Pirates' promises failing, too
Spring training, 1999: In the apparently blistering hot sun of Bradenton, Fla., Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy was feeling confident about his team's future.
"We've got one of the best general managers in the game in Cam Bonifay," he told The Associated Press. "If we get our payroll up in the mid-40s (millions) when we move into our new stadium in 2001, we'll be able to compete. I'm certain of that."
He should have worn a hat that day. The sun obviously was clouding his judgment.
In the columnist trade, certain mandates exist. One is to occasionally tweak public figures by unearthing their past comments and noting how completely, utterly wrong they turned out to be.
McClatchy is helping fulfill that occupational requirement today. Thanks, Kevin.
Let's begin with McClatchy's praise of Bonifay. He was such a good general manager that he now labors as director of player development for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It's a lesser position with one of the few teams in baseball worse than the Pirates, but Bonifay had to make a living after McClatchy fired him in 2001.
The purpose of rehashing McClatchy's 4-year-old remark isn't to trash Bonifay's general manager skills, although I suppose I did just that. The purpose is to ridicule the idea voiced years ago by McClatchy and assorted politicians (i.e. Mayor Tom Murphy) that PNC Park would be a panacea for the Pirates.
To those who would suggest a dead horse is being beaten here, I politely disagree. We did not know until published reports this week that the Pirates have lost $30 million since moving into their new ballpark less than three full seasons ago.
Seabiscuit, then, remains alive and well and suitable for flogging.
In the taxpayer-financed PNC Park, the Pirates have experienced their ninth, 10th and, soon enough, their 11th consecutive losing seasons. Let's put that dry spell in perspective. Students about to enter the sixth grade were not yet born the last time the team won more games than it lost.
They probably will hit puberty long before the Pirates hit well enough to again be a winner.
The Pirates have increased player salaries since moving into the new ballpark to about $55 million at the start of this season. The payroll hike hasn't made the Pirates any more competitive, aside from their intense competition every year for the division basement.
Even the Pirates' modest payroll (by Major League Baseball standards) is about to plummet because of their mounting losses on the books and on the field. Virtually the entire team is on the trading block as the Bucs seek to get younger, less expensive players.
(Rumor has it the Pirate Pierogie Performers also are being shopped. While it would disappoint many to see Cheese Chester and Oliver Onion depart, few tears would be shed if Sauerkraut Saul left town. His knees are shot, and he recently blasted fans for their indifference toward the on-field pierogie races.)
For their investment of $211.8 million in PNC Park's $259.6 million total cost, the public was promised a competitive, financially stable team. Not necessarily a world championship or a division title, but a competitive, financially stable team.
Even in the ballpark that was to be their salvation, the Pirates appear incapable of fulfilling this modest pledge. McClatchy might want to consider selling the team to someone who can.
