Suddenly, the Pittsburgh Pirates are the New York Yankees

By the Last Hollywood Star

Last night’s 14-2 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds was a wonderful gift to the great 1979 World Champion Pirates who gathered at PNC Park to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

But forgive me for confessing that the Pirates’ recent five game winning streak hasn’t impressed me much.

The Reds’ are in greater disarray, hard to believe as it may be, than the Pirates.

On Friday, the Reds’ starting line up fielded six rookies, most of them recent call ups from the minor leagues. Those are some of the “prospects” that Reds’ management promise the fans will soon be “big league” stars.

In the meantime, Reds’ ownership is pleading with its loyal fan base to remain “patient” because the team has “a long term plan” in place.

The fans have grown restless because the Reds haven’t had a winner since 2000. They obviously don’t know how lucky they are!

It’s all numbingly familiar.

Of all the arguments offered by the Pirates and the Reds for their failures, the most offensive is the “We’re a small market” baloney.

Here’s the population profile of two major league cities, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

According to 2006 Census data, Pittsburgh’s population is approximately 320,000 in a greater metropolitan area totaling 2.4 million people. The same figures for St. Louis are 354,000 in an urban area of 2.8 million residents.

I argue that for baseball franchise ownership purposes, St. Louis and Pittsburgh have identical markets.

And that’s what we’re talking about---baseball ownership. Obviously, the Pirates and the Cards are smaller markets than the Dodgers or the Yankees.

But the point is that if St. Louis can consistently produce winning baseball teams in a small market, why can’t the Pirates?

I suggest Pirate management pick up the phone to call St. Louis to get an answer.

As for the Pirates, the All-Star loaded Philadelphia Phillies come to town on Tuesday for a three game series. The Phillies through Saturday have won eight of their last nine.

Unlike the Reds, the Phillies are playing at peak levels and are likely to keep it up. Adding to the Pirates’ Phillie problem is that the probable pitching rotation will include Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.

Let’s withhold judgment about the Pirates’ surge until the Phillies leave town.