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Seasons in the Abyss
The Pirates' magic number is now 13. As in, 13 straight losing seasons. When Lloyd McClendon was fired in September, it was the latest non-meaningful move in a series of infinite insignificance. Ever since the Pirates imploded in the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCs, the franchise has made countless moves, both on the field and off, in a neverending "re-building" plan.
Before we go farther, let's take a moment to reflect on all the great moments of the McClendon Era, detailed in the paragraph below.
.... .....
Well that was nice. A funny "Come Hungry" commerical in 2005 and walking off with first base in 2001
were the closest things to McClendon "highlights".
The problem that seemed to plague McClendon's tenure was the consistent refusal by ownership and management to go with a full-fledged re-building plan. Sure, they would talk about such a thing, but they were hesitant to pull the trigger and commit. Like a frightened kid on the diving board for the first time. If you wait long enough, the pool will be drained and the season will be over. At that point your options have diminished and the only thing you can do is jump in and split your head open on the concrete.
In 1997 and 1999, the Pirates flirted with contention in a weak NL Central. The 1999 team used an influx of veterans and youngsters-- older guys like Ed Sprague and Al Martin, coupled with guys like Francisco Cordova, Jason Kendall and Warren Morris. That blueprint, while not widely successful, was the Pirates' modus operandi for the McClendon years. Instead of going with a full-scale youth movement like the Indians, Twins or A's, the Pirates continued to logjam their team with marginal veterans. Piecing a team together with veterans only works if you're the Yankees and have the rest of MLB as your farm system. This just in, but the Pirates are not the Yankees.
Derek Bell, Pat Meares, Terry Mulholland, Matt Stairs, Randall Simon, Todd Van Poppel, Kenny Lofton, Mike Benjamin, Bruce Aven, Jeff D'amico and a cast of hundreds were cycled through the team. In 2003, they fulfilled their obligation to baseball's Sanders/Clayton/Zeile Rule-- a little known by-law of Major League Baseball that states that every team must, at one point, employ either Todd Zeile, Royce Clayton or Reggie Sanders. The Pirates DID strike gold with one platoon player who was looking for a place to play-- Brian Giles. John VanderWal experienced a similar boost when he came aboard for 2001, but he was traded away in August, along with Jason Schmidt for....Armando Rios and Ryan Vogelsong. No doubt that the Bucs bit on that deal because it included a marginal veteran and a questionable prospect--two guys that would fit in PERFECTLY with their current crop of clowns. Before 2002, they acquired Kip Wells, Josh Fogg and Sean Lowe for Todd Ritchie. It seemed like the pitching equivalent of getting Giles in a steal, but it ended up netting the Bucs Fogg and Wells...that is to say, more bundles of nothin' who ate up innings.
When you search through the scrap heap, you might find a nice muffler once in awhile. But most of the time you'll bring home rusty junk or lost doorhandles.
Adding to the problem was the fact that the minor league system didn't produce much. The Wilsons- Craig and Jack proved to be big leaguers. Unfortunately for Craig, the Pirates happen to play in the NL. J.J. Davis and Tony Alvarez ended up as a whole lott'a nothin'. Tike Redman was never classified as a "prospect", but in July 2003 he ended up as the latest man available for the centerfield/lead-off job -- an enigma that has continued to hound the Bucs since Omar Moreno left the 'Burgh in the early 80's.
When the Bucs finally mandated that it was time to play their youngsters in July of 2005, it spelled the end of McClendon's helmsman stint. The Bucs had peaked at .500 about a month earlier. It looked like things might finally be working out for them. But the season took a sour turn when they arrived in Yankee Stadium for an interleague series. The turning point occured on a doubleplay, late in the game on June 15. I had always wanted to attend another Pirates Game of Great Significance, but not in this way. With the Bucs leading, the umpires blew a double play call in the bottom of the 8th inning. McClendon, who had been reprimanded for his previous umpire stampedings, remained in the dugout and did not argue the blatantly miscalled ruling. The Yankees took advanatge of the extra out and tied the score. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Jason Giambi re-discovered life without steroids and mashed a game winning homerun for the Yankees. The game was another small notch in the Yankee Annals, but became a turning point for the Pirates. The team rambled toward the bottom of the standings, until they finally passed the Colorado Rockies for the distinction of worst record in the NL in September.
As the team continued their free-fall, the Pirates front office mandated that McClendon play the youngsters more. Namely, Brad Eldred, Ryan Doumit, Chris Duffy, etc. McClendon agreed, but still continued his perplexing habit of switching lineups on a daily basis. It was too late, anyways... McClendon's job had been in jeopardy in March. He landed a stay of execution with the team's strong performance in May and June, but the switch was finally pulled and he was sentenced to unemployment on September 6.
The common rumor is that Pirates ownership will sell the team after the 2006 season. At that point, they will have made enough money from hosting the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park, that they could sell it for optimum profit. A new manager is a certainty, but new ownership could be of more significance and optimism for Pittsburgh fans. An ownership that wants to build a team, rather than field 25 guys.
The nucleus is in place and with some seasoning and patience, they could finally field a quality team.
When I go to Bradenton next March, I won't be expecting quality or superstar power. What I want to see is a team.... not a wasteland roster of MLB leftovers.
Seeing Eye Singles
..||..I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but the Twins' Terry Tiffee has
the wimpest sounding name in MLB.
..||..I caught a Marlins game on the tube last week, and it looks like they
have cheerleaders?!? The Marlins Mermaids? That's...something I never wanted to see. Baseball doesn't
need cheerleaders. If you need to check out some nice lookin' cupcakes during the game, that's
what the random crowd shots are for. Just look at the Chicago Cubs cameramen who have been doing it
for years.
..||..Noticed that some of the rain tarps are sponsored by New Era,
Reebok and the usual sports stuff. If I'm Chipotle or Qdoba, a rain tarp would
be a great place to put my company's logo. That'd be excellent product placement.
A big rolled-up tarp
looks very similar to a 6 dollar burrito rolled up in aluminum foil. Note the DATE of this
article... I'm sure if you're reading this page in 2008, some "brilliant" ad exec has already
copied, err, liberated the idea from me!
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