Break up the Pirates!
Opening Day and the team all the experts have been relegating to the lowest circles of national league hell not only won, they beat the Dodgers (surely not a pushover). Not only did they beat them, they crushed them, 11-5.
Here is a team that has set a record for the most losing seasons in a row, a team with the lowest payroll in baseball. Here is a team that has made a practice of trading their best players for prospects that could be traded for new prospects if they ever happened to develop into viable major leaguers. Prospects for the 2010 edition of Pittsburgh's Buccos are dismal, at best, catastrophic, at worst. Grapefruit league results were not promising. A hundred loss season is not out of the question.
On Sunday, one local newspaper, Uniontown's Herald Standard published an editorial urging fans to boycott the team in an effort to get the current owners, the Nutting family, to sell the franchise. The Nuttings, the paper argued, were not interested in spending the money necessary to build a team capable of competing on the major league level. They were content to field a bunch of minor league refugees as long as fans kept coming to the ball park in sufficient numbers for them to make a profit selling beer and hot dogs.
After all they have a state-of-the-art ballpark, built at taxpayer expense, conducive to spending a pleasant afternoon on a sunny day, whether a competitive baseball game happened to break out or not. Fans could look at it like a picnic. You have the Steelers and the Penguins, so you really can't be piggish; you can't expect to have everything. No, the Herald Standard editorialized, Pittsburgh fans deserved better. It was time to send the tightwad owners a message.
As usual, Pittsburgh fans, suckers for punishment, paid no attention to the paper's call. Loyal to the tune of 39,204, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette the second largest opening day crowd at the new ball yard, Pittsburghers showed up to see the hapless home team lay down to the Dodgers. But lo and behold, Loyalty has its rewards. And for one day at least hope springs eternal, and there is indeed joy on the banks of the three rivers, because Garrett, mighty Garrett came to play.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Temper that enthusiasm! Even Vicente Padilla was surprised that Vicente Padilla was starting for the Dodgers.
2 - Sonia Smith
LOL very true Matthew! I can't believe I lost the opening day! :( I used to watch every opening game with my husband but this year I couldn't make it
3 - Jordan
I would love to see the Pirates get back the the winning ways of the early 80's. I will always remember the year of "We Are Family" and Willie Stargell growing up.
4 - Chris Wright
wow. I'd love to see them winning too.
5 - Abi
Yeah.. about time. I like them get back the winning...
6 - John Davis
Okay, it has been so many years that my kids have grown up with their Pirates gear (two daughters LOL)and they are in college. They might finally see some respect when wearing the stuff.