It's time to start the chant.
Here's what I love about the Pirates' season right now.
Management, the players and the local media all made statements prior to the Milwaukee series on Monday morning that this homestand (4 games Vs. the BrewCrew and 3 Vs. LesCubs) leading into the all-star break would be very important. A strong display would actually put them right within shouting distance of an NL Central pennant... God Bless 'Em... They weren't wrong!
The Buccos just took 3 of 4 from the division leaders and now they're six innings through man-handling (in a very man-tastic sort of way, I might add) the 2nd place Chicago Baby Bears.
So, let's have it... LET'S GO BUCS - LET'S GO BUCS - LET'S GO BUCS!!!!
...and I want you to get slightly louder each time through the cadence.
06 July 2007
Uhhhh... Now what?
Well... the day has finally come. We finally have an ETD for Kevin McClatchy.
Now, I want to be very careful here to temper my excitement because I want to be fair to the man. I'm sure that, for many fans in Piratedom, this specific piece of news will be cause for much celebration and so I just want to take a moment to remind us all of the good that he has done. Let's not forget that, without Kevin McClatchy, the Pirates could very well be playing baseball in Florida, Arizona, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico or any one of a dozen cities in California with joneses for a Major League Baseball franchise.
When his ownership group bought the team in 1996, they were already in the third year of a "rebuilding" process and had no immediate prospects for improvement. Of course, the expectation was that new ownership would bring a renewed zeal and determination to win. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we hope they will. Obviously, the Pirates haven't been made into a winner under McClatchy's watch, but they're no longer bordering on bankruptcy and they play in what is arguably the premier sports venue in the United States. Let's give the man his due. He may not have produced a +.500 team but he may very well have put the franchise in a position for his successor to do so.
I give him credit for stepping down now, even if many of us believe it's 3 or 4 years overdue. Now the pressure is really on Bob Nutting to choose a new CEO. When Nutting took over as principal owner this winter, he insisted that changes were coming... let's just hope these changes lead to improvements on the field. It all starts with this decision. Will Bob Nutting become the next Art Rooney or the next Kevin McClatchy? Only time will tell, but Pirates fans have run short on patience after the last 15 years.
Speaking of improvements on the field: Everybody seen Adam LaRoche lately? S-I-C-K... I think it's OK to stop booing him now.
Now, I want to be very careful here to temper my excitement because I want to be fair to the man. I'm sure that, for many fans in Piratedom, this specific piece of news will be cause for much celebration and so I just want to take a moment to remind us all of the good that he has done. Let's not forget that, without Kevin McClatchy, the Pirates could very well be playing baseball in Florida, Arizona, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico or any one of a dozen cities in California with joneses for a Major League Baseball franchise.
When his ownership group bought the team in 1996, they were already in the third year of a "rebuilding" process and had no immediate prospects for improvement. Of course, the expectation was that new ownership would bring a renewed zeal and determination to win. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we hope they will. Obviously, the Pirates haven't been made into a winner under McClatchy's watch, but they're no longer bordering on bankruptcy and they play in what is arguably the premier sports venue in the United States. Let's give the man his due. He may not have produced a +.500 team but he may very well have put the franchise in a position for his successor to do so.
I give him credit for stepping down now, even if many of us believe it's 3 or 4 years overdue. Now the pressure is really on Bob Nutting to choose a new CEO. When Nutting took over as principal owner this winter, he insisted that changes were coming... let's just hope these changes lead to improvements on the field. It all starts with this decision. Will Bob Nutting become the next Art Rooney or the next Kevin McClatchy? Only time will tell, but Pirates fans have run short on patience after the last 15 years.
Speaking of improvements on the field: Everybody seen Adam LaRoche lately? S-I-C-K... I think it's OK to stop booing him now.
05 July 2007
A comment about my comments
Recently, I was railroaded by my own sister on her blog in response to a comment I posted on said blog. This I can accept because the comment I posted was confrontational in tone and did make generalizations which were slightly unfair. For this, I owe her an apology.
You see, this is the main reason I try not to post political commentary on my blog. Unless you are a generally accepted, equal-opportunity, political satirist (e.g. The Onion, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live...) it's hard to get away with quibbling over silly little things without sounding mean spirited and petty. The reason being that we all know you're making a larger point.
Since I do not write for "The Onion" or "The Daily Show" I choose not to put every silly little criticism I have of people on the other side of the aisle into words on this blog. If for no other reason than to avoid opening myself up to return cricisms that may hit a little too close to home. This is what I thought I was trying to accomplish in my comments to dittoheston.com, though I recognize it wasn't the most constructive of criticisms. Of course, it just got thrown back in my face.
Most of us are more moderate than we are given credit for and we need to remember that when we're engaged in dialogue with others.
As much as I would like to put this whole messy situation behind us, I would, however, like to point out one incorrect assumption made by dittoheston: I do not believe Scooter Libby deserves a get-out-of-jail-free card. He committed a felony and was found guilty of it, but he was (in my view, obviously) the fall guy for crimes of much greater import to the American people and I do believe the punishment he was given did not entirely fit the crime of which he was convicted. Many people say that Bush went too far in commuting the prison term but many others believe that he didn't go far enough and that his administration (more specifically, the Vice President) owe Libby a full pardon for taking the perverbial bullet. It's not cut and dry but I honestly think that this nation has bigger worries at the moment than Scooter Libby or the dress code at Presidential functions.
You see, this is the main reason I try not to post political commentary on my blog. Unless you are a generally accepted, equal-opportunity, political satirist (e.g. The Onion, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live...) it's hard to get away with quibbling over silly little things without sounding mean spirited and petty. The reason being that we all know you're making a larger point.
Since I do not write for "The Onion" or "The Daily Show" I choose not to put every silly little criticism I have of people on the other side of the aisle into words on this blog. If for no other reason than to avoid opening myself up to return cricisms that may hit a little too close to home. This is what I thought I was trying to accomplish in my comments to dittoheston.com, though I recognize it wasn't the most constructive of criticisms. Of course, it just got thrown back in my face.
Most of us are more moderate than we are given credit for and we need to remember that when we're engaged in dialogue with others.
As much as I would like to put this whole messy situation behind us, I would, however, like to point out one incorrect assumption made by dittoheston: I do not believe Scooter Libby deserves a get-out-of-jail-free card. He committed a felony and was found guilty of it, but he was (in my view, obviously) the fall guy for crimes of much greater import to the American people and I do believe the punishment he was given did not entirely fit the crime of which he was convicted. Many people say that Bush went too far in commuting the prison term but many others believe that he didn't go far enough and that his administration (more specifically, the Vice President) owe Libby a full pardon for taking the perverbial bullet. It's not cut and dry but I honestly think that this nation has bigger worries at the moment than Scooter Libby or the dress code at Presidential functions.
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