Post-Gazette Is A Joke

PITTSBURGH, Pa. / February 5, 2010

Up until now I haven't commented on the apparent offer by Mario Lemieux to buy the Pirates - the reason being that the team is not for sale, so Mario's offer is irrelevant.

I also would prefer not to comment on garbage editorials in the local newspaper regarding the same topic. Yet I feel compelled to do exactly that.

A recent Post-Gazette editorial, calling for Bob Nutting to sell the team, starts with a completely dirty trick by blaming the Nuttings for the past 17 years. In less than 3 of those years did the Nuttings have control of the team. I own some stock in Exxon and I actually had the same power over Exxon from 1994-2007 as Bob Nutting had over the Pirates, that is to say none. It's hard to believe the editorial board of a major American newspaper has such a poor grasp of facts.

To make matters worse the editorial goes on to criticize Nutting for the Pirates' failure to win in 2010. Are they serious? The 2010 season hasn't even started yet!

And finally, the editorial closes by saying that Nutting should sell the team to the Mario Lemieux-led group for the good of the city - citing the money Lemieux has put into the Penguins.

Of course it would be nice if some rich guy paid a lot of money for the Pirates for fun. Believe it or not there is no Mark Cuban here.

While a Lemieux-led group might in fact benefit the Pirates, Bob Nutting has no obligation to sell the team for that reason. And it's a complete joke to blame him for the losing that took place since 2007. It is like blaming me that the 20 pound weight I bought around the same time still does not float.

Finally, Lemieux clearly would not buy the Pirates with the intention of losing money. With a bottom 5 ranking in the league in attendance comes a bottom 5 ranking in payroll. Give the Pirates, Nutting ownership and all, what the Penguins have - a full house paying $50 to $150 a seat - and I am sure you would see a much higher MLB payroll.

During the Littlefield years, the Post-Gazette was reliably optimistic for no reason - even endorsing the Santiago transactions I wrote about yesterday. Now that the Pirates have a solid young core together, the P-G calls for a sale of the team.

I happen to think the Pirates have put together a good team. At the very least, I would not proclaim this a losing season with the Pirates' record at 0-0. I would hope that before writing any more, the P-G Editorial Board takes the time to find a factual basis for their statements.