The Pirates "resumed using metal-detecting wands to screen fans entering PNC Park" for last night's game against the Giants, one night after the new procedure "resulted in significant delays getting into the park," according to Karen Price of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. In an effort to "reduce fans' wait times, the team increased the number of staffers using wands and entry corrals to organize the lines, though it was unclear how many more staffers and corrals were employed." The team "abandoned the wanding plan Tuesday after lines wrapped around the ballpark even after the game had started" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 6/13). In Pittsburgh, Jacob Axelrad wrote the Pirates' "solution to what team president Frank Coonelly called an 'unacceptable' experience of long waits and late entrances to PNC Park after metal-detecting wands were deployed Tuesday night: Show up earlier." A team statement released yesterday "mentioned that 'adjustments' have been made in staffing security procedures and personnel," but Pirates Senior Communications Dir Brian Warecki "declined to say what they were" (POST-GAZETTE.com, 6/12). In Pennsylvania, John Perrotto writes it is “hard to fault any professional team for adding security in light of the terrorist attacks in Boston and the fear of something on an even larger scale occurring at a sporting event.” But it also is the teams’ "responsibility to make the security screenings as reasonable and smooth as possible and keep the line moving.” Pirates officials “should have known Tuesday was not the right time to start the wanding.” Having P Gerrit Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the '11 draft, make his MLB debut Tuesday “should have signaled to anyone with a modicum of either common sense or baseball sense that the debut would create a much larger-than-normal weekend crowd” (BEAVER COUNTY TIMES, 6/13).
