I just wonder!!

[richie hebner]

I really do wonder what the real Pirate interest base is in the Burgh. It's easy to count ticket sales and now local cable is able to pass on the viewer numbers to the Pirate ownership almost instantly. I wonder if this has any bearing on whether the numbers are there to support a 75-85 million dollar payroll.
I remember some great teams in the past that were unable to draw respectable numbers. I even remember some playoffs when the Pirates didn't draw a full house.

I live near Detroit and the fan attendance has been super since Mike Illich opened his wallet. When the Tigers play they outdraw any network or cable show being aired in the same time slots!! Of course this is a summer telecast schedule.
Wow! I bet that upsets O'reilly!

But remember you have the Steelers....we are stuck with the Lions. God is a just God!!!

Would appreciate any comments on the financial considerations.

[Westlake]

If there were only as many Pirate fans in the Pittsburg area as there are Superbike fans.

[Silver Blaze]

I really do wonder what the real Pirate interest base is in the Burgh. It's easy to count ticket sales and now local cable is able to pass on the viewer numbers to the Pirate ownership almost instantly. I wonder if this has any bearing on whether the numbers are there to support a 75-85 million dollar payroll.
I remember some great teams in the past that were unable to draw respectable numbers. I even remember some playoffs when the Pirates didn't draw a full house.

I live near Detroit and the fan attendance has been super since Mike Illich opened his wallet. When the Tigers play they outdraw any network or cable show being aired in the same time slots!! Of course this a summer telecast schedule.
Wow! I bet that upsets O'reilly!

But remember you have the Steelers....we are stuck with the Lions. God is a just God!!!

Would appreciate any comments on the financial considerations.

The Pittsburgh area has a bigger population than Milwaukee, yet the Brewers 2007 payroll was almost double that of the Pirates. Case closed.

[maxcarey]

But neither the Brewers nor the Pirates made the playoffs.

[Silver Blaze]

But neither the Brewers nor the Pirates made the playoffs.

Doesn't matter. The point is the Pirates aren't even trying to win. The payroll wouldn't be such a big deal if their development hasn't been so much of a bust for the past one and a half decades. Compare their recent drafts with those of the Brewers. Milwaukee gets Weeks and Fielder - Pirates choose Daniel Moskos over Matt Wieters to augment their less-than-stellar collection of duff college pitchers. And just for fun, they turn Van Beschoten from a hitter into a pitcher, with disastrous results.

In addition, the Brewers are willing to open the wallet to put players on the field, and Pittsburgh is not. It's as simple as that.

[BeatEmBucs]

Pittsburgh is notoriously fair-weather. Steeler tickets were pretty easy to get in December 2006 when the playoffs were out of the question. Penguin tickets were easy to get in Sidney's rookie year, now that they're winning, every game sells out. Since there have been many "cloudy days" concerning the Pirates, the revenues aren't there thru the gate (you can only have so many fireworks nights) or the TV money, thus the ownership group has to get by with less (Nutting isn't willing to take big losses to bring in "marquee" players) and the previous administration didn't spend the money wisely IMO. I think Pittsburgh is willing to give Coonelly and Huntington the benefit of the doubt this year, but if the team doesn't improve, the apathy towards the Pirates will grow worse, and that would be the worst thing that could happen.

[maxcarey]

In addition, the Brewers are willing to open the wallet to put players on the field, and Pittsburgh is not. It's as simple as that.

One season can change a lot. Everything you said about the Pirates were the same criticisms of the Brewers. And the bottom line hasn't exactly changed either. We could be saying something different in October, but again, that's my point. One season can change a lot.

[Silver Blaze]

One season can change a lot. Everything you said about the Pirates were the same criticisms of the Brewers. And the bottom line hasn't exactly changed either. We could be saying something different in October, but again, that's my point. One season can change a lot.

But until it actually does change - and then is more than just a one-year fluke - it's all just talk. I am hoping it will change for you Pirates fans, because you deserve better than the misery of the last 15 years.

[brewcrew82]

If there were only as many Pirate fans in the Pittsburg area as there are Superbike fans.

"Superbike racing" isn't real. It's just made up.

[sisyphus]

Doesn't matter. The point is the Pirates aren't even trying to win. The payroll wouldn't be such a big deal if their development hasn't been so much of a bust for the past one and a half decades. Compare their recent drafts with those of the Brewers. Milwaukee gets Weeks and Fielder - Pirates choose Daniel Moskos over Matt Wieters to augment their less-than-stellar collection of duff college pitchers. And just for fun, they turn Van Beschoten from a hitter into a pitcher, with disastrous results.

In addition, the Brewers are willing to open the wallet to put players on the field, and Pittsburgh is not. It's as simple as that.

Perhaps the reason for that is that the Brewers have some players who are actually deserving of big money. The Pirates did not fail to step up and pay Jason Bay when it was time, or Jack Wilson, or Freddy Sanchez, and the word is that they intend to extend Adam LaRoche's contract. They took on a big contract when they traded for Matt Morris, though that was a big mistake. Every single source has said that the Pirates chose Moskos over Wieters because GM Dave Littlefield stupidly preferred Moskos, and that he had ownership's permission to choose Wieters or anyone else he wanted to. The Pirates problem for the last 15 years isn't that they won't spend enough money; it's that they spend the money they do unwisely, as shown by the signings of Meares, Bell, Young, Kendall, Randa, Burnitz, Morris, and on and on, ad nauseum.

[sisyphus]

Pittsburgh is notoriously fair-weather. Steeler tickets were pretty easy to get in December 2006 when the playoffs were out of the question. Penguin tickets were easy to get in Sidney's rookie year, now that they're winning, every game sells out. Since there have been many "cloudy days" concerning the Pirates, the revenues aren't there thru the gate (you can only have so many fireworks nights) or the TV money, thus the ownership group has to get by with less (Nutting isn't willing to take big losses to bring in "marquee" players) and the previous administration didn't spend the money wisely IMO. I think Pittsburgh is willing to give Coonelly and Huntington the benefit of the doubt this year, but if the team doesn't improve, the apathy towards the Pirates will grow worse, and that would be the worst thing that could happen.

The Steelers sold out every seat in 2006, just as they have for decades. The Penguins played to 93% of capacity in Crosby's rookie year, including 12 sellouts.

[BeatEmBucs]

The Steelers sold out every seat in 2006, just as they have for decades. The Penguins played to 93% of capacity in Crosby's rookie year, including 12 sellouts.

Of course every Steelers game is a sellout, and the Pens have always sold many tickets (at least since Mario came aboard) but there were a ton of "no shows" at Heinz Field and the Igloo as those disappointing seasons wore down. I just wish I knew who all those people were that bought tickets to these games and failed to show up. Why didn't they just give their tickets to me?? And there have been many "10,000" crowds at PNC Park where half those people came as empty seats. That's why I always think they should go by turnstile count and not tickets sold. AFAIK, the NFL is the only league that still goes by turnstile count when giving the attendance figures.

[Silver Blaze]

Perhaps the reason for that is that the Brewers have some players who are actually deserving of big money. The Pirates did not fail to step up and pay Jason Bay when it was time, or Jack Wilson, or Freddy Sanchez, and the word is that they intend to extend Adam LaRoche's contract. They took on a big contract when they traded for Matt Morris, though that was a big mistake. Every single source has said that the Pirates chose Moskos over Wieters because GM Dave Littlefield stupidly preferred Moskos, and that he had ownership's permission to choose Wieters or anyone else he wanted to. The Pirates problem for the last 15 years isn't that they won't spend enough money; it's that they spend the money they do unwisely, as shown by the signings of Meares, Bell, Young, Kendall, Randa, Burnitz, Morris, and on and on, ad nauseum.

Weiters was the Brewers model of good drafting, Moskos was not. We can agree on that.