The Drama Llama Comes to PNC Park
by johnnycuff on Jun 6, 2009 10:34 AM EDT
14 comments
Now we see what 16 consecutive losing seasons can do to a fan base. In a city where half the population would consider letting the waters of the confluence consume them if the Steelers finished the season 8-8 or 9-7 ... in a city where they expect a hockey team led by a 21- and 22-year-old to win the Stanley Cup ... when it comes to baseball, all many fans dream of is mediocrity.
Arrrgh! you ready for some Pirate facts?
Jeez, this saga has enough drama to draw attention from the "Worldwide Leader in Sports (Soap Operas)." Must be hard to file baseball stories without "Manny Being Manny" again until July. Seriously though, Gallo is an excellent and hilarious writer (you may have also heard of his solo project, the Sports Pickle). It's a very well thought out and written article.
When Nady was dealt last year, the Pirates were 48-55. When Bay left, they were 50-58. When McLouth was traded on Wednesday, they were 24-28. The Pirates aren't exactly breaking up the '27 Yankees. The '67 Yankees, maybe.
In the Nady trade, the Pirates got 40 percent of their current starting rotation and a possible future star in Jose Tabata. (Yes, he has a 43-year-old wife who is an alleged baby-stealer. These are still the Pirates.) That trade was a clear win for Pittsburgh.
In the Bay trade, the Pirates got their current starting third baseman and several other prospects with high ceilings. That trade was a win for both sides.
In the McLouth trade, they got three highly regarded minor leaguers and cleared the way for potential superstar center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who went 2-for-4 with 3 runs, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base Thursday in his major league debut.
Lots of good stuff in there.
As an aside, Gallo seems to be the one guy at ESPN aware of any baseball teams outside of the NL and AL East divisions. Gallo and Peter Gammons are the only people I'm remotely interested in at ESPN, and Gammons gets by on his legacy at this point. I did enjoy Nate Silver's informative, if awkward appearance but I'm about one fake Steve Phillips press conference from swearing off Baseball Tonight for life.
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but what happened after the nady and bay trades we went from having a chance to get to .500 to losing 94 games we went somewhere in the area of 18-36 after that trade so i guess the future is more important than trying to regain some respectability in the leuge so we can get some player to want to come here.
by WVPiratesfan on Jun 6, 2009 12:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
All the players the Pirates management should really want to come here at this point are prospects from other teams.
I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.
by Chester J Lampwick on Jun 6, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So
maybe Bay and Nady would’ve somehow done better than they were. Maybe we’d since a veteran starter. Maybe we’d get to .500. Then what? We’d have lost the chance to get what we got for Bay, since that was as much about wanting to get rid of Ramirez for Boston as anything, Nady very well might have gotten hurt at some point, decreasing his trade value, and we would years farther away from ever actually competing. And yeah, the future is more important than hovering around .500 for a few years.
by DialedtoGiles on Jun 6, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry but I've said this before and I'll say it again...
YEAH…500…WhooHoo! I can only hope my daughter grows up to be average.
by Slick1 on Jun 6, 2009 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Again, .500 is not the goal, nor should it be. We want to get to the point of competing for the division title.
by mspirate on Jun 6, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Are you feeling ok?
So you think 25 percent of the country is retarded!? Yea, totally. Atleast 25 percent. Well lets do a sample. There are 4 of us and you're retarded. Thats 25 percent. -South Park; Mystery of the Urinal Deuce.
by gorillakilla34 on Jun 6, 2009 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes, exactly!
Having a legitimate shot at the playoffs down the road is much, much more important than a shot at .500 now.
by Vlad on Jun 6, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Did Nate Silver comment on the latest trade?
If so, I’ll appreciate it if you have time to summarize his remarks. The man certainly nailed the latest presidential election and I understand that he understands baseball at least as well as he does electoral politics.
by WestCoastBuc on Jun 6, 2009 1:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
silver
his last post on BP was about steroids and i haven’t seen anything from him anywhere else. he only writes at BP about once a week these days so a move like this probably won’t get much mention from him if at all.
by johnnycuff on Jun 6, 2009 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
actually
he hasn’t posted at BP in a month. does anybody know if he’s writing anywhere else or is he just knees deep in politics. dirty stuff that politics.
by johnnycuff on Jun 6, 2009 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If he is now writing political analysis....
then I hope we never hear from him again. Look what politics did to George Carlin… they made him suck…eventually leading to his death.
So you think 25 percent of the country is retarded!? Yea, totally. Atleast 25 percent. Well lets do a sample. There are 4 of us and you're retarded. Thats 25 percent. -South Park; Mystery of the Urinal Deuce.
by gorillakilla34 on Jun 7, 2009 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just busy with politics, I think.
538 deservedly got a lot of play after the last elections, and the money in political campaigns makes the money in baseball look like nothing.
by Vlad on Jun 7, 2009 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hunter S.
found politics more addictive than almost anything.
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
by cocktailsfor2 on Jun 7, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's the bigggest drug there is.
A nose ahead of adrenochrome.
by Vlad on Jun 7, 2009 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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