Don't be a Yinzer- Not everything is bad and the things that are isn't because of Nutting

Baseball fans have been tortured for what seems to be generations now by the small market woes of MLB, none more specifically and emotionally than the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ever since losing the playoff series in 1992, losing Bonilla, Bonds, Drabek, Van Slyke in what amounted to one fail swoop, fans have personally experienced the angst of low revenue, poor baseball decisions, and the unwillingness of ownership to spend more during the brief times it appears that the Pirates can make a run at a playoff spot.

This article isn’t to discuss the past, but rather to put it to bed. This week’s “Trade deadline” brought with it the same attitude from fans that, despite reassurance that we are NOT in selling mode, that we would somehow end up doing the same things “we have always done” which is trade away any talent we have for prospects thus continuing a seemingly unending loop of trial and error. That didn’t happen. In fact the Pirates showed restraint and trust in their process (call it kool-aid if you must) and traded away only the players that we had only on 1 year contracts, with one exception, Rodolfo Castro. And, in a move we probably would not have duplicated previously, we didn’t trade Cutch, a fan favorite having a decent year whom would definitely have netted some return.

The returns we got for Santana, Hedges, Hill, and Choi really don’t matter. Unfortunately, Hedges was the only player we really didn’t “need” for the rest of the year, but with a playoff spot long in the rearview mirror, even doing nothing but saving a little of that money for slightly higher valued replacements in 2024 would have been reasonable. We could have dealt Reynolds (limited no trade), we could have dealt Bednar, we could have dealt Hayes, Suwinski, Keller, even bullpen guys like Holderman whom had real value. But we didn’t.

Fans hold onto grudges, and they hold onto the failures of the past, but other than Nutting still setting the payroll, everything else has changed. If you want to blame him for being unwilling to run the team at a loss even for one year, that’s your right, but I don’t think any of us would be willing to run our business at a loss just for fun, would we? My point here is simple: We didn’t trade away “valuable pieces” for the future, yet we still got some pieces back to plug holes while providing some slight possibility for future teams as well. We didn’t set ourselves back even 1 day from competing in 2024 and beyond. We didn’t take on useless payroll, we didn’t add any commitments to players we don’t want/need, and most importantly, we didn’t trade away anyone that was a part of that future.

Fans, I get it. I’ve been watching since Jim Leyland’s first year as manager. I watched us rise from the dust of the early and mid 80s then the 24 year struggle to even be competitive after the dismantling. Living through Bonifay, McClendon, Littlefield, Pedro Alvarez, etc. brings pain, it causes the need to blame someone. This time, keep a deep breath, and even if you hate management, acknowledge what we have just like they have: We’ve got a young, talented team. And, it doesn’t matter if we trade away most of them in 4-5 years, that means we’ve got the opportunity to win for at least that period of time.

Just a sobering thought for the talent we have.

2nd base: Former top 100 prospect Nick Gonzales

Shortstop: 2 Former top 100 Prospects (Liover and Oneil Cruz)

3rd base: The 2nd best defensive 3rd baseman in the game, locked up another 7 years in K. Hayes

Catcher: 2 Current 100 Prospects in Davis and Rodriguez, both with some position flexibility and power

Outfield: a 20 HR guy in Suwinski with 5 years of control, BRey with 2 all-star selections and 2 .300 seasons wrapped up to the biggest extension in pirates history

Pitching: Skenes, a top 10 MLB prospect, Keller a former top 100 prospect and All-star, Bednar a 2 time All-star closer with 3 years of control left, Contreras another former top 100 prospect, still only 24, and Ortiz, whom also made a top 100 list earlier this year.

Do yourself a favor, watch the kids grow, develop, and learn how to win. Fans, you deserve it. Don’t steal it from yourself because you can’t stop hating Nutting enough to enjoy the ride. Don’t be another Yinzer whom endlessly complains at every trade without actually trying to understand the baseball behind it. Do better. Nutting sets a payroll, that’s it. He’s not the boogeyman.