Commentary
Pirates will win when the players perform up to their expectations PITTSBURGH-But they have to do something!
That’s about the best argument for firing Lloyd McClendon these days.
Make no mistake; the atmosphere at Pirates game is toxic. The team has no offense, so it generates no excitement. They strand more people than a bankrupt airline. The crowds are small and angry.
There have been 10 consecutive losing seasons and the prospect of an 11th is looking stronger every day.
This isn’t lost on the leader of the ownership group, who occupies a front row seat every night and has a perfect view of how the rallies die.
But what will a managerial change accomplish?
Will the team try harder? Doubtful. Sad as it may seem, they’re trying now. Effort is not a problem.
Are their strategic decisions that can make things better? Also doubtful.
You can plot and plan and it doesn’t matter if the players don’t deliver timely hits.
Aren’t there roster moves than can be made? Doubtful. The personnel is what it is. There aren’t a lot of prospects on the immediate horizon. The best of them is pitcher Ryan Vogelsong and starting pitching isn’t this team’s problem.
You want to make trades? The value of the players the Pirates have is low because they’re not producing.
No one wants to hear what the real solution is: The players have to perform up to expectations that are reasonable for them.
Very few are doing that now. The failures of Aramis Ramirez are the most obvious. But Jason Kendall hasn’t done much since the first week of the season. How often does he get a big hit?
Brian Giles, just back after missing almost a month, is carrying a batting average more than 50 points below his career average.
The cure for Giles is more at bats against live pitching, not a different manager.
Pokey Reese has been a major disappointment.
The Pirates could change managers today and the switch wouldn’t make the team suddenly perform any better.
Nor would a change correspond to a sudden rise in ticket sales.
Tickets will start moving if the team starts winning. The team will start winning if its players start playing the way they can.
Place the blame where it belongs and hold the players accountable.
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Being the Pirates means you don’t get any breaks.
The National League Central is playing the American League East this season but the Pirates don’t get the New York Yankees.
Instead, they get a trip to Tampa Bay for a series against the Devil Rays.
On top of that, the trip has them going from Pittsburgh to Atlanta to Toronto to Tampa to Pittsburgh. Looks like someone laid that out with an Etch-a-Sketch.
The Pirates were also not chosen to play their road games against Montreal in Puerto Rico, despite the Pittsburgh organization’s obvious connection to Roberto Clemente.
The Pirates got stuck with a 12-game homestand in April and are currently in a stretch that has them home for 13 of 16 games.
They will have played 31 of their 81 home games before school is finished. Of the 31, 23 are on weeknights, which is deadly
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So many names have lined up for the chance to coach the Penguins.
So few of them are impressive.
Broadcasters Ed Olczyk and Bob Errey? Interesting possibilities but not ready for a head coaching challenge in the NHL.
Bryan Trottier? He’s neither the teacher nor the communicator needed for this job.
The best choice remains Herb Brooks, who is a coach and a salesman, which is what the Penguins need at this point.
Give Brooks the money he wants and the authority to hire the staff he wants and the organization will quickly get back on the right track.
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Rumors from the Penguins bunker say General Manager Craig Patrick isn’t as happy in the job as he once was.
Mario Lemieux is taking more of a hands-on approach, which is why head coach Rick Kehoe and minor league coach Glenn Patrick have been removed from their jobs.
Patrick had to fire his brother and that couldn’t have been pleasant.
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at: johnmehno@lycos.com.