Pirates Support Salary Cap, But Not Actively Pushing For One
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Nutting Says No. 1 Focus Is
Improving Franchise |
Pirates Owner Bob Nutting "likes the notion" of a salary cap in MLB, but "does not want to agitate his peers from big-market teams by demanding change," according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Nutting: "There's been a lot of talk this offseason on getting a salary cap in baseball, and I think it would be beneficial to the Pirates. But our primary focus is not to push for a cap. ... If the commissioner decides a salary cap is the right system in 2012, of course we'll be supportive. A salary cap is a rational economic system for professional sports. But it is not a savior." Nutting added the Pirates "are not concerning ourselves with the concept." Nutting: "The most important issue for our club is to execute better and continue to make progress on our plan that we began two years ago in building a fundamentally different organization" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/25). Pirates President Frank Coonelly added, "Previous management trumpeted the fact that we need a salary cap for the Pirates to be successful. I don't believe that. The system can work in small and mid-market towns. We need to work harder, make good decisions." But Murray Chass on his "On Baseball" blog noted "some, if not many, people in Pittsburgh are skeptical about Coonelly's ability to back his words with substance." Coonelly came to the Pirates "with no front office experience, and he hired [GM Neal Huntington], who basically had no front office experience." A source added that people "are also skeptical" about Nutting. The source: "A lot of people think the Nuttings aren't interested in having a winning team as long as they're making money. They're not convinced they're a good baseball family" (MURRAYCHASS.com, 1/25).
FANS READY FOR ANSWERS: In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic noted about 400 fans probed Coonelly, Huntington and Pirates manager John Russell "with pointed questions and comments uncommon" to the Pirates' annual PirateFest, which took place this weekend. Huntington: "The fans, obviously, are tired of losing, and I can understand that. I know the players in that clubhouse are tired of losing. That field staff. The front office. Everybody. That's why we're here. We're here to win. We're here to build a winner. But we're going to do it the right way, and we've had to establish a foundation to build upon" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/24).
TICKET RENEWALS DOWN: The TRIBUNE-REVIEW's Biertempfel notes renewals for Pirates season-ticket plans are down about 3% from '08. Pirates Exec VP & CMO Lou DePaoli: "Our renewals are a hair behind where they were at the same point last year, and our new sales are slightly up. We're trending to finish right where we did last year, which, given the economy, is pretty good. ... At worst, we want to get back to where we were last year" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/26).
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK: The Pirates Friday unveiled a new black alternate jersey and the addition of sleeves to the team's home white and road gray jerseys. The unis will feature sleeves for the first time since the '00 season. The black jerseys replace the red alternate jerseys worn on select dates in '07 and '08 (Pirates). Coonelly: "We did it because it's our history, our tradition. We're rebuilding that tradition" (PITTSBURGHLIVE.com, 1/23).
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