I’ll Tell You Why
Last Friday and Saturday I was listening to the local sports radio station. On both days, different announcers were pondering the same question.
“Its fantastic weather, the Pirates have a winning record, they have a player that is something to watch…why isn’t anybody going to the games?”
First of all, nice weather does not necessitate going to the ballpark and blowing a week’s pay on a couple of beers and a hotdog. Second, yes the Pirates had a winning record at the time, but barely and nothing to get excited about.
As for the player, they’re talking about Josh Bell, who is having one of the best seasons for a Pirates player in memory. So, why aren’t we embracing him as fans? Because, we’ve seen this movie before. A good player is going to want to be paid for his services and Pirates owner, Bob “Ka-Ching” Nutting would rather shove that money into his greedy pockets.
Yeah…yeah…yeah…small market team…que the violins. We’ve heard it all before. The problem is, Cincinnati and Milwaukee are similar or smaller size markets in the same division and they went out and signed players who can help them win.
So, as Pirates fans we have to wonder how many more seasons Josh Bell will be here before he’s traded for an old shoe and a bag of sunflower seeds.
“Why isn’t anybody going to the games?”
Let’s see how the Pirates came into this season. They needed a shortstop because the one they had, signed elsewhere for five million dollars. So instead, the Pirates signed a shortstop who can’t hit…because those are less expensive than a player who can help you offensively.
They also needed a third baseman, so they signed a guy that hadn’t played baseball for two years…because it’s cheaper than signing a guy you know can still play.
Early in the season, the shortstop who can’t hit broke his collarbone in a collision. Then, the backup to the shortstop who can’t hit got injured, so they brought up the guy behind the guy behind the guy who can’t hit.
Actually, the player they brought up is Cole Tucker. He’s a first round draft pick who is projected to be really good…which means he won’t be here long.
“Why isn’t anybody going to the games?”
As Pirates fans clamored for the team to make some offseason signings, Nutting just held his ears and,
“Meow…meow…meow…meow…”
As disgruntled fans came out for opening day, I was expecting Manager Clint Hurdle to address them the way Gene Hackman told the students in the movie “Hoosiers.” You know, when they were yelling for the hotshot player Jimmy and Hackman walked out and said,
“This is your team.”
Yeah, I know…I’m writing the Pirates off before their big offseason free agent signing makes his debut. I could be proven wrong once Lonnie Chisenhall finally gets into the lineup. Who knows? I could get caught up in Chisenhall fever when it takes the city of Pittsburgh by storm. You know, when Chisenhall actually gets on the field for an inning before heading back to the 60 day IL.
“Why isn’t anybody going to the games?”
“Meow…meow…meow…meow…”
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