Big Lead Sports Bar

6/18/2010

What if the Pirates’ Nucleus Doesn’t Work Out? A History Lesson in Failed Youth Movements



At long last, the future is now for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Alvarez. Walker. Tabata. McCutchen. Lincoln. First-round draft picks and highly coveted prospects all, their mere presence hopefully enough to interest even the casual Pirate fan. But is there any guarantee that this rebuilding plan will be different than some of the others we’ve seen over the years, including those right here in Pittsburgh?

That’s a question I’ll try to answer in today's column for 93.7 The Fan, as I look at similarly-hyped rebuilding efforts that have fallen flat across the world of sports. If you think this is a phenomenon exclusive to Pittsburgh, you might want to check this out.

For the discussion portion of this piece, I'll be chatting with Gregg Giannotti on Friday night at 7:40 p.m. You can listen at 93.7 on your dial and online at The Fan website.



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can not say I have any hope this will work out "this time". Its not that I have given up hope, it just that after the past 17 seasons, my hope well has run dry...

I am going to start a betting line on these and future Pirate's teams. Which will come first, the Pirates having a "competitive" winning season, or NASA landing a manned mission on Mars? Right now the smart money is on NASA...

The Mad Bubbler said...

"What if?" Well then Nutting will fire everyone, hire some new jerks who will say the same shit, they'll draft some other guys, people who are either too stupid to realize the charade / too young to not remember the previous youth movement will continue to go to games, Succos will celebrate 55th anniversary of 1960 team, more bobbleheads, more fireworks, more washed up rock bands, Nutting laughs all the way to the bank. Rinse, wash, repeat

Dallas Mike said...

Bubbler, you speak the truth!

BurressWithButterflywings said...

If it doesn't work out, they will just fire another Pierogi.

I honestly hope they lose 20 straight. Actually, I wish they would lose every single game for the rest of the season.

I have had enough.

Unknown said...

I'm done with the pirates. I'm done reading about them, caring about them, following them. Done. The pirates are a dead franchise in my eyes. We really only have two professional teams in Pittsburgh. The Nuttings are the worst family in Pittsburgh history.

Nate said...

And at what point were you "done with the Pirates" last year, Cornelius? If you're still posting about them, you still care.

Chip said...

He's "done with the Pirates" until next year when they're the hottest young team in the league. Then he'll be all "Pedro Rulz!" and talking about how "Yinz guys didn't believe me when I told ya we we're turning it around!" along with the 55,000 other yinzers who'll eagerly jump back on the bandwagon when the team gets good.

Brian said...

Well, once again it looks like my comment didn't make the cut on The Fan post.

It was similar to #1, and you really can't blame fans for being cynical in yet another youth movement. How many can't-miss prospects have come through Pittsburgh over the years? And how many of them have panned out? And how many players have the Pirates gotten rid of that just a few years earlier were considered part of the future?

Sure, Lincoln and Alvarez might be considered more talented than what's come before. But it doesn't matter. Fans are accustomed to failure, and there's really no need to look at other teams' failed youth movements when you see it repeating itself in Pittsburgh over and over and over.

Unknown said...

Nate, I have lost interest in the Pirates over the last decade, but decided to give them another chance with them bringing in Huntington. It does really irk me that the pirates are so bad, but more because of what it does to the city and the sports fans than anything else. You and Chip can continue to care, give the Nuttings your money, or whatever you do with respect to the Pirates. However, I won't. Not until someone else buys the team which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

And Chip, thanks for the derogatory stereotyping. I'm not a Yinzer. Quite far from it, in fact. I like how you seem to look down on Yinzers, yet you are the gullible one that still seems to think that somehow the Pirates will be the "hottest young team in the league" next season. Yeah. Good luck with that.

Unknown said...

@Cornelius: The Nuttings aren't from Pittsburgh, have never lived in Pittsburgh, and really don't have anything to do with Pittsburgh outside of owning about 80% of the Pirates. They live in Wheeling, West Virginia and fly into the Allegheny County Airport on their private plane, where they have a car they drive into the city.

@Bubbler: the bobbleheads insult is getting old. The Pirates have backed off the bobbleheads and fireworks nights. They now are into concerts and t-shirts. At least be informed when you insult a faceless organization!

Unknown said...

@Scott: Nowhere did I ever claim that the Nuttings were from, or live in Pittsburgh. I am well aware that they are not Pittsburghers. Further, where they live has no bearing on how they have impacted Pittsburgh or the Pirates.