2013 Wild Card Game Replay On ATT Sports

[fjk090852-7]

I just watched the Bucs 2013 Wild Card Game vs the Reds. I attended that game and was a standing room only fan. I have gone to Pirates games since 1961, and this game was the highlight of all games I attended. Just watching the replay of the game and the fan excitement just makes me wonder why Bob Nutting cannot grasp what October baseball is all about. At this point we all have greater concerns with health rather than baseball, but if and when we can again enjoy the game of baseball and especially our Pirates I would hope that Mr Nutting would come to realize that it is time to put a competitive team year in and year out at the Best Ballpark in America.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

6D61603B323B333E39263C0B0 wrote: I just watched the Bucs 2013 Wild Card Game vs the Reds. I attended that game and was a standing room only fan. I have gone to Pirates games since 1961, and this game was the highlight of all games I attended. Just watching the replay of the game and the fan excitement just makes me wonder why Bob Nutting cannot grasp what October baseball is all about. At this point we all have greater concerns with health rather than baseball, but if and when we can again enjoy the game of baseball and especially our Pirates I would hope that Mr Nutting would come to realize that it is time to put a competitive  team year in and year out at the Best Ballpark in America.


I also hope that Nutting would come to see the light but his actions since the end of the 2015 season reveal what he really thinks. He has said several times that he wants a winner but the words have rung hollow so far. It's not wins and titles he seeks.

[Bobster21]

7325332728322229243301262C20282D6F22410 wrote: I just watched the Bucs 2013 Wild Card Game vs the Reds. I attended that game and was a standing room only fan. I have gone to Pirates games since 1961, and this game was the highlight of all games I attended. Just watching the replay of the game and the fan excitement just makes me wonder why Bob Nutting cannot grasp what October baseball is all about. At this point we all have greater concerns with health rather than baseball, but if and when we can again enjoy the game of baseball and especially our Pirates I would hope that Mr Nutting would come to realize that it is time to put a competitive  team year in and year out at the Best Ballpark in America.


I also hope that Nutting would come to see the light but his actions since the end of the 2015 season reveal what he really thinks.  He has said several times that he wants a winner but the words have rung hollow so far.  It's not wins and titles he seeks.
They told us several years prior to 2013 that they would spend when the time was right. We wanted to believe that. Then 3 straight post season appearances with 2015 being a 98 win team and setting a franchise record for attendance. That 2015 team benefited from Burnett, who was retiring, and from Happ who was a great surprise when acquired to replace the injured Burnett. There was also the issue of Alvarez who had become such a liability at 1B that he didn't start the WC game and only entered when it was his turn to bat (prompting 1B starter Sean Rodriguez to punch the water cooler). The Pirates had become legit contenders that the rest of the NL had to fear.



I can't believe NH was such an incompetent GM that he actually felt the best course of action for 2016 was to let Happ walk and replace him with Vogelsong, choose Jaso as Alvarez's replacement, and trade Walker for Niese (essentially swapping out their salaries for one another). Yes, the payroll increased. By about $80,000. A fraction of the minimum MLB salary. I cannot believe that after building those winning teams of 2013-15 and seeing the fan enthusiasm, that NH made those team-gutting moves because he thought they added the needed talent and that the lack of additional money needed for payroll was merely a coincidence. NH wasn't the best GM but Mortimer Snerd would have known the moves in 2016 were going to hurt the team. There is only 1 explanation and that is that Nutting put the clamps on payroll and NH was going to have to operate within a shoestring budget. The 3 straight playoff appearances, the 98 wins, and the record attendance was not going to result in a significant payroll increase because Nutting knew that no time was the right time. If the Pirates had re-signed Happ, brought in a legit 1Bman to replace Alvarez and got a better pitcher than Niese, they would have been a powerhouse in 2016. But because Nutting had lied about spending, the 98 wins turned into 78 in one year. And the apparent 2020 payroll is about 50% of the 2015 payroll. Nutting's priority is obvious. He laid it out crystal clear in 2016 and since. It's not that he fails to realize what he needs to do to compete. It's that he's not in it for that reason. He wants his GM to do the best he can without spending MLB-appropriate money. When NH couldn't do that, Nutting gave someone else a chance. But BC has little chance to succeed. Maybe the next GM will be Rumpelstiltskin, who is rumored to be able to spin straw into gold. Anything less will falter under the extreme limitations enforced by an owner not interested in competing if it costs more than the bare minimum.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

674A47565140571714250 wrote: I just watched the Bucs 2013 Wild Card Game vs the Reds. I attended that game and was a standing room only fan. I have gone to Pirates games since 1961, and this game was the highlight of all games I attended. Just watching the replay of the game and the fan excitement just makes me wonder why Bob Nutting cannot grasp what October baseball is all about. At this point we all have greater concerns with health rather than baseball, but if and when we can again enjoy the game of baseball and especially our Pirates I would hope that Mr Nutting would come to realize that it is time to put a competitive  team year in and year out at the Best Ballpark in America.


I also hope that Nutting would come to see the light but his actions since the end of the 2015 season reveal what he really thinks.  He has said several times that he wants a winner but the words have rung hollow so far.  It's not wins and titles he seeks.
They told us several years prior to 2013 that they would spend when the time was right. We wanted to believe that. Then 3 straight post season appearances with 2015 being a 98 win team and setting a franchise record for attendance. That 2015 team benefited from Burnett, who was retiring, and from Happ who was a great surprise when acquired to replace the injured Burnett. There was also the issue of Alvarez who had become such a liability at 1B that he didn't start the WC game and only entered when it was his turn to bat (prompting 1B starter Sean Rodriguez to punch the water cooler). The Pirates had become legit contenders that the rest of the NL had to fear.



I can't believe NH was such an incompetent GM that he actually felt the best course of action for 2016 was to let Happ walk and replace him with Vogelsong, choose Jaso as Alvarez's replacement, and trade Walker for Niese (essentially swapping out their salaries for one another). Yes, the payroll increased. By about $80,000. A fraction of the minimum MLB salary. I cannot believe that after building those winning teams of 2013-15 and seeing the fan enthusiasm, that NH made those team-gutting moves because he thought they added the needed talent and that the lack of additional money needed for payroll was merely a coincidence. NH wasn't the best GM but Mortimer Snerd would have known the moves in 2016 were  going to hurt the team. There is only 1 explanation and that is that Nutting put the clamps on payroll and NH was going to have to operate within a shoestring budget. The 3 straight playoff appearances, the 98 wins, and the record attendance was not going to result in a significant payroll increase because Nutting knew that no time was the right time. If the Pirates had re-signed Happ, brought in a legit 1Bman to replace Alvarez and got a better pitcher than Niese, they would have been a powerhouse in 2016. But because Nutting had lied about spending, the 98 wins turned into 78 in one year. And the apparent 2020 payroll is about 50% of the 2015 payroll. Nutting's priority is obvious. He laid it out crystal clear in 2016 and since. It's not that he fails to realize what he needs to do to compete. It's that he's not in it for that reason. He wants his GM to do the best he can without spending MLB-appropriate money. When NH couldn't do that, Nutting gave someone else a chance. But BC has little chance to succeed. Maybe the next GM will be Rumpelstiltskin, who is rumored to be able to spin straw into gold. Anything less will falter under the extreme limitations enforced by an owner not interested in competing if it costs more than the bare minimum.      




Well said, Bob. I wish I'd have written that.



My thought about Nutting's operational strategy at the end of 2015 was that the additional payroll it was going to take thereafter wasn't going to justify the additional cost. There were no guarantees that extra spending would lead to more wins or a title. Better to just keep costs low by minimizing risk, even though it meant lower profits. Taking the money MLB doled out would nicely make up for it. It was just too easy.

[johnfluharty]

6D404D5C5B4A5D1D1E2F0 wrote: I just watched the Bucs 2013 Wild Card Game vs the Reds. I attended that game and was a standing room only fan. I have gone to Pirates games since 1961, and this game was the highlight of all games I attended. Just watching the replay of the game and the fan excitement just makes me wonder why Bob Nutting cannot grasp what October baseball is all about. At this point we all have greater concerns with health rather than baseball, but if and when we can again enjoy the game of baseball and especially our Pirates I would hope that Mr Nutting would come to realize that it is time to put a competitive  team year in and year out at the Best Ballpark in America.


I also hope that Nutting would come to see the light but his actions since the end of the 2015 season reveal what he really thinks.  He has said several times that he wants a winner but the words have rung hollow so far.  It's not wins and titles he seeks.
They told us several years prior to 2013 that they would spend when the time was right. We wanted to believe that. Then 3 straight post season appearances with 2015 being a 98 win team and setting a franchise record for attendance. That 2015 team benefited from Burnett, who was retiring, and from Happ who was a great surprise when acquired to replace the injured Burnett. There was also the issue of Alvarez who had become such a liability at 1B that he didn't start the WC game and only entered when it was his turn to bat (prompting 1B starter Sean Rodriguez to punch the water cooler). The Pirates had become legit contenders that the rest of the NL had to fear.



I can't believe NH was such an incompetent GM that he actually felt the best course of action for 2016 was to let Happ walk and replace him with Vogelsong, choose Jaso as Alvarez's replacement, and trade Walker for Niese (essentially swapping out their salaries for one another). Yes, the payroll increased. By about $80,000. A fraction of the minimum MLB salary. I cannot believe that after building those winning teams of 2013-15 and seeing the fan enthusiasm, that NH made those team-gutting moves because he thought they added the needed talent and that the lack of additional money needed for payroll was merely a coincidence. NH wasn't the best GM but Mortimer Snerd would have known the moves in 2016 were  going to hurt the team. There is only 1 explanation and that is that Nutting put the clamps on payroll and NH was going to have to operate within a shoestring budget. The 3 straight playoff appearances, the 98 wins, and the record attendance was not going to result in a significant payroll increase because Nutting knew that no time was the right time. If the Pirates had re-signed Happ, brought in a legit 1Bman to replace Alvarez and got a better pitcher than Niese, they would have been a powerhouse in 2016. But because Nutting had lied about spending, the 98 wins turned into 78 in one year. And the apparent 2020 payroll is about 50% of the 2015 payroll. Nutting's priority is obvious. He laid it out crystal clear in 2016 and since. It's not that he fails to realize what he needs to do to compete. It's that he's not in it for that reason. He wants his GM to do the best he can without spending MLB-appropriate money. When NH couldn't do that, Nutting gave someone else a chance. But BC has little chance to succeed. Maybe the next GM will be Rumpelstiltskin, who is rumored to be able to spin straw into gold. Anything less will falter under the extreme limitations enforced by an owner not interested in competing if it costs more than the bare minimum.      




I would love to hear an explanation from Nutting as to why that off season was handled the way it was, but we will never get one.