I was originally going to title this piece, “What the Hell is wrong with the Pittsburgh Pirates?”  However, I thought better of that.

It’s not the Pirates.  It’s the owners.

It’s the owners who are hell-bent on screwing this team into the ground.  And then killing them some more.

Why do these idiot owners trade away their brightest and strongest athletes?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the sad news:

If nothing else, these Pirates careened into the All-Star break with a clear course: Barring a huge reversal, they will break the major professional sports record with a 17th consecutive losing season.

Easily, at that.

With their no-suspense 5-2 loss to Philadelphia yesterday at Citizens Bank Park, one in which Virgil Vasquez was knocked out after 1 1/3 innings and the offense again mustered precious little, the Pirates:

  • Were swept in three by the Phillies.
  • Completed a 2-7 road trip, part of a broader 3-11 slide.
  • Dropped to a season-low 12 games under .500 at 38-50 overall.

That record projects to 69-93 over the full season, which, of course, projects to history.

It’s not the kids’ fault.  This is a calculated decision on the part of the ownership to maximize their revenue, and screw the team and the fans.  These owners are ONLY about money.  They’ve decided there’s no chance they can win, so they do everything possible to kill this team’s chances of success, including trading away every good and great player who has played for the team over the past 17 years.

Are these owners idiots, or just stupid?   Or are they just plain greedy?   Is it really that profitable to run a lousy baseball team?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a long, noble tradition.

Not too long ago, there were people of honor working with and for the Pirates.  I believe most of the men on the roster today are men of honor.

Robert Nutting, who the hell are you anyway?  What is your interest in baseball, and why to you treat the Pirates as the National League’s favorite farm team?

Why is Nutting taking this noble team and systematically running it into the ground?  Who is he on the take for?

And what would our Roberto say about all of this?