Nothing Going On in Pittsburgh in the 9th

Pretty much every night during the second half of the season, the Pirates are contenders to get no-hit. They are so unbelievably anemic on offense, you have to wonder how in the hell they caught fire the month leading up to the all star break, and how they have three guys with 20+ home runs on that team. Because the first couple of months, and the last 2, they have been just pathetic to watch offensively. And they wasted another brilliant outing from AJ Burnett last night.

 

That offense was a problem all along. It just got worse as the season went on.

McCutchen helped cover the Pirates' flaws with a monster first half, but he slowed down the second half of the season again. He was still great, just not quite as dominant. I'm sure at least part of that was pitchers wanting nothing to do with him and seeing no reason to give him anything to hit with such a crappy lineup around him.

Regarding the other two with 20-plus homers, Jones had a nice year, probably as good as he can be. Alvarez took a nice step forward, but he still entered today with a .243 average and .319 on-base percentage. Very few guys in the majors did less for their teams offensively while hitting 30 home runs.

And really, what else do they have? Walker is a nice player and that's about it. The rest of the lineup is terrible and it was predictable. I admit I was wrong about the acquisition of Burnett being dumb, but my premise wasn't that far off. They spent money on an older pitcher while doing almost nothing to get the offensive help they desperately needed, which is why all of that solid pitching went to waste.

 

I remember thinking back in late July that since the Brewers were out of it I really hoped the Pirates could beat out the Reds. I guess not.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/gene-collier/collier-blame-for-pirates-collapse-goes-to-the-very-top-654119/

This explains the difference between the Pirates this year and real contenders quite nicely. I know not many here agree with my arguments about baseball needing a salary floor and cap, but there is little question that ownership continues to hold that franchise back. Spending on amateur talent is great, but the Pirates sat on their hands rather than get the kind of offensive help they desperately needed at the deadline.

 

But but but ... Gaby Sanchez!

 

I know you won't, but just stop.

What you're describing is a Pittsburgh problem. Not a MLB problem.

Milwaukee, a smaller market than Pittsburgh, hasn't had any trouble going after players when it's felt it needed them. And its kept the majority of its contributors to remain in the playoff hunt.

 

Oh, you mean the team that lost its stud first baseman to free agency, then unloaded Zack Greinke during this season? Yeah, money never holds the Brewers back.

That said, next time you should try reading the post more carefully than you respond. I WAS talking about this as a Pirates problem, but you assumed otherwise. I acknowledged the market size/cap issue, but I was talking about the Pirates, specifically their ownership. Basically, I was saying whatever your point of view on the finances of baseball, ownership is holding the Pirates back.

 

Knew you'd say that. I read your post crystal clear.

Pirates, Pirates, Pirates ... oh wait! Baseball needs a salary cap and floor!

No. The Pirates need to spend more money without a rule forcing them to do so and they need to nut up during the trade deadline and get some hitting.

As for the Brewers, they have every important position player locked up along with Yovani Gallardo. Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Jonathan Lucroy, etc. Braun will still be in Milwaukee when my grade-school-aged children are going to graduate from high school.

The Brewers show what can be done when they do take a shot at a high-end player. They traded Greinke, but they got their shortstop of the future (Jean Segura) in the bargain. And they have money to go after a pitcher or two this offseason if they choose.

That's what good ownership can do for you. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh doesn't have it.

 

The Brewers didn't "lose" their stud first baseman. They made a smart financial decision not to re-sign him for the kind of contract he wanted.

The Tigers are going to regret that contract real soon. Just as the Phillies are already regretting the long-term deal they gave their own stud first baseman — who compares quite similarly to the Brewers' former stud first baseman.

 

Nor does the local nine here in Northeast Ohio.

 

And I was agreeing with a column slamming Pirate ownership. Your response simply proves that I can't make a post related to finances in baseball without one of the baseball apologists jumping all over me.

I said whether you agree with me or not on the finances of baseball, there is no question bad ownership is holding the Pirates back. You misread it and now you can't admit it.

 

Those "smart" financial decisions look like they will have the Brewers at home come playoff time rather than competing for a championship.

More importantly, they have to make those types of decisions while a select few teams in MLB do not. I was not criticizing Brewers' ownership in my response to Bubbler. I simply pointed out that it is inaccurate to say that money never holds the Brewers back. They do a much better job of handling those limits than the Pirates, but it clearly did hold them back this season.

I really was just trying to point something out about Pittsburgh's ownership, but if y'all really want this debate again, I can go there, too. It's not like there is any doubt that I'm right when I say baseball is slanted to favor the big-revenue franchises.