The Cannons Don't Thunder: Examining 15 Years of Failure by the Pittsburgh Pirates

I'm grateful for many things in my life. One is that I'm not a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oh sure, they were a powerhouse when I first started following baseball, but it's been tough to be a Pirates fan lately and there's no sign of things getting better anytime soon.

How bad is it? Well, the Pirates have not finished above .500 in 15 years. They have not made the playoffs since 1992 and have not won a post-season series since taking the World Series title in 1979. You could be in your mid-20s and never had the Pirates win a playoff series in your lifetime. The only other two fan bases currently who could make that claim are the Texas Rangers and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals. And at least those clubs put up 90-win seasons in the past 15 years and have some reason for hope. The Pirates have none.

Why are things so bleak for Pittsburgh? It's because the owners of the team are quite happy with the status quo and see no reason to make the changes necessary for improvement. Thanks to guaranteed money from the national TV contract and revenue sharing (among other sources of income), the Pirates make money hand over fist regardless of what happens on the field.

Each year around the start baseball season, Forbes puts out an annual special report on The Business of Baseball. Now, MLB teams do not open their books to the people at Forbes (they don't open them up to anyone in case word gets out how much money these guys are making) but Forbes is one of the most respected names in financial circles and these are the most reliable numbers available anywhere. Here are the Operating Income numbers for the Pirates the past three years:

2005 - $12.2 million
2006 - $21.9 million
2007 - $25.3 million

Now, if you were one of the owners of the Pirates, would you do anything to change your business model, one that has seen your operating income (defined as Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) more than double in the span of two years? Especially when others in your business are (allegedly) losing money?

So, the storied franchise that developed Hall of Famers like Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor, Lloyd and Paul Waner, Arky Vaughn, Ralph Kiner, Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell is now content to put out a lineup with "stars" like Derek Bell, Jeromy Burnitz and Xavier Nady and conduct the annual "Drive for 75" wins.

Here's the win total for the Pirates the last 14 years, starting with 2006 and working backwards:

67, 67, 72, 75, 72, 62, 69, 78, 69, 79, 73, 58, 53, 75

The Pirates are a mess. Ownership has limited the amount of money available for player salaries and the general manager makes poor player personnel decisions, from trades to free agent signings to amateur draft selections. Normally, the general manager would get fired for such a dismal performance. But Dave Littlefield doesn't criticize the owners so he seemingly has a free pass to screw up as much as he wants.

A team that won't spend money on a big payroll has got to do a good job in the amateur draft, since players at the beginning of their careers earn the least amount of money. Here are the Pirates first-round draft picks, with overall slot in parentheses, since the start of their losing ways in 1993:

1993 - Charles Peterson (22) - never made the Majors
1994 - Mark Farris (11) - never made the Majors
1995 - Chad Hermansen (10) - .195 average in parts of six seasons in Majors
1996 - Kris Benson (1) - 68-73 record in the Majors coming into 2007
1997 - J.J. Davis (8) - batted .179 in 67 games in the Majors
1998 - Clinton Johnston (15) - never made the Majors
1999 - Bobby Bradley (8) - has yet to make the Majors
2000 - Sean Burnett (19) - went 5-5 with the Pirates in 2004. No other time in Majors
2001 - John Van Benschoten (8) - has yet to make the Majors
2002 - Bryan Bullington (1) - appeared in one game in the Majors in 2005
2003 - Paul Maholm (8) - 0-11 record in 2005 and 2006 in Majors
2004 - Neil Walker (11) - has yet to make the Majors
2005 - Andrew McCutchen (11) - a top prospect who has yet to make the Majors
2006 - Brad Lincoln (4) - sitting out 2007 with arm injury
2007 - Daniel Moskos (4) - Too soon to tell

That's just a dismal record of failure, especially with nine picks in the top 10 in this stretch. By comparison, here's what the Mets have done in the aughts:

2000 - Billy Traber (16) - 10-12 in two years in the Majors and still active
2001 - Aaron Heilman (18) - solid Major League reliever, 6-3 record in 2007
2002 - Scott Kazmir (15) - back-to-back double-digit win totals in Majors
2003 - Lastings Milledge (12) - top prospect who made Major League debut
2004 - Philip Humber (3) - top prospect who made Major League debut
2005 - Mike Pelfrey (9) - top prospect who made Major League debut

The Mets did not have a first-round pick in either 2006 or 2007, although 3rd-round pick Joe Smith from the 2006 season is already a key member of their bullpen.

Baseball America annually ranks the top 100 prospects in baseball. Coming into the 2007 season, McCutchen ranked 13th, Lincoln was ranked 69th (before the injury) and Walker ranked 74th. No other Pirates player was ranked. Meanwhile, Pelfrey ranked 20th, Fernando Martinez was ranked 22nd, Carlos Gomez was 60th and Humber was 73rd. Milledge would have been on the list but was no longer eligible.

It occurs to me that I have not said anything positive about the Pirates. Well, they do play in one of the most picturesque parks in the Majors. Unfortunately, the stadium was mostly publicly financed, so even then Pirates fans got the raw end of the deal.

The bottom line is that the Pirates will continue to flounder as long as the current ownership remains in place. You can win on a small payroll, as the Twins, A's and Brewers have proven lately. But the combination of a small payroll and terrible player personnel decisions cannot be overcome. Getting rid of general manager Dave Littlefield would be a step in the right direction, but the real breakthrough will come when principal owner Dan Nutting and CEO Kevin McClatchy sell the team to people who care about putting a winning product on the field more than pocketing revenue sharing and TV money.