So last night I couldn’t sleep and found myself lying in bed watching one of those Sunday night sports panel shows that the local networks have. I’m purposefully not naming which one, or on what channel, or who the panelists were. I’m not doing that because there’s a blog stereotype of a guy in his moms basement who uses negativity towards popular media and/or celebrities to get attention. I’m not writing this to get attention. I’m writing this because after their first segment, which was dedicated to the Pirates, I was so pissed off I turned off the TV and threw the remote on the floor. Then I went to play Tiger woods golf ‘10 for Wii (which can cure anything that ails you I’ve decided).
The segment started off innocently enough, with the host stating that the Pirates had offered low ball extensions to Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, and that those extensions were turned down by both players. From there it was all down hill. There were almost no facts. There wasn’t, in my opinion, a single logical argument made for the rest of the segment. The low point was when one panelist said (I wish I could find a transcript so I could quote it) that the Pirates should trade any player who wants to stay in Pittsburgh and keep any player who doesn’t want to be here. His rationale (If you can call it that) being that the team is so bad, so hopeless, that any player who wants to stay here is obviously no good.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that 16 consecutive losing seasons can drive a fan a crazy. If I read that on some random Pirates blog, I wouldn’t be surprised, but I would probably stop reading that blog. If I wrote something like that here, I would be dismissed as a nut job. If I had any readership (I don’t) I would expect to lose them over a comment like that. That argument is so illogical, so nonsensical, that it defies any possible explanation. I understand that being cynical about the Pirates is a popular sentiment these days, but really, I just expect media members to be a little bit above the fray when it comes to things like that.
After that, they went on to discuss the Ian Snell dilemma, and his alleged comments that he wants to stay in Indianapolis. There has been some dispute over whether he actually said this or not, but lets assume for simplicities sake that he actually did say so. One member of the panel thinks the Pirates should recall Snell and make him start whether he wants to or not.
It seems to me that there’s a basic premise this particular panelist seems to be missing. Ian Snell was sent down because he was wildly inconsistent. He showed flashes of brilliance no doubt, but his 1.18 K/BB ration speaks to how bad his command is. Using 70 IP as a baseline (Snell has 80.2) that’s the fourth worst in all of major league baseball. You can’t be a successful major league starter doing that. There are any number of possible resolutions to the Snell situation. He could be traded. He could make the adjustments he needs to make and eventually be recalled. He could stay in Indy for a while then be released. But just bringing him up and throwing him out there because he makes a lot of money doesn’t help the Pirates to win more games, and it doesn’t help Snell to be a better pitcher long term.
With that they threw it to commercial and I threw my remote control. But my larger point here isn’t to prove to my hypothetical readers (again, I don’t have any) that I have a temper. My point is that there are many members of the Pittsburgh sports media who seem to take an unfair tact towards the local baseball team. Granted this is a circumstantial analysis, based solely on my own meandering experience. But I’ve seen enough of it that I’m starting to think I’m not crazy when I see it happening. The media in Pittsburgh has spent the last 16 years focusing on a winning football team and a winning hockey team. When the Steelers or Penguins make a move, it is analyzed at a deeper level and either criticized or applauded on its merit. In that time though, the media has become so used to the Pirates losing ways that every move the team makes is arbitrarily dismissed as a mistake.
I’m not saying The Pirates are above reproach, certainly they have made some mistakes, and they will make mistakes in the future. The same though is true of the Penguins and Steelers. The Rooney family, contrary to popular belief, has made a mistake or two along the way (Anybody remember Jamain Stephens?). All I’m hoping for is for the Pittsburgh sports media to give equal treatment to all three teams. As of right now, I don’t believe that to be the case.
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