An apology to readers, thanks to those Pittsburgh Pirates

Ireally have to apologize to you, dear readers.

For what seems like forever, I have been so down on our professional sports teams, particularly the coaching of the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins as well as the ownership of the Pirates.

I truly wish I could sit in front of my laptop and bang out a piece saying how great the coaches are doing and what a fantastic job Bob Nutting is doing as owner of the Bucs.

But I can’t be a homer. I have to call it as I see it.

I mean, I AM a real fan of all three teams and love when they are doing well.

I just haven’t found much to feel good about our pro teams lately and today’s piece is no different.

I asked a question on social media the other day about the Pirates.

I wondered what other front offices really think about the direction of the team.

Surely they must be laughing long and hard.

I wonder if any professional sports franchise anywhere in the free world has been run as shabbily as the Bucs are.

Think about it. The Pirates (by dumb luck) have two of the best young starting pitchers in baseball at the beginning of their careers. That means Paul Skenes and Jared Jones will never be as inexpensive as they are right now. If their careers are anywhere as good as they seem now, pitchers of their ilk would be commanding anywhere from $20-35 million a year today. Each.

They have another starting pitcher, Mitch Keller, who – at worst – is an above-average hurler and contractually locked up for the next few years.

And they have a player who, for the first time in his career, is actually pitching consistently well in the infamous Bailey Falter.

Yet, general manager Ben Cherington – instead of spending maybe $20-25 million on two really good hitters or maybe three above-average ones with some pop – did the usual dumpster diving to grab players who get paid in the “twos and fews” – as in millions.

They really needed a first baseman with some pop and there were a few out there available in the offseason. But Cherington chose to sign Rowdy Tellez because he was cheap as hell and nobody wanted him.

They needed a bat in the lineup that could cause fielders headaches because of the ability to spray the ball around, reach base and maybe even hit the occasional homer.

What did they do? They reached into the dumpster again in spring training and came up with 32-year-old Michael A. Taylor.

All the while, they keep having faith in players on their roster who have shown potential, but haven’t produced consistently. Players like Jack Suwinski, Edward Olivares, Jared Triolo and Hunter Stratton, to name a few.

Normally, I would place all the blame for this debacle of a roster on Cherington, the exec who has worn out the phrase “checks all the boxes.” However, we all have a long history of knowing what a cheapskate owner Nutting is.

He has tied the hands of all of his GMs behind their backs when it comes to obtaining players.

The team’s payroll is under $80 million and that includes the $10 million they paid out for Aroldis Chapman.

If Cherington was allowed to take advantage of the value they have in not only Skenes and Jones, but also Keller, and spent some money to bolster the offense, the Pirates could have been the favorites for the NL Central Division this season. Not just this year, but years to come if those three pitchers remain healthy.

But they did what they always do – went on the cheap.

They threw things against the wall hoping something would stick like it did with AJ Burnett a few years ago.

It didn’t have to be that way. A little better use of financial resources, some good evaluating of talent (a reach) and some typical MLB coaching (extreme reach), and the Pirates could have been the talk of baseball in a positive way.

Instead, as always, they are the laughing stock.

It’s only May, but this is surely shaping up as one of the worst wastes of a season in the team’s history considering their wealth of quality starting pitchers.

Lord, I wish I could write just one positive column about this franchise.

As long as Nutting is the ring leader, this three-ring circus will never figure it out. Even the clowns in this circus aren’t funny.

Except to other MLB front offices.

Anyone with any thoughts, opposing views or comments on this column can reach Jeff Oliver by emailing justjto@verizon.net