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Super Mario vs. Scrooge McBuc
Judging by this year's attendance, a sucker is born every minute who will pay $12 to stand in a long line for Lastings Milledge's autograph.
I know firsthand, because I'm one of those suckers, at least the part about forking over $12.
Why? Nostalgia, force of habit, nothing better to do this time of year ... I'm still wondering about that.
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The selection of jerseys for sale at the event also produced some chuckles. Half the names printed on the backs were of players - McLouth, Snell, etc. - who no longer are Pirates. As for the other half, you have to wrack your brain to figure out who most of them are.
Sure, I probably would have gotten better value in the humor department at a comedy club. But they're not open Saturday mornings.
The real laughs over the weekend involving the Buccos came with this news report: "Pirates owner Bob Nutting declined to listen to separate proposals to buy the team last year, including a surprise bid from Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux, officials with knowledge of the talks told the Associated Press."
The joke is on anyone who thinks Nutting would consider selling.
He's making a mint by fielding a team that has the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball and operates in a publicly financed stadium. And let's not forget that even though the public voted down a referendum to finance the stadium, it was rammed down our collective throat, anyway.
But the idea of such a sale sets up a classic hero-and-villain scenario: Super Mario vs. Scrooge McBuc; the guy who's saved hockey in Pittsburgh on multiple occasions vs. the guy whose team hasn't had a winning season since JFK's mother was still alive.
Would a Lemieux ownership group finally turn the Pirates into winners? Well, we can safely say it couldn't do much worse. Given baseball's financial structure, though, there's no reason for a whole lot of optimism, no matter who owns what.
With Mario at the helm, though, the Pirates at least would attain the level of lovable losers. And if his profits were pumped into guaranteeing the Penguins remain a viable entity, what the heck. That would be preferable to Nutting continuing to stuff his pockets.
But, hey, what can I say? I bought a PirateFest ticket. And I can't even use the coupon on the back.
I guess P.T. would love me, too.
Online editor Harry Funk can be reached at hfunk@observer-reporter.com.
Hey Nutting : 2/2/2010
Lets Go Pens! Stick with Skiing and sell!
really now... : 2/2/2010
why would he sell the ball team? like you said, he is making a ton of money on a crappy team because our government leaders are dumb enough to do whatever he asks...
Pi-rats : 2/2/2010
What we should do to cut losses is flood PNC Park and have hockey games. Or maybe if we builkd another new stadium ...
Super Mario vs. Scrooge McBuc : 2/2/2010
I want new ownership, and Lord knows Ron Burkle (not Mario) has the deeeep pockets. Deep to the tune of $3.2 billion, but I don't think it would be that much of an upgrade. We saw what Mario and Burkle put on the ice before the NHL lockout. The likes of Rico Fata, Konstantin Koltsov, Richard Lintner, Marc Bergevin (for the upteenth time) and a washed up Alexandre Daigle. Not exactly Stanley Cup contenders. The Pirates and MLB need to institue a salary cap to be anywhere near a competitive baseball club, and we know that the wealthiest club owners and MLBPA will not let that happen. But the Bucs ownership and managment should be accountable for the lowest payroll in the league in 2010 ($35 million) and for the revenue sharing dollars they make from the rest of the league.
I agree!! : 2/2/2010
I did the same last year.. never again.
Super Mario vs. Scrooge McBuc : 2/2/2010
MLB will probably never have a salary cap, but I agree with HD that they should have a minimum cap to prove that the owners are serious about fielding a viable major league team. Nutting and his fellow investors are only interesting in turning a buck. (no pun intended)
Re: Super Mario vs. Scrooge McBuc : 2/2/2010
Washed up Alexandre Daigle? When was he ever good enough to earn the title that he even washed up?! Mario is the face that generates interest and excitement and as long as there is a profit Burkle will keep lining those multi-billionaire pockets. What I would love to see is MLB make teams that go a certain amount of time without being competitive in their division drop to AAA and allow another owner and city to step up to MLB. It forces teams that are out of the playoff race to stay competitive the whole year.
Wow : 2/3/2010
It is truly impressive how lazy an article this is. Same stale perspective on the Pirates that all the other lazy writers in the area drool into print. No new ground covered, no facts, attempts at "humor" that fall flat. How "proud" you must be of this "quality" commentary.
rebuilding : 2/3/2010
While it's true that The Pirates payroll is low now, so was The Penguins when they were in their rebuilding process. The Pirates new management team is doing essentially the same thing that The Penguins did while they were rebuilding. Most people in baseball think that what Neil Huntington and Frank Coonelly are doing with rebuilding The Pirates is the right way to go. They've only been at it a short time after the franchise was decimated during years of Littlefield and McClatchy. I'm looking forward to this season to see how the young players from last season have, hopefully, progressed. We may also get to see a few more young players like Pedro Alvarez, Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata on the major league team as well. I doubt very much, given the history of the pens, that anything would be much different. Now, having said that, if Nutting doesn't spend more on the team, as he has promised to do, once they are ready to contend then I will be very upset and demand a change in ownership. As of now, as far as I can see, they look to be on the right track.
Seven Springs Casino... : 2/3/2010
the ONLY reason that would even present a glimmer of hope would be Scrooge McNutting figuring that he could make more money with a slots & gaming license than with MLB welfare. If you remember at one time he had applied for a gaming license, however, MLB commish 'strongly suggested' that he withdraw his gaming application due to MLB rules about gambling-maybe there could be some hope on the horizon
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