Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

Monday, April 23, 2007

Funny how this happens ...

Anytime there has been a subject that has drawn heavy mail, as the Brewers-Pirates comparison did last week, the initial wave of mail goes exclusively one way. Then, when I print a sampling of it -- which looks as one way as what comes in -- there comes a second wave that goes the other way.

So it was in this case, which is why I will print a sampling of four such letters today before taking a couple real Qs ...

Jason Garlock of Rochester, N.Y.: In the first possible explanation laid out in your article for why the Pirates' payroll is $20 million less than the Brewers, you give all the information anyone needs. Look at the $9 million in additional ticket sales, all the parking money, the additional concessions that come along with the additional ticket sales, etc. and it is easy to see how the Brewers could have pulled in $20 million more than the Pirates last year in revenue.

And if they had $20 million more in revenue, they can have $20 million more in expenses (in this case, player payroll) and still be a exactly as profitable as the Pirates' ownership. It is really that simple.

How do people look at these numbers and conclude that the Pirates' ownership is profit hungry and the Brewers' owners are just in it to win it? It makes no sense.

I get that fans want to complain. Everyone is frustrated with losing at this point. And I know "greedy ownership" makes a nice scapegoat. But, in my opinion, fans who think that's a major contributing factor to the Pirates' ineptitude at this point are barking up the wrong tree.

Rob Perkey of Crafton: Enough whining from the fans about the payroll and trying to compare ourselves to other teams. We're not the Brewers. We're not the A's. We're not the Twins. We're the Pirates. This team has the talent to win games and compete.

If the Yankees don't win the World Series every year, then money obviously isn't everything. When the Pirates are in the mix for a playoff spot within the next three years, it's going to be with the team we have, with the owners we have, with the payroll we have. It's time fans accept that. Stop worrying about money and ownership.

Joe Cafaro of Bethel Park: Dejan, personally, I think the Pirates got it right this year. I don't see any "wastes of good money" on the team. They are building from within and have major league calibur talent at each position. The real test will come after the 2009 season when many of these players will have gotten even better and the Nuttings will have to pay much more to retain their better players.

Mike Jasenak of Groton, Conn.: Payroll, schmayroll! It comes down to talent and personnel decisions.

Yes, money can buy talent, but incomprehensible moves such as keeping Freddy Sanchez on the bench in favor of Joe Randa and, this year, keeping John "Way Back" Wasdin on the roster vs. Josh Sharpless are frustrating to real fans.

Q: Now, an actual question: Are you getting the feeling that the Pirates are setting up to give Ryan Doumit away for nothing?

I'm worried they have fallen in love with Ronny Paulino too fast and given up on Doumit with equal haste. I think Doumit will prove to be the better hitter in the long run, and Paulino's defense cannot be that much better, if at all, to justify the possible difference. Doumit just kills Class AAA pitching, and I think if he got a full season worth of at-bats in the majors, he'll prove effective.

Regardless if he does turn into an offensive force, I think it would be prudent for the Pirates to find out for sure before shipping him out for a 24 year-old middle relief specialist.

Roarke Aston of Scranton

KOVACEVIC: There has been no indication that the Pirates are shopping Doumit, though there certainly would be teams interested. One, catching is at a premium. Two, Doumit is ripping the cover off the ball at Indianapolis, as you note.

I wrote at the time of Doumit's demotion that I understood the push to get him back to catching and establishing his durability, something Dave Littlefield reiterated Saturday. Each is a vital component to having Doumit be the effective player you predict he might be.

But there comes a point where, regardless what else you want to see from a player, keeping a .450 power bat in the minors makes little sense.

Especially for a team that is unable to hit Randy Keisler.

Q: Hi, Dejan. Going 3-4 on a seven-game road trip is not the worst performance ever, by a long shot. Why does it feel so bad?

Marda Hook of New York

KOVACEVIC: Because the team has yet to sustain any single positive trait this season, other than Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny pitching well when it is their turn. That is it.

Offensively, some players have been better than others, but the next decent spurt from the group as a whole will be the first. The defense, though there have been few official errors, has made bad lapses at bad times. And the bullpen has been ... hard to say. I wonder how much better the relief pitching would be if these guys ever had something other than a one- or two-run lead.

Even yesterday, when it looked like the bullpen turned that 7-3 lead into a 7-5 lead, that was all on the miscues by Freddy Sanchez and Nate McLouth.

Above all, though, I have to guess that your feeling, Marda, is based on the hitting. It is, quite bluntly, very difficult to have faith in a team with so many hitters having such poor numbers over this stretch.

That said, if all it takes is a team meeting to produce an outburst of hits and -- gasp -- stolen bases, why not have one every day?

Q: The quote from Bob Nutting in your article about Forbes saying the Pirates earned $25.3 million in 2006: "We are operating the Pirates responsibly from a solid business and baseball foundation in order to consistently compete on the field and maintain the long-term viability of the franchise."

Is he joking? When was the last time the Pirates were consistently competitive?

I think the Forbes article is more accurate than he wants us to believe. Do you think Major League Baseball will ever make the Pirates spend some money?

Craig Heilman of Hamilton Square, N.J.

KOVACEVIC: There never has been any indication that MLB is pressuring the Pirates to take any action related to their finances, Craig. Nor have I have ever heard of the MLB Players Assocation doing something like that.

As for Forbes ... I could just cut and paste the same thing I have written for nearly a decade, including my time on the NHL beat: The magazine has no access -- zero -- to teams' finances. As a result, the numbers you read are estimates, projections, things spit out of a computer model.

The only difference is that the magazine elects not to tell its readers that.

I wrote the same thing when covering hockey. I wrote the same thing when Forbes reported that the Pirates were losing money. And I will write the same thing until the day the magazine discloses its procedures and comes up with something better than -- how did that Forbes spokeswoman put it? -- sources that are "believed to be reliable."

Q: Dejan, I enjoy your work. And I don't envy your job.

As a true Pirates fan, I firmly vow not to say another negative word the rest of this season.

I'll be back next year.

Sam Walker of Amarillo, Texas

KOVACEVIC: Have a swell year, Sam.

On that glib note, the Q&A will be taking a couple days off and return for Thursday morning. Send any complaints you might have on that front to these two dudes ...

First published on April 22, 2007 at 6:36 pm