An OPEN LETTER to … Pirates Owner Bob Nutting …

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Mr. Nutting:

Well, here we are, at the end of another season with the Pirates finishing last in the division and nowhere near the postseason. Again. And the reasons for the lack of success are obvious, too, with the team hitting the fewest home runs (115) and scoring the least (3.55 runs/game) while posting the seventh-best earned-run-average (3.78) in baseball.

Why else would Paul Skenes (pronounced “Cy Young”) be 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA? It’s criminal, really.

But hey, you were successful again this baseball season, right? Ya know, you won the big game you play at the bank because of the ticket prices and the average number of fans in the stands each home game, the crazy prices at the unmanned concession stands and souvenir stores, and you collected the extra cash we pay on the cable bills, too.

So, here’s where we ask you to spend some of those pocketed millions, right? Like we have at the end of every season since 2007, right?  This offseason is different, though, because you already have Skenes and some of the best young pitchers in baseball on the roster, and all you need – again, it’s obvious – is to shop for the offense that can flip the Pirates’ 70-90 record around to 20 games above .500 next season.

So, yes, we’re saying there’s a chance. A very good chance.

But if that’s not your plan for 2026, sir, then yes, we must join the fed-up fans who have hired the banner-dragging airplanes, bought the billboards, and who’ve worn the “Spend Nutting, Win Nutting” t-shirts with suggesting you sell the Pittsburgh Baseball Club to new owners who will.

Sincerely,

We Are Family!!

Steve Novotney
Steve Novotney
Steve Novotney has been a professional journalist for 33 years, working in print for weekly, daily, and bi-weekly publications, writing for a number of regional and national magazines, host baseball-related talks shows on Pittsburgh’s ESPN, and as a daily, all-topics talk show host in the Wheeling and Steubenville markets since 2004. Novotney is the co-owner, editor, and co-publisher of LEDE News, and is the host of “Novotney Now,” a daily program that airs Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. on River Talk 100.1 & 100.9 FM.

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