The following letter responds to a recent Mike Prisuta article, “Casey's return proves Pirates are trying again”. An edited version of the letter appeared in the December 11, 2005 Letters to the Editor section of the Tribune-Review sports page. Mr. Prisuta, In regards to the Pirate’s recent moves, you wrote (December 8, 2005):

It’s good because we would reasonably expect the scions of two old newspaper empires to strictly observe the ethical limits which ought to guide the actions of our local journalists.

Oh, wait....

The upshot: Insomuch as Littlefield’s team-building strategy for the 2006 season comes to rely upon free agent acquisitions and if the free agents he signs this winter wholly or partially undermine the youth movement the Pirates’ implemented during the 2005 season, it is to that extent that Littlefield will have merely promised to go dumpster diving once again in the passage quoted above.

Kevin McClatchy recently promised Pirate fans that his team would loosen its always tight purse strings during the coming months, that his Pirates would budget more money for its 2006 players’ payroll than it had in the recent past, money it would spend so that it might field a significantly better or even a winning team next year. McClatchy might even follow through on his promises.

Let’s assume that the Pirates will spend more money putting together next year’s team. (It goes without saying that Pirate fans have good reason to question promises made by the McClatchy partnership.) What, then, should we expect from this pricier team? A winner? A championship contender?

Sigh....

(Best read with Stravinsky’s Song of the Volga Boatmen playing in the background)

According to my notes, the McClatchy partnership purchased the Pirates on October 10th (1996).

It seems like he and his crew have owned the Pirates for a lot longer than that.

Ciao!

The Pirates will soon play their last game of the 2005 season. But, they are also playing for the right to pick second in the 2006 Draft. In that sense, the future is already here.

They enter the last game of the year tied with the Rockies for second (to last) place in the majors.

It’s the last weekend of the season. At least five teams have something to play for.

The Pirates are playing for the right to pick second in the 2006 Draft. The race has tightened a bit as the season has drawn to a close.

Every so often I’ll write a few pertinent — or useless — comments for the Front Page. It keeps me out of trouble. The twelfth installment:

He’s taller, and bigger, and...he’s got a suitable name for a baseball player

Meet Kip Wells. ‘How do you do!’

Next, consider his bona fides. Do so with Littlefield’s eyes. Finally, ponder the fact that the Pirates recently gave Wells two more starts this season but gave Ian Snell only one before shutting him down for the year.

Every so often I’ll write a few pertinent — or useless — comments for the Front Page. It keeps me out of trouble. The eleventh installment:

They just can’t help but to win a few games

The Pirates might drop out of the top (bottom) five if they continue to beat up on their betters. Thanks to their recent surge, the Pirates, Rockies and Devil Rays are neck-in-neck as the three teams enter the final turn of the 2005 season. Still, they’ve dropped their last three games.

Every so often I’ll write a few pertinent — or useless — comments for the Front Page. It keeps me out of trouble. The tenth installment:

Shazaam!

A three-game winning streak! With it, the Pirates are again threatening to push the Rockies out of third place in the race for the booby prize.