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Editorial: Is Pirates Ownership Doing the Right Thing?
Posted by MattyGabe at 11:31PM on 8-6-09
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URL: http://www.scsportstalk.com
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The Pirates are, by many accounts, one of the worst if not the worst team in Major League Baseball perennially. They do not always finish at the very bottom of the league, but they certainly haven't been in contention for a pennant in over 17 years (hence haven't been above .500 in just as long). But what current management has done to the already underwhelming team, is it the right way to go? SCST's Mattygabe weighs in."
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It's tough. It's painful. The very definition of being a Buccos fan right now is pain. Looking at the past doesn't help much, as our last fleeting glimpse of a pennant chance was dashed by the Braves in the 1992 NLCS. The only thing left for Pirates fans? The future. Hope. The very belief that what management does now will greatly (and positively) impact the future.
What the Pirates did this summer was the most radical that had been done in years: they took whatever value they had in their current roster, and traded MOST of it away for future value, or what they perceive as future value. Fans have a tough time of it, understandably so. Some believe that had we stopped the bleeding and held on to these pieces long enough, we would've already been in contention.
There's a problem with that thought, however. The pieces most people refer to are players such as Nady, Bay, McClouth, Sanchez and Wilson. Save for Bay, none of those players can really be considered perennial all-stars. Were they good players? Absolutely. But merely role players and solid players on other teams.
The problem a lot of Pirates fans have is lack of vision: a vision of the bigger picture. A lot of outraged fans voiced their opinion about McClouth, all the while most national media outlets and baseball writers said that the return was best, McClouth was "sold high" while the getting was good. McClouth is an o-k player on the Braves team, he is not their stop-em-dead, go-get-em hitter.
The verdict on all of these trades will not be known for quite a few years, but that shouldn't stop anyone from embracing taking chances like this. If management hadn't made these moves, we would have been moving forward trying to win with the same mediocre talent being replaced by less-than-stellar talent in the minor league system. Even if this newer more radical approach fails in terms of assessment of talent, at least they're trying. Holding on to veteran players who are decent will merely bring you closer to mediocrity and the norm. I don't want mediocrity, I don't want the norm. After 17 losing seasons, it may seem easier just to want OK, but after watching my other two sports teams claim the top of their respective mountains, I want nothing less for the Pirates in the future.
Management is trading "meh, ok" talent in for prospect lottery tickets. They'll eventually scratch all of them off, and in a few years, a few won't be winners, most will at least refund your purchase price, but hopefully, hopefully for the Pirates, the fans, and for management, a few just might be the jackpot this team so desperately needs.
It's tough, but I'm willing to wait. If you're not embarrassed enough by 17 losing seasons, what's a few more? By blowing up the current roster and removing most of the "safe", but mediocre players and replacing them with prospects, we at least have a better CHANCE in the future.
I'll take a CHANCE to win over the safe bet any day.
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MattyGabe
Administrator
Member #: 1
Total Posts: 273
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Posted at 8:38PM on 8-10-09
I posted this on a Post-Gazette blog:
I guess what I feel is that while everyone is frustrated at the team for its performances in the bigs, I feel that the whole "this team/management/GM is just fleecing us for money!" reasoning is simply a poor excuse and an easy way to explain it away, an easy way to find a scapegoat. When things go poorly, there's nothing better for the 'ol angry mob than a nice scapegoat.
The truth is that the team was managed poorly for a number of seasons, and finances were one of the issues that lead to that.
The reason why the finances were a problem was because the team was run with poor decision making and the feeling that "outside" help could be made. The team was in a small market, and was run with the idea that it could be run like a big-market New York or Boston team. The problem is that the finances aren't there. So they were spinning their wheels in the mud forever, all the while still "making a profit". I have no doubt in my mind Littlefield had every intention of putting a winner on the field, but I can barely believe anyone if they told me he had the right way to it.
The team IS a small-market team, there's no way around that. You can't buy the team, you have to build it, and it doesn't happen overnight. Unfortunately for us, we have to work backwards to re-build our past, too, because that was squandered as well. You can make a perennial contender with a small-market team, but it's not as easy and takes more WORK. The solutions ARENT SIMPLE. The solution HURTS in the SHORT RUN. But just because it's hard work, isn't simple, and hurts in the short run is no reason to just cry foul about it in the barber shop and think you're uncovering some huge conspiracy.
There are better ways to fleece people out of money other than inheriting an already terrible baseball team and continuing to help it languish in the bottom of the standings.
Maybe if people weren't so quick with instant gratification, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult for them to see that the solution is a painful one now.
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