Bloody as hell.
That’s what USA Today thinks of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ outlook in 2020. So much for the hope-springs-eternal bliss of Spring Training, eh?
Yep, it’s there in black and white: The 60-102 prediction, which may as well have been written in the blood, sweat and tears of the Pirates’ faithful versus the raw newsprint of the national daily.
Look, this was never going to be pretty. The Pirates have a middling Major League roster — some talent, for sure, but the pitching is just way too thin — while the depth of the organization was blindly butchered by the former regime, and — SURPRISE! — the club ain’t signing any big-ticket free agents to plug the holes.
The Chris Archer trade will haunt this franchise for years. Tossing off three big-time prospects in Neal Huntington’s last-gasp reach for relevancy left the farm teams devoid of enough juice to restock the roster.
So, to recap: It’s not happening this year, next year, or the year after. And, by that time, Josh Bell and the other quality players who have paid their dues in baseball’s abyss will be long gone.
So, what to do? If you’re Ben Cherington, you pick a spot in the future and plan for that day, that season. That’s when you, as the general manager, think all the stars will align — and hopefully stay aligned — for a shot at a World Series Championship, something no Pirate fan under the age of 41 has ever tasted.
My problem with all of this is Ben Cherington’s total lack of transparency. The Pirates, who welcome pitchers and catchers in Bradenton on Monday, need a leader who will look their fans in the eye and admit, “Hey, we’ve done our inventory, we’ve got some ideas, and this is our plan …” Then lay it out. We’re big boys now. We can take it. JUST TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE IN MIND!!
Instead we get the same double-talk, GM-speak that lowlighted Huntington’s tenure. These gents play the con game, genuflecting to season-ticket holders and doling out condescending slices of hope to keep the turnstiles clicking.
And then trading Starling Marte for a couple of 19-year-olds.
I can only guess that the grade schools in Arizona were off that day.
OK, so here’s what Cherington said, if not with his words then with his actions: This is going to take a while. We just traded our most talented player, one who had two more years of financially comfortable control, for a couple of kids with upside. And they won’t be ready for about five years. Hopefully. Maybe.
And that’s when Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman, last year’s Sonic Youth movement, will be on their way out. So that’s the window, because Lord knows the Bucs won’t sign them long-term.
I’m betting that Josh Bell and Adam Frazier will be dealt soon, too, but not until a few more tickets can be sold. Nobody — not even the most ardent fan — spends hundreds for yardsale merchandise.
Let’s take a side trail here: Who is the last Pirates star to finish his career in Pittsburgh? Stargell? Surely there’s been someone since then. But … has there been? It doesn’t have to be a Hall of Famer like Sir Wilver, just somebody who came up through the system, appeared in an All-Star Game or two, then finished his career in Pittsburgh. Kinda sad, no?
But on the bright side, there’s Bob Nutting. (Heheh, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.) He’s promised that, although the franchise payroll is down in Marlin-ville at approximately $48 mil, he’s just waiting in the on-deck circle with wads of cash to make it rain when the time is right.
The plan is to “make sure when we have an opportunity to really put the foot on the gas, we’re able to do it,” Nutting told the folks at PiratesFest.
Presumably he said that with a straight face, because Bob Nutting always has a straight face. But I doubt that he’s ever punched down a gas pedal in his life, because that would be very off-kilter for Bob Nutting, and he’s always on-kilter. Ever talk to Bob Nutting? Extremely on-kilter man.
Another side trail: I’ve worked for the Nuttings and have no complaints. Here, in a nutshell, is their business plan for dealing with newspaper writers/reporters: Pay very little for talent fresh out of college, promise an increase after a six-month “probationary” period, then offer an insultingly low hike from there on. You either live with it, or move up to middle management (where you still won’t make much — do you have a spouse with a strong income?), or you get some experience and move on. They don’t much care if you leave. There are new college grads on their way to fill your shoes. No hard feelings.
I share that story to illustrate what’s happening here with the Pirates. Nutting’s newspaper business is on solid ground, and that’s pretty remarkable. There are two dailies in Wheeling: Two editions, Monday-through-Friday, and one printed on Saturday and Sunday. And another in Martins Ferry. By comparison, Pittsburgh doesn’t have one newspaper printing seven days a week.
Nutting’s business acumen, ruthless as it is, works in an industry that is, quite frankly, dying. He beat the system. So why wouldn’t he use the same tactics in baseball? Nutting’s become a billionaire doing it his way. The more he pays the players, the less he puts in his pockets. Simple arithmetic, really.
The difference is, nobody cares if a great reporter leaves the News-Register. Oh, folks may miss him for a while if he’s really good, but they’ll still buy the paper anyway. Nobody bought a Doug Huff T-shirt or a Nick Bedway bobblehead. Other writers filled the void and life went on.
But discard Neil Walker, or Andrew McCutchen or Gerrit Cole, and your customers notice. Players of less skills come in return, and the product suffers. The public — little kids, for crying out loud — embrace these guys as their own. It hurts when Marte is traded for virtual nobodies.
Bob Nutting’s disconnect with public perception, and what it means in the baseball world, screams in his face and he turns the other way. And when he looks away, he sees his bank. And he walks over and makes another deposit. Cha-ching, baby. Home run.
So, when Ben Cherington trades for kids fresh out of high school and loses a gold-glover who can hit 20-plus homers and steal 25-plus bases, he’s certainly looking down the road for the playoff payoff, the five-year endgame to glory.
And that’s when he’ll need Bob Nutting to “put the foot on the gas” to get over the hump. Make it rain right then and there.
Lots a luck. And I say that with a straight face.
