and getting ZERO in return. And so on and so forth.
In terms of the draft, Neal has gotten high marks all across the boards for his picks and signings. However, the tangible results range from mixed to TBD. Alvarez was the Bucs #1 pick in 2008, Opie's first draft, and was widely expected to be the savior of the franchise. While he had a strong September last year, it took a while to get acclimated and any progress he made appears to have been lost since the end of the last season. 2011 has been nothing short of awful for Kdro, not even accounting for injuries.
In the 2009 Draft, the Bucs went back to their old ways and took singable BC catcher Tony Sanchez 4th overall despite the fact that most believed Sanchez to be the 29th best player available. Sanchez has been a disappointment in the minors and has also faced a myriad of injuries. The Bucs were able to use some of their savings from Sanchez to draft and sign Zack Von Rosenberg, who is 5-9 with a 5.73 ERA for the WV Power Single A club. However, he is still young, though, about 2 weeks shy of 21 and could prove to be a solid pitcher down the road.
In 2010, the Bucs had a well received draft by DOING WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO and picking Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, 2 guys with 4 last names. Taillon is a few months shy of 20 and 2-3 with a 3.98 ERA at Single A, showing a good bit of upside. Allie, who turned 20 in March, is struggling at Low A State College with a 6.98 ERA and an 0-2 record.
In the most recent draft, the Bucs drafted Gerrrrrritttttt Cole from UCLA and Josh Bell, a HS 3rd Baseman haled by many as the best offensive player in the draft. Despite speculation that Bell was 100% set on signing with the Texas Longhorns, the Bucs hammered out a deal to bring him on board. If these guys do anything close to living up to their hype, the Bucs will have 2 legitimate studs in positions of great need.
So there you have the very brief Cliff's Note version of Huntington's career in Pittsburgh so far, glossing over FAR more moves than I covered. My overall grade for Opie thus far would be a very generous INCOMPLETE. He was named GM in September 2007 and that team finished 68-94, a .420 winning percentage. Since the takeover, the Bucs Record is 252-379, a .399 winning percentage. An old adage states "it's going to get worse before it gets better"; but how much worse can it get?
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