U mad, bro?: Pirates fans sound off about big picture, fret about future
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The Pirates have won three of their last four, but that doesn’t seem to matter in this week’s “U mad, bro?” inbox.
Buccos fans are fretting about the future, bummed about the big picture and “on tilt” about ownership.
Get back to me when they’ve won 10 in a row and we’ll see if Pirates fans are feeling more optimistic.
Or they could just draft Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter No.1 overall on Sunday. Like they should.
That’d help.
Kurt sent an email agreeing with my stance that the Pirates would be wrong to pass on Leiter atop the MLB draft this weekend. In part, I want the Pirates to draft Leiter because he is a polished product that will be with the major league club quicker than some of the 18-year-old shortstops that are being discussed.
“The notion of embracing the future with regards to the Pirates—be it management or the hoodwinked—reminds me of a sign I have seen many times: ‘Free Beer Tomorrow.’
Just because they could draft another Newman/Kramer/Gonzalez/Tucker, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they would be a shortstop at the ML level.
Kind of like raising the white flag instead of the Jolly Roger. Leiter or bust.”
Kurt, if the Pirates did give out free beer, I bet they would call it “Pirate Pilsner.” And it would taste just like the product on the field for much of the past 28 years: flat, stale and skunked.
But, to your point, I’m sure yet another first-round middle infielder who’ll be in the majors four or five years from now will change all that.
Again. Allegedly. Sigh.
John sent an email about Pirates owner Bob Nutting.
“I believe Bob Nutting is being disingenuous to the city of Pittsburgh. He approaches his job as owner much like Silas Marner counting his stacks of money. Nutting’s only concern is the bottom line.
I understand it from a business perspective, but there is more to this than the business side… Nutting needs to get out of the business if he is unable to grasp this aspect of baseball.”
John, I may be out of my depth on this literary reference, but didn’t someone in that book end up stealing all of Silas’ gold? And didn’t that, in the end, open up Silas’ eyes and heart to inner redemption?
So all we need to do is find someone to steal all of Bob Nutting’s gold. Then, when he earns it back, his heart will be filled with joy and a desire to help others.
Does that mean Ben Cherington needs to reacquire Lonnie Chisenhall and Jon Niese?
Oh. Wait. Never mind. He’s still paying Gregory Polanco. Close enough.
Via email, Robert asked this question about the state of the Pirates.
“Do you think MLB should/will establish rules to prevent owners of teams similar to the Pirates to never purchase a team again???!!!”
Should they? Sure, Robert. Those rules would essentially be the mechanics behind a salary cap and a salary floor.
Will they? No. Because the MLB Players Association won’t allow that to happen. And, frankly, some of the big-market teams feel the same way.
Joe liked my column about how the Pirates need to do a better job of honoring the present while still keeping an eye on the future.
“Many in the media enable the small market mentality by telling us what we know is inherently wrong… In Pittsburgh, ownership is applauded and encouraged into thinking it is a good idea to trade a Reynolds, Frazier, Moran, or a Hayes. And, to select something less than the best in the draft, because it will all make the Pirates competitive in ______ years. It’s all BS. You hit the nail on the head.”
Thanks, Joe. Agreed. Too often in MLB markets such as Pittsburgh, we act like prospect rankings and the perception of farm systems matter on the big league level.
They don’t. If they did, AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan would be airing the games in Greensboro and Altoona.
What does matter is when that talent makes it to the major leagues. Then you trade those players away long before their 30th birthdays after they make their first All-Star team so you can just recycle the process and perpetually boast about the future and sell hope.
Selling hope is easy. Hope is immune from the ebbs and flows of the marketplace. Selling winning is hard. Because you actually have to win first.
Finally, this tweet from 93.7 The Fan’s Josh Rowntree wasn’t sent to me directly, but it couldn’t be ignored.
There is disappointment and then there is *one piece of the puzzle is missing* disappointment pic.twitter.com/pPNUKhpilm
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) July 7, 2021
Josh, when it comes to the “Pirates” finding their “booty,” it’s usually more than just one piece of the puzzle that’s missing, isn’t it?