Mid February hasn't been the landing zone of sports doldrums in Western PA this year. The Pens are continuing to write a remarkable story, the Steelers have kept our interests with their upcoming draft and free agency strategies, the Pitt hoops teams have us talking (although more profanely these days), then there's the Terrelle Pryor lottery, and wait,...isn't there another team? Oh yeah, the guys down in Bradenton. The Post-Gazette ran a small article yesterday about this marathon pep talk/intervention that the collective brain trust bestowed upon the 65 man roster. For those that really have no desire to click on the link, I welcome the opportunity to translate it for you...
TRANSLATION OF THE PIRATE FRONT OFFICE PEP TALK: ...Guys, the Pittsburgh Pirates are a professional sports organization with legacy dating back well over 100 years. This team has a longstanding tradition of excellence, with championship banners hanging from our rafters, and granite busts adorning the halls of Cooperstown. You, however, are part of the fifteen years of afterbirth that has eroded the great name of this franchise, and transformed this once proud dynasty into the laughing stock that it is today...
FURTHER TRANSLATION (More simplified):...Guys, the Pirates are like that movie about the Titanic. You guys are like that part after they hit the ice berg...
Truly words of inspiration. To continue Mayor McNutting's re-education program, he trotted out the ageless Steve Blass to give yet another motivational speech. For those of you unfamiliar with Blass, he's basically the spokesman for careers that sailed away on the Good Ship Ty-D Bol. Translation: guys, if you keep screwing up, you can wind up with a short lived career, best known for underachievement and regret, just like me. Exactly the message that I would be sending to my troops.
To culminate the mental cruelty, the owners decorated Pirate City's hallowed halls with posters, banners, and memorabilia from the 'glory years'. (sadly, the glory years are now thought of as anything prior to the last 15 seasons of shame). All this, just days after the Bucs inked Byung-Hyun Kim, another 30's something reliever with an E.R.A. hovering around 6 and a stint of stardom well into his rear view mirror. Couple this deal with the blockbuster signing of has-been Doug Mientkiewicz , and you now see that the new strategy is surrounding our young stars with players who can still remember what it's like to win. Some people refer to this sort of thing as a self fulfilling prophesy...
The spring training complex proudly displays this picture of the Bucs' last winning team
5 comments:
I love baseball so much it hurts me to be a pirate fan. I'm surprised they didn't offer these guys huge contracts. Trade everyone, start from scratch. What's the difference between 50 and 60 wins?
the pitching is above average. it's actually quite a feet to surround such a promising young staff with players bad enough to lose 90 games a year.
They lost me when they passed on that catcher, (Weiters?) for a relief pitcher who wasn't even dominant in college.
I refuse to go to games until they try to put a competitive team on the field. At least draft the best players available.
anyone who wants to play ball, google Pittsburgh NABA, 18+ league, all skill levels welcome
It's better if you don't get all worked up into a frenzy. I've done this the past 3 seasons and it has gotten me nowhere. However, I do remain optimistic that the new front office will have some cojones and be agressive, and signing that Korean reliever is not a good first indicator.
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid dumbass! New front office..."meet the new boss...same as the old boss."
Call me fair-weather, but I do not plan on watching Pirate baseball until they are 500+ in the second half of a season. It is insane to keep thinking the young pitching talent will coalesce, the stars will align, and Doug Mientkiewicz will be the sparkplug to rally this team. I mean, let’s get real. This team sucks, the ownership is content to take the luxury tax from the Yankees and pocket it, and let the finest stadium in the league sit mostly empty.
At this point I actually find it more likely that the Pirates move the franchise than have a winning season. Great stadium, but I think the extra parking spots for the Steelers games is more valuable. Let’s blow it up like we did 3 Rivers.
I'm 35 I was a sophomore in college when the Buccos were last in the playoffs. I know that BW is older than that. I assume some of the readers are even older than him. This isn't a five or six year drought, this is half a lifetime or more for some of us. I drank the "Kool Aid" as someone put it last year with Laroche. BW also sold me on Freddy Fever. I watched Duke and Snell pitch in the minors (Snell was crazy good). When is enough enough? i live 90 minutes from the park and I will see my share of games. But once that first pigskin is teed up across the way, and the Buccos are 20 games under 500, forget it.
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