"Silly Season" Commences in MLB With Yanks acquisition of Nady, Marte.

    Once again, it's that time of year boys and girls. That's right. With less than a week until the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, it's time for the haves to pick the bones of the have-nots.

     Witness the Pittsburgh Pirates trade with the New York Yankees this past Friday and the subsequent reworking of the deal early Saturday. The Pirates sent Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Yanks for "prospects" P Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, and Daniel McCutcheon, and the supposed lynch pin of the deal for Pittsburgh, OF Jose Tabata.

     The Pirates, mirred in a soon-to-be 15-year losing streak, traded today in the hopes of a better tomorrow. AGAIN!! Are they done dealing? Maybe not. LF Jason Bay has been rumored to be headed to either Atlanta or Tampa Bay. Although the Braves recent struggles could put them in the "seller" category as well. And SS Jack Wilson has been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers due to Rafael Furcal's possible season ending back injury.

     It's a classic case of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer year after year in MLB. Contending teams try to shore up the roster in the hope of a long post season run, while the dregs of baseball society get a head start on the "wait till next year" philosophy.

     While television ratings drive the current culture in MLB, here is one person who longs for those thrilling days of yesteryear. You remember the days of the Big Red Machine battling the Lumber Company for National League supremacy in the 1970's. Or Baltimore's run of dominance in the late '60's and early '70's, with no less than four, that's right four, 20-game winners. Or the Kansas City Royals, led by George Brett, battling said Yankees for the AL pennant. 

     Those days are gone in this "Golden Age of Baseball" as coined by our fearless leader, Bud Selig. A commissioner that benefits as much from the current state of affairs as anyone in the game,what with his $14 million dollar salary.

     What I wouldn't give for a Minnesota vs. Milwaukee World Series match-up, ratings be damned. But that would only allow the commissioner an excuse to continue to perpetrate the illusion that there IS parody in baseball, and would give him yet another excuse not to deal with the problems at hand. Namely that no matter how well smaller market teams manage their minor league systems by drafting well and making smart business decisions, they'll never be able to compete with a Steinbrenner or an Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who can just whip out the old checkbook and write an eight figure noose to hang around the small market owners' collective necks.

     It's getting harder and harder to find a silver lining to keep turning on the TV and watch baseball here in Pittsburgh, much less spend a dime to watch the horrific product that's been shoved down our throats the last decade and a half and counting.(Although it's believed around these parts that baseball season ends the moment Steelers training camp begins. So we've got that going for us, which is nice.)

     Baseball is still a great game. But the MLB version leaves much to be desired. Thank you for allowing me to rant on the subject. Please remember fans in New York, L.A., Boston and all other big market, big payroll cities before you accuse me of whining about having a lousy team to root for. In fact, if you would all indulge me for a moment. Close your eyes and imagine for 10 seconds that your team is NOT owned by the Steinbrenners and the Morenos of the world, but by the Nuttings. I apologize if that last thought causes any of you to sleep with the lights on tonight.