20 Years of Sucktitude

20 Years of Losing

Get it on a shirt at Redbubble or Zazzle

The Pittsburgh Pirates ended their season with a loss. They ended with a loss to the Braves and a loss to the fans. They did clinch their 20th consecutive losing season with a record of 79-83. Now, that’s seven wins more than last year, but when the team was 16 games above .500 and in contention for a wildcard spot in August. Now, they have only the speculation to look forward to.

What will the team do to improve? Will heads roll? Will money be spent? For the angry fan, the answers always seem to be, “No”.

The last time the Pirates had a winning season, Bush was in office. That wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t talking about the first Bush. I was still in high school. I’m now 37. Chipper Jones was on the Braves’ minor team at that time. That’s how flipping long ago it was.

However, the last two years seemed to be different. They were improving. They were winning. They were bringing back the fan base. I bought into it, two years in a row. Then, the same thing happened, twice. They collapsed. Oddly enough, both collapses started after a 19 inning game. Suddenly, the fans were a battered spouse and the team was the abusive drunk that promises to stay sober and get help… only to smack us around one more time.

Last year, the team got on this weird kick of taking on a Wilson Philips song as their theme. This year was the year of the “Z”. Last year, the Wilson Philips thing didn’t do much. This year, the “Z” was infectious. The Zoltan sign was such a quirky one off that it caught fire and soon shirts were being sold, people were scratching their head and looking up a movie called, “Dude, where’s my car?” It was strangely catchy, though. Hell, I even jumped on the band wagon.

But that was August. The sad truth is we can’t blame management for this collapse. We can say that they didn’t do enough at the trade deadline or that they dealt away Brad Lincoln and Casey McGehee. Well, actually, maybe you can. After all, the real reason why the Pirates were as good as they were may not be because they were any better than an under .500 team. It’s just that the rest of the division was weak out of the gate. There was a lot of sound bites thrown around about how bad the other teams were that it made it easy for the Pirates to look great. Andrew McCutcheon played like he wasn’t human and on most teams that would be enough to help. AJ Burnett, who made me facepalm early on with his Spring Training injury, became the beacon of hope for the team. He was the one player who had every reason to be negative. He played for the Yankees and ended up here. Yet, he played like he cared. He cared like he wanted the team to snap that losing streak.

And now, without hockey to talk about, we rally around the Steelers who are 1-2. Steelers aren’t stellar. No hockey. Sigh. The Pirates missed a great opportunity to grab more fans. Now, all we have left to think about is that they are raising ticket prices and probably won’t get any more players to justify that cost increase.

WUMF: May 2012 Edition

Keerriiiist! It’s almost June. How the ‘eff did that happen? Well, can’t stop time. So, here’s another WUMF!

Top 25 Musical Performances Reprise
Last week I put up my list for the most iconic musical performances in non-musical films.   Well, I screwed up and omitted perhaps one of the most iconic ones.   So, I'll be fixing that.  Let's just say, I was trying to block it out of my head... the Gene Kelly, the fake nose, the codpiece.

Sgt. Hulka Still Hurts
Awhile back, around the first weekend of May, I tweaked my foot cutting grass. I got an X-ray a couple of weeks ago and it showed nothing. I do not have a broken foot. I do not have gout. My doctor says I need new shows. I am just about at wits end.

They put me on an ant-inflammatory which isn’t the best thing on my stomach, one of the only things next to Rum, Vodka, Gin, or Tequila. Now, it’s numb but still noticeable. However, I am feeling much better about it going to the beach…

Going to the beach
Yeah, we are headed back to the OBX here real soon. Another trip into the 4x4 section. This year we managed to snag an oceanfront home for relatively the same cost per couple that we had last year. This one even has an elevator. Very nice.

I am a bit wary though as we are going a different route that was suggested to me by a coworker. I have been a beltway bomber for quite a number of years, so veering away from DC and going the Berkley Springs route is new to me. I’ve heard it’s beautiful. I just don’t want to hear the banjos stop playing... if you catch my drift.

The Banjos Stopped Playing
Everyone kept talking about watching The Hatfields and McCoys on The History Channel. Apparently, it blew away a lot of reality shows in the ratings. That’s pretty amazing, considering it’s the History Channel. However, some folks have talked about how bad the production was from the acting below the three recognizable leads to the lack of realism in the furnishings of the 19th century era old Kentucky homes.

Seems a bit odd that the Hatfields and McCoys had good dental hygiene in the backwoods of West Virginia and Kentucky.

What Else Seems Odd
The Cincinnati Reds are in town to play the Buccos and a strange story came out of the hotel room of Aroldis Chapman. While he was at the game, a 26 year old woman by the name of Claudia Manrique was in his room at the Omni William Penn, as a guest. A man came to the door, claiming to be there to fix the toilet. Later, she was found bound and screaming in the room, which had been robbed. She was interviewed by police and then released. She left the station with a towel over her head and got into a car with a man and woman with Maryland plates.

She met Chapman two months ago in DC and yet she was released and left with a man who police said was her husband. Hmmm. She also left with full knowledge of how to avoid photos… as if she had done it before… hmmm.

Nothing strange here.



Something Strange Here
This has truly been a strange week. A pig on the parkway. A zombie in Florida. Bovines in Boxford crashing a party. Some guy stabbed himself fifty times and threw his intestines at police. And someone in Canada decided to mail body parts around. Didn’t he know that you should group your shipments to save on postage?

If shit blows up while I’m at the beach, I’m staying there. Getting a little weird around here.

WUMF: August Edition

Late entry this month in the WUMF column. Unfortunately, I’ve been really busy with… actual work and it’s cut into my ability to tend to the side business. Anyway, enough excuses, here’s what’s been happening.

The Pirates
OK, I admit it. I got temporarily sucked back in by them this year. I was almost ready to board the bandwagon. Hell, I even designed t-shirts in tribute to them. Then, they went back to smacking me around after a hard day of drinking. And here I sit, dejected that I fell for it, almost.

Frankly, when they said in the beginning of the year that, in order for them to spend more money on the team, the fans would have to help by raising attendance, I scoffed. How dare they expect us to be the catalyst for this team’s rebirth. Then, a funny thing happened. They started playing better. All of a sudden, attendance increased. So, the fans did their part. Would the Pirates do theirs? They went out and signed two players ahead of the trade deadline. Um… yeah, that’s not exactly who we figured you’d go out and buy. Two guys who end up banged up or just a bust to start. Still, the bullpen held it together and the wins were coming. We were in first place. We were contenders. That was July.

Now, we are heading into September with a dismal percentage, out of the running for the division and slim hopes of breaking .500 for the season at this pace. What happened? We either suck the entire season or do really well for the first half.

Let me put this way. Back in my early days of Junior High, seventh grade to be exact, I joined the track team. Shocked? I am. I threw discus and shot put, not very well, mind you. Occasionally, they had what was called a hog race. That’s when the bigger guys on the team do a relay or run a 220 or 440 yard dash. Now, I will contest that even though I wasn’t the most physically fit, I could sprint pretty well. By pitting me against other guys in my body type, for short distances, I was pretty sure I could take them. I got into a 220 yard dash against other shot putters and discus throwers and felt pretty confident. The gun went off and so did I. I was way out ahead by the first turn. I had an even more commanding lead by the straightaway. At the 220 mark I was a clear winner. I was also in a 440 yard dash and didn’t know it. I stopped dead, thinking I was done while everyone kept running. By then it was too late and I was dead tired. I limped into the finish in last place. I WAS the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The only thing that would have made matters worse would have been if I were to come out at the next match and said, I am going to bet the school on every event I’m in and I just signed up for the mile run. That’s what the Pirates are doing by raising ticket prices. They blew their wad too early and now they are risking all credibility by saying, “Hey look what we accomplished doing it our way. Now, we’re going to charge you more to be half good.” Don’t be surprised if Andrew McCutchen starts to look away from Pittsburgh as the post season goes on without them. They haven’t thrown the money at him that he deserves, yet.

S#!t My Kid Says
I’ve long said that my kid is the funniest little shit on the planet. Even when it’s inappropriate she makes me laugh. Of course, I am the king of inappropriate.

Due to a scheduling snafu, she had to stay at my parents’ house overnight last week. On the way there, we gave her the usual rundown of rules. Be good. Eat the food she gives you. Go to bed when it’s time. Etc. We also threw in one special request. Don’t swear.

She’s four.

I know. It’s my fault. I let her watch things she shouldn’t and out of all the things she could pick up or imitate from a movie or show, she has to pick the swear words out. And it’s not that my parents are prudes. No way. I didn’t end up like I am because of society. I ended up like this because my Dad let us kids watch Monty Python and Benny Hill when I was my kid’s age. I saw Die Hard in the theater, when I was 12, but I already knew John McClane’s catchphrase prior to that.

So, there we were telling my kid not to say bad words in front of Grammie and she says, “Even asshole?”

Funny kid.

2011 VMAs
I have gone on, at length, about how I hate MTV, now. I can’t understand how they can hold an award show that rewards videos when they don’t even play them on their own network, anymore. The VMAs haven’t been the show they were since the late 80s and early 90s. I didn’t even watch it but saw clips and read about it which is more time that I would have wanted to devote to the subject. My thoughts are this…

• Why do we continue to honor or applaud Chris Brown? Props to Jay-Z for not standing.
• Why does Lady Gaga look like a cross between Ralph Macchio from The Outsiders and Billy Joe Armstrong?
• Why are we shocked and why do we care that she went drag? She wore a suit of meat before.
• Why is Justin Bieber allowed to drive a Black Ferrari?  And, how's the car doing?  Will he get sued a year later?
• Why is Britney Spears getting the lifetime achievement award when she’s not been around that long?Look at the list of recipients?  Granted, Madonna was named in 86 but her achievements far outshone Britney’s in the span of time before she received it.
• Is Beyonce pregnant? (That was a joke)

  

That’s it. I’m out.

WUMF: July Edition (Now with more Pittsburgh n'at!)

What’s up my friends. It’s that time again, time for another edition of WUMF.   This time, it's all Burgh.

U2 in the Burgh
A lot of friends and coworkers have fallen victim to the dreaded Chinese disease, Dragon Ass. As I drove home from work yesterday I passed the giant monstrosity that took up the bulk of the view of Heinz Field from the Fort Pitt Bridge. I did not attend the concert.

I haven’t gone to a concert since the Stretch the Summer concert back in 200..whatever. It was back when B-94 was around for the second time and all I remember was that Macy Gray would not stop singing. We left before Third Eye Blind came on stage because it was already 10 pm.

It’s not that I’m even that big of a fan of U2. I think I stopped following them after they did that song for Batman Forever. I actually liked that song, too. It was just a horrid movie. Pretty much, post 1993 was the end of my concern for what Bono and company did. My favorite songs are still “The Wanderer” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” I guess they are still awesome live, compared to most artists these days. I just don’t care enough to drop a couple hundred dollars for tickets.

Jerry Meals Says It’s Safe
After 19 innings and around six hours of baseball, the Pirates lost a game in Atlanta on a horribly blown call at the plate. Yes, the Buccos are relevant. Yes, they are playing the best baseball they have every played in 19 years. Yes, the call was wrong. That does not change my view that this organization needs new ownership.

However, that was a crap call and has started the trend on twitter, #JerryMealsSaysItsSafe. I’ve already been having fun with it. And, have a shirt already up for sale calling out that horrible play.

Jerry Meals Says It's Safe
from Mongo, Angry! Mongo Smash!

Here is the video of the call.

You can see McHenry tag him before he gets anywhere near the plate. Then, after he’s standing there, the runner tags the plate again as Meals calls him safe. Just to be sure.

If the MLB suspends Meals for this, I hope he doesn’t consider a career change. I’d hate to see him working for the TSA. “Go ahead, that gun looks safe to me.”

More on the Buccos
I need to reiterate my position about the Pirates.  I was a die hard fan most of my life.  I used to love going to games at Three Rivers.  Yes, I kind of turned my back on the club after they spiraled into less than adequacy, but it's because of the ownership.  I refuse to put money in Nutting's pocket.  It's not about a dislike for the team.   Yes, I still twitch when I hear the name Sid Bream.  But, I generally like the ball club.  I just hate the owners.

I’m glad the team is winning and I think they have the right coach, finally. But, let’s not kid ourselves. If they make it to the post season, they are going to need more than a smoking bullpen to beat teams like the Brewers and the Phillies. If they do not secure a bat or two before the trade deadline, and frankly, I don’t see how they can do it without giving up some great players or major cash. There are other teams out there willing to drop a few million for a rental player to carry them through the post season. Pittsburgh is still not thinking in those terms and maybe that is a good thing. I have always admonished the Yankees for buying the best players instead of growing them, but these two clubs are on either end of the spectrum when it comes to running things.

My only grievance with this season is that it gives undue validation to Nutting’s style of ownership. Remember back in the beginning of the year when they said that the ability to spend money relies on attendance. Well, you guys put out a decent product and the fans came back, selling out the ballpark on more than one occasion. Now, it’s time to keep up your end of the bargain.

Even More Buccos
I’m currently in competition with another Pittsburgh T-Shirt Designer for favorite Pirates shirt on BoringPgh.com.  My Raise It! shirt is going up against The Fresh Factory’s We Are Family shirt. I say, awesome for me just to be mentioned on a Pittsburgh blog and to be up against The Fresh Factory. So, go over here and vote for your favorite… which is mine, right? >:(

Raise It Gold

by Mongo, Angry!  Mongo Smash!

Have a great month, see you in 31.

Pittsbugh Sports Just Don't Make Sense Right Now

I think the heat has been getting to the city of Pittsburgh. Here it is almost the end of July and the following has occurred.

• Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot are now both playing for the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Ben Roethlisberger is getting married.
• Training Camp may or may not happen for the Steelers, let alone every other team.
• Hines Ward has been stopped by police, not once, but twice in vehicle related incidents, with the latter resulting in his being arrested for DUI.
• The Pirates were just in first place of the NL Central after losing 18 straight seasons. (They are now a 1/2 game back I believe.)

The world just doesn’t make sense anymore.

I want my Penguins and former Penguins to be playing only in Pittsburgh.
I want my quarterback in the middle of a sexual harassment investigation.
I want my Steelers at St. Vincent and Casey Hampton to be near the PUP list status.
I want my Star Receiver to be smiling for the TV, not a mug shot.
And I want my Battling Buccos to be in the basement so I can feel good about Nutting and Co.’s inability to manage a baseball team in the hopes that someone with real experience and desire to win buys the team.

Is that too much to ask?

Black and Gold Digger

He take my money. Well, I'm in need.
Yeah, it's a trifling ball club indeed.
Nutting's a Black and Gold Digger way over time
That digs on me. 

Duke da bomb
Even got Maholm
Can't believe X Nady and Freddie are gone.

Sorry, Kanye, Imma let you finish but.... oh who am I kidding?  Go away.

Ahh, Spring Training. This is the time of year the last few diehard fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates love to see. Their love of the ball club is like Jeff Conaway’s love of pain killers. And they would be just as willing to throw themselves down the stairs of the Clemente Bridge to score some good seats to an afternoon game against Cincinnati Reds minor league team.
Now, last year the Bucs were able to get above .500 for the first time since 2007 but then April ended and so did that winning streak. They finished the season at .385 setting the record for the team with the most consecutive losing seasons in history, surpassing the Phillies record of 16 years. Hey, one more and that baby is legal.

And here’s an interesting statistic. The last time the Pirates had a winning season, which was back in 1992, they had a payroll for the players of $32 million. Guess what their payroll is for 2010… $36 million. Now 17 years ago, with that kind of cheddar they were able to afford Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, Jose Lind, Orlando Merced, jay Bell, Tim Wakefield, and a young Lloyd McClendon. He played for four seasons in Pittsburgh and then managed for four seasons ten years later.

However, this year they have Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Ryan Domut, and Andy LaRoche to pay so… wait $36 million. Oh, I thought there was a one in front of that number. No, that would have been the Chicago Cubs’ payroll. But with that big fat payroll the Battling Buccos were able to take down Manatee Community College. Take that 13th grade. I guess that pep talk that was given to the team is paying off in spades.

Look, we all know what is going to happen here, so why even get our hopes up. They will show some talent in Spring Training and perhaps win a few games in the Grapefruit League. They’ll come back to Pittsburgh and put on a great show and have some interesting promotions and giveaways. They’ll probably lose the home opener and then suddenly win three in a row and go up over .500. Then April will end and the real Pirates will show up. Yes, we’ll have some good players put on some impressive performances but the pitching staff will ultimately phone it in and by June we’ll be looking to trade our best players for some guy called Toby Named or we will be too busy watching the Penguins go for a fourth Stanley Cup to care. Meanwhile, Bob Nutting will be sitting in his office counting a big fat wad of cash infused by MLB profit sharing and by July. All that talk of dynasty won’t mean a damn thing once fair weather fans start migrating from the North Shore to St. Vincent’s. Soon, we’ll trade the last of our good players and we’ll slump into October as all the cool kids will be hanging out next door at Heinz Field. It’s the equivalent of sharing your birthday with a popular student and all your friends bail on the kick ass slumber party you planned because that kid has a Wii, a PS3, and all you have is an xBox 360.

18 years, 18 years, you've got season tix and they've been losing almost 18 years.

I know somebody payin' Nutting for one of his tix...

This talk of dynasty is ridiculous. The Pirates already have a dynasty. It’s called 17 seasons, soon to be 18, of sucktitude. Instead of “We Will” our slogan should be “We Suck” or “Who Cares?” It’s such a shame when there’s more fan enthusiasm for a group of pierogies running down the first base line than there is when a Pirate breaks the outfield with a hard line drive and the go ahead run is trying to score. Bob Nutting doesn’t seem to realize that we all know he’s a crook. The team is profitable whether or not we win any games. You have a built in base from season ticket holders and then the highest performing teams give money to the lowest performing teams. Unfortunately, that money doesn’t always go to improving the club with better players. It probably goes to paying for snow making machines up at Seven Springs… and this year they can redirect that money back into Nutting’s pocket because of all that damn snow we got .

Look no amount of Facebook groups, petitions, public outcry, or collective holding of breaths is going to change what is happening. Nutting would be a fool to sell the team because he hasn’t quite reached that level of diminishing returns yet. It’s a profitable ball club that sucks but pays. Mario Lemieux and Mark Cuban are not going to step and help out. We have a better shot of selling to another market and being moved but the price won’t be right. So just sit back and watch the suckfest as it nears its 18th season and curse Barry Bonds and Sid Bream all you want. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Three Rivers and one drain called PNC Park. “We Will Indeed”

 
 
 

Wikipedia Hates the Boston Red Sox

Wikipedia is given more credit than it should when it comes to accurately displaying information. That's why I joke in my Favorite Links List on the side that if it didn't show up in Wikipedia, it didn't happen. You get what you pay for when you let the Internet masses edit and contribute to one of the largest reference sites.

Now, either someone at Wikipedia or an outside party decided to edit the page for the 2009 American League Division Series. They included a line regarding their hatred of the Red Sox, who are playing the California Angels in game one of their matchup tonight. After I noticed it, I of course, screen captured it because as any game or computer geek knows, "Screenshot it or it didn't happen." So, I present to you a capture of said entry before it was caught. Notice the words right above Game 2.

But We're Rebuilding: 17 Losing Seasons of Baseball In Pittsburgh

17 years. 17 years. Do you realize Pittsburgh, that our battling Buccos haven’t had a winning year since 1993? Does it bother you that there are kids who will be attending college who have no idea what a winning baseball team in Pittsburgh looks like unless they are looking at the visitors? Do you think that “rebuilding mode” is a poor excuse for why the team has fallen below .500 for another year? I was born in 1975. That means I was four years old the last time they won the World Series and graduated high school the last time they had a winning season. From then on it’s been downhill ever since. As always, I love to offer my opinions where I have no expertise. It makes for me being a complete and utter a-hole. I welcome any comments, criticisms, or snide remarks. Please contribute.

Truthfully, I was a big fan of the Pirates growing up. I loved going to Three Rivers Stadium and sitting there with my glove ready for my chance to catch a home run or foul ball. At first, I was a little peeved that they were razing Three Rivers in order to build Heinz Field and PNC Park. However, after seeing PNC Park, I was impressed. It is a great field, but not deserving of the team that plays there. In fact, I really don’t remember ever paying to see a game there. I’ve been to the park a number of times because of tickets that I had acquired through work or from a friend of a friend. I pretty much go for the food and the chance to enjoy the view of the city. I also have a long standing bet with a few bookies over the pierogi races. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the over/under on the chance that a pierogi would do a flying tackle on a dead Ex President.
So, what gives? How can a team that has in a built in attendance of over 9000 in season ticket holders not have the money to bring in some good players? Granted, that’s a shrinking number since 2007 was listed as 11,000, but that’s still instant capital. Additionally, gimmicks like all you can eat for $35 tickets get another few thousand people in the seats.

A lot of Pittsburghers consider the Pittsburgh club a farm team for the rest of the league. They groom players to be good and then they trade them. If you plan on being with the team for awhile, it almost seems like a punishment for someone to do well because you won’t stay there into the post season…not that there is one. On the surface it doesn’t seem like a bad idea, to the player. We’ve had some players go to some top contender teams in exchange for some guy named Toby Namedlater. I don’t know who he is, but I hope he shows up soon.

If the Pirates dealings seem a little suspect consider this. Major League Baseball requires revenue sharing from its top teams. Think of it like TARP funds for flailing teams. The money that is pumped from big market teams to mid and small market teams is supposed to be used to increase the payroll of the team and allow for better players to be brought into a club, giving a more balanced playing field among the league. However, when you grow your own players and they do well, you bank on that money to bring in late season prospects for pennant runs. You begin banking on your utility players being able to shift to vacant positions as the big guns fill up their primary ones. You also add more bats and arms to your arsenal in order to make the run. That money gets used in both aspects very well like the Colorado Rockies a couple of years back.

The problem with this ball club, and this is an amateur opinion from an outside observer, they build up the players and then trade them for a premium. Usually, the Pirates get two to three seasoned players who aren’t exactly the same level of ability and then they get pushed into the rotation or built up and traded again. Look at last season. Jason Bay was a Chuck Tanner award winner and an all around good player. Nate McLouth made the All Star Team and received the Roberto Clemente award. Xavier Nady was a great player and named Player of the Week at the open of the season. This year, Nady plays for the Yankees, Bay plays for the Red Sox and McLouth plays for Atlanta. While the Braves aren’t exactly the best team in the league right now, looking to be third in their division, they are above .500 and are trying to get a pennant. You see my point, though.

From this outside observer’s opinion, it looks as if the Pirates are turning a profit by keeping the payroll low and trading for more players that can share the salary of the ones they trade and then build and trade, build and trade, keeping the profits in the front office instead of out on the field. Now, a few years ago when the Steelers played for and won their fifth Super Bowl title, they did it on the road. That meant no money came into the club, or the city by means of Heinz Field. Paul Brown Stadium, The RCA Dome, and Mile High Stadium saw those profits plus more as The Steelers bring in a huge crowd of displaced fans and admirers no matter where and what time a year they play. Yet, the return of that on the road investment was seen over the next years. The Pirates are steadily losing fans, ticket holders, and what little patience the city has with them. Of course, can you fire the owners? The blame gets thrown down the hill towards the middle management.

“We’re rebuilding,” they say. So is New Orleans, and there has been improvement there. Anyone who is from Pennsylvania or knows the area real well has a love/hate relationship with PENNDOT. It seems as if construction projects take place year round on the same road and end up being restarted once they are finished. The Pirates appear to be the same type of organization. They never fix the problems, they just patch it instead, hoping to be able to get through another season without it completely falling apart. Unfortunately, the winter months are like trade deadlines for the Pirates. Every year, plows and salt trucks degrade the road by scraping the patches and the freezing and thawing, that it especially rough on PA roads, makes things worse. For the Pirates, as the players get better, the trades degrade the overall cohesion of the team.

If you really want to affect competition among the teams in the League, instead of revenue sharing, how about a salary cap or a better restriction on how revenue sharing is to be allocated? A salary cap would improve the chances for great players to be employed by teams that can afford to have them but not break the payroll in the process. It also means that big ticket players could go, not where the money is, but where they could do more good and have more fun. If the Yankees want a better team, they have to grow it from the ground up, not buy it by outspending other teams. If the Pirates want a better team, they can spend the same amount of money the Yankees can. Still, they probably won’t because they will chose to keep under the cap and employ mediocre players while trading away top notch talent for second rate prospects. If you reform the revenue sharing, you can cut them to the quick and ensure that any revenue that comes in from other teams needs to be earmarked for player development or salaries. Give them an ultimatum of “Use it or Lose it.”

At any rate, a new generation of kids are growing up never knowing that their home team has four World Series Titles to their credit. They only know that the team is rebuilding. Coming soon, a new Pirates Team will take the field. Each year a new slogan touts the efforts of this aspect. “We Will.” We will, what? Suck? Lose? Trade? How about, “Better Bucs for your Bucks?” I will say that I still get a chill watching the opening cinematics at the field. It’s the one with the pirate ships flying the different teams’ banners before settling on the Pirates’ ship and the team they are playing. In the end, the Pirates are the only ship left floating. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the actual team on the field. They are a ship in trouble and the owners are like Captain Bligh.