ContactQuestions? Comments? Tips? Email: WHYGAVS [at] gmail [dot] com WHYGAVS? PollSearchBest of WHYGAVSThe Garrett Mackowiak ExperienceWhy I can't stay away from the ballpark Super Bowl XL The Pirates/Office Space Comparison Pirates and Royals: LIVEBLOG One Craig Wilson Logo History Masumi Kuwata Elimination Challenge Letter to the Nuttings Moving Day WHYGAVS Goes to Camden Yards WHYGAVS Night Photo Essay Why's he calling me meat? I'm the one driving a Porsche In the Canyon 16 years  |
Traco Bucco
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... "Open Letter To Bob Nutting" is the "Who's Joe Greene"/"City Of Losers" of 2010: http://news.google.com/newspap...eene&hl=en |
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Jer
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And... Wasn't your letter to Bob Nutting back in 2007 pretty passive-agressive as well? http://whereisvanslyke.blogspot.com/2007/01/letter-to-bob-nutting-from-pirates-fan.html |
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Jer
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Haha, that's true. He did start it. @TracoBucco: That was awesome. I especially liked the side column where a writer said Pittsburgh was the City of Losers and Noll responded that "We'll change history". Did they ever... |
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PittPanthers90
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Disapointed I don't understand why the hate against Super Mario buying the team. I don't understand the hate you throw at the P-G for the Oped piece either unless...... You and that traitor Bill Cowher are watching Hurricane games side by side crying about last years playoff series. (Seriously, you can't be drinking the Nutjob kool-aid can you?) For the life of me I cannot fathom how a PBC fan could take the side of the Nutjobs. Then again I didn't understand when people here made snide remarks/insults about Lanny F. either! |
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azibuck
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... "You're not sayin' you're just sayin'" is one of my favorite things to say. Which is usually greeted by a nodding, "right, exactly" by the sayer. |
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w.k. kortas
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... I think the hate for the P-G op-ed piece comes from the assumption that any Journalism 101 professor would shove it up the ass of anyone who submitted it as an example of what an editorial should look like. |
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tommy ligonier
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... this is completely off topic, sorry everyone, but i have a question regarding the mlb extra innings package. i live in the philly area and was thinking of purchasing the package this year, and was wondering how many pirates games per week (approximately) are typically broadcast? 4? 5? 6? much appreciated, sorry to interupt the discussion/open letter bashing. please continue. |
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whygavs
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Extra Innings Every game that's not considered "in market" (which would be Philadelphia for you) or played on Saturday afternoon (stupid Fox) will be broadcast on Extra Innings, so long as one of the two teams playing has a camera crew at the park. |
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jimn
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disagree the letter seems thoughtful. nutjob should sell. the city deserves better than he's given them. i deserve better. the build cheaply and then spend to win crap isn't cutting it for me. i love sports. i'm competitive. winning comes one game at a time. a winning tradition isn't forged by acquiring cheap talent and spending money when it develops. that's not how winning works. i've been saying this for years and i will keep repeating it regarding the pirates until somebody takes notice: WINNING BREEDS WINNERS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! you don't start winning a year from now, you start winning now. it takes expectations, discipline, and sacrifice from all involved. i've sacrificed enough as a fan. nutjob hasn't as an owner. that's the bottom line. WINNING BREEDS WINNERS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! |
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apk
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... Wow, it's awfully easy to say "You don't start winning until you have a team full of winners who start winning." It's such a hollow statement that it's almost...trite. The problem is, where do the "winners" come from? They don't fall out of the sky. Aside from "draft Sidney Crosby" how else do you get there? Free agency? So are you insinuating that the Pirates should've signed Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon? Was that the answer? You know who seems like a winner, even though he hasn't won anything yet- Andrew McCutchen. I'd rather have nine of him at this point in his career than Nine Johnny Damons. While you're at it, take a "winner" like Andy Pettite. Take 5 of 'em and fill your rotation. I'll take another kid that hasn't "won" anything yet-- Tim Lincecum. He doesn't have any rings. But I'd sure love to have 5 of him on my team full of "non-winners." |
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matt w
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jimn You don't get to use the words "thoughtful" and "Nutjob" consecutively. Part of being thoughtful is using the actual name of the person you're criticizing. I say this as someone whose name is Weiner. |
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tpena6
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Baseball Money v. Hockey Money Mr. Burkle does have a lot of money to throw around, with his worth being listed at somewhere around 3.5 billion. But in all this talk of how great it would be to have him and The Face (Lemieux) as owners and how they wouldn't be afraid to throw money around to win -- What precedence have they set for anyone to think this? They operate in a salary capped sport. Their highest paid players are making 8.7 mil. And those are the two of the biggest stars in the league. So...if they can afford the upper-end talent in hockey they must be willing to spend for the same talent in baseball. Crosby - 8.7 mil Malkin - 8.7 mil Fleury - 5.0 mil _________________ Total - 22.4 mil And I think it's without argument that those three are the 3 most talented players on the team, and have all signed long term deals following their rookie contracts. So let's take three players of comparable talent in baseball (an IF, OF and P): IF - ARod - 33 mil OF - ManRam - 23 mil P - Johan - 18 mil ___________________ Total - 74 mil That's my big question, would they be willing to spend baseball money on the talent that they're used to in hockey? I truly don't think they would be. |
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apk
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... Matt W, are you the Matthew Weiner who created Mad Men? If yes, you're awesome. If not, can I pretend that you are? |
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jimn
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YOU GOT ME BACKWARDS APK AND MORNACLE Johnny Damon and Pettite are WINNERS, but not WINNING. I said you have to start with WINNING. It is a thing, a momentum, a mentality, an ethic. It has to be there no matter how much talent you have! No matter how much money you have! |
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jimn
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more, because you're not sick of hearing it yet. You can argue my point that WINNING BREEDS WINNERS AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, but you're oversimplifying it pointing to Lincecum and McCutchen. I'd love to sign Johnny Damon. He plays hard, he plays smart, and yes HE IS A WINNER. But I also want to sign a manager that is a winner. Joe Maddon is a good example of your oversimplification. The Rays didn't just start winning overnight. Joe placed a WINNING ATMOSPHERE in the clubhouse and around the team. So did the team leaders like Troy Percival and Johnny Gomes. I'm not saying only guys that have won can be winners. That's the opposite of what I said. Yes Damon and Pettite are winners, but I'm saying you have to start with WINNING, NOT WINNERS. I'm saying that the Pirates teams I've been watching aren't winners. The Phillies come off the field after losing to the Pirates, go into the lockerroom and watch tape, talk about what they need to do better. It's a mentality that we lack that Mario Lemieux, even as a figurehead, would bring. I can't imagine that the young guys wouldn't be inspired by a talk from Mario every now and then. Winning is certainly about talent. But it is SO MUCH MORE! IT'S A MENTALITY AND A DISCIPLINE THAT MOST PEOPLE, EVEN ATHLETES JUST DON'T HAVE! WINNING BREEDS WINNERS AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! |
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w.k. kortas
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... Goddamn it, maybe what the Pirates need is as simple as some taped pep talks from Lombardi and Steinbrenner piped into the clubhouse, plus a couple of good recruting classes. |
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bucdaddy
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... You know who knows about winning? Michael Jordan. Six NBA rings and scads of money. Even played baseball at the Class AA level. Pretty good golfer too, I think. THAT guy should try owning a team someday. How could he fail? |
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