Pirates fans planning walkout on Saturday

I've got Pittsburgh roots, too....and I completely disagree with you. Yes, winning would help, but the Pirates do not have nearly the hold on Pittsburgh natives that the Steelers do. It's not even close. Pittsburgh is a football town. When both teams are winning, the Steelers are still what matters most.

And the last time the Pirates were good, in the early '90s, attendance was still pretty lousy.

 

The Pirates big problem is that they are inept from the top down. It's smart for a franchise, especially one that's bottomed out due to years and years of neglect, to invest resources into its farm system. The Indians, Twins, A's, Brewers, Marlins have done that. I think the Devil Rays are well on their way to building that way. It doesn't make sense for a club like Pittsburgh to be forced to sign mediocre free agents (think Derek Bell) to demonstrate to fans that they're trying. Top free agents won't sign with a terrible franchise. They need to sign top draft picks and build core talent. When they're ready for the majors, then it will be time to supplement through free agency. To me the most disconcerting things that Pittsburgh has done recently is pass on Matt Wieters in the draft. They need guys like this to build around and he's exactly the kind of player in which the club should invest. But they didn't want to pay the kind of signing bonus he commands.

 

Obviously, you have not read the new SportsJournalists.com rules against furthering illegal activity. No riot incitement here, please.

 

Well put (see, we can agree on some things). I think I was more frustrated by their choice in that draft than I have been wth the on-field results this year.

 

I didn't know that. So, luxury tax money has to be reinvested in the club? Is it for the major league club only or the minors or what?

 

You're missing the point. The protest is going to be fruitless anyway, so anything they do is pretty futile barring going with the nuclear option.

I'm not advocating that, I'm pointing out the futility of the whole protest.

 

Am I missing the sarcasm here? I seriously doubt Pirates fans, or anyone else for that matter, are hanging on the word of Bubbler to chart their course of action.

I was merely pointing out in a satirical way that if these dopey Pirates' fans feel like their protest is going to have an impact, they might as well go whole hog.

The truth is that their protest is going to have no effect, so they might as well stay home.

 

I don't understand you people who believe a walkout is not more effective than not showing up at all. Don't understand you at all.

Maybe you have to dent your wallet a little bit to make this point. But the visual of half-full stands emptying will be a hell of a lot more dramatic than the visual of a stadium which is empty to begin with.

 

This is a terrible PR move by the Pirates.

All they have done is bring more attention to the walkout. More attention means more people know about it.

It looks like baseball is not the only thing they are clueless about.

 

My only question is whether enough people will get on board. I'm sure there are a few tickets purchased by out of towners that won't want to get up and leave as they have made a big deal out of getting out to the stadium that day.

 

If you have a visual, then you have a movement.

Not saying this is Vietnam, but having a video clip of the people leaving is 1,000 times more effective then writing about it.

 

Because it's interesting