Mario Lemieux To Buy The Pittsburgh Pirates?

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Well I’m sure by now you have heard that Mario Lemieux is interested in buying the Pittsburgh Pirates. At least that’s the rumor that’s going around. It doesn’t surprise me because Mario always seems to want to do what’s in the best interest of the city of Pittsburgh. As a business man, he of course wishes to make some money out of it also. He is entitled to make as much as he can from any business venture that he goes in to. The difference between him and the current Pirates owner, Bob Nutting, is that Mario will find a way to make the Pirates competitive and also make money.

Nutting on the other hand, can’t seem to do either. He sure hasn’t made them competitive and if you listen to him, he isn’t making any money. It has been said that the Pirates payroll in 2010 will be around 35 million, which is low even for a small market team. It would seem that the current ownership figures that if they are going to lose 100 games each year, why not make some money from it. If you’re losing 100 games with mediocre players, why not lose 100 with total scrubs? To me it seems that they are just giving up and hoping for a miracle.

Well, what better miracle than Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle? You would think that Bob Nutting would be jumping for joy at his chance to get out from under this pig and let a competent owner take over. I really don’t know what he thinks he is going to do different in the future to make the Pirates competitive. They sucked for 17 years, and there is nothing that shows that they will not suck anytime soon. As the years go by and the fan base shrinks, it is only going to get worse. We were told how much we needed a new ball park to make the Pirates competitive. The taxpayers are now paying for it and the Pirates are worse than ever.

It looks like the city held up its end of the deal, how about you Mr. Nutting? If you think that you are going to be the one to turn it around and be the hero, think again. Your reputation as an owner is as bad as the joke of a team that you march on to the field each year. Why not give it up and let a real hero take over. Mario and his partners know how to run a franchise and how to give back to the community. You could do the right thing and step down. It’s great that you are successful enough to own the Pirates and you are obviously a great business man in certain industries. It’s just a shame that the entire city of Pittsburgh has to suffer because of it. Having the money to buy a franchise is one thing, having the knowledge and ability to make it competitive is another. After seventeen losing seasons, why not give the Pittsburgh fans something to look forward to?

I guess I can stop dreaming now, because it looks like it’s not going to happen. Bob Nutting says that the team is not for sale. Not now at least. Let him run it in to the ground a little more until he finally gives in and tries to unload it. At that point though, not even Mario will be able to save it. The only thing worse would be if Bob Nutting bought the Penguins! Let’s go Sucs! I mean let’s go Bucs! Sorry, Freudian slip!