C. James Strutz wrote:

Out of a sense of generosity, I will skip to the most interesting part of your
reply.

<...>
>>>Rush isn't all that bad a guy after all. He's a Pittsburgh Steeler
>>>fan! :^)
>>
>>That's definitely an indelible mark of bad character -- almost as
>>bad as being a Pirates fan. Did you see what the Astros did to Fogg
>>in the fifth inning last night? Hehe.
>
> No, but I heard. The Pirates just don't seem to be able to get it
> together this year. I think we're due for some managerial changes
> during the off season, maybe before.

You suffer from a similar problem as Houston's: ownership by a descendent of
overly thrifty Scotsmen. McLane and McClatchy both have demonstrated
short-sightedness when it comes to fielding their respective teams. To McLane's
credit, though, he's seen a little light -- if not with foresight, definitely
with hindsight -- that signing a player like Roger Clemens means fans will
attend regardless of how well the team is actually doing. I think all but two of
Clemens' starts at Minute Maid Park have sold out. He's more than earning his
salary.

Your problem is NOT on-field management, it's in the front office. McLendon had
the team performing much better than expected back in April and early May --
about the same time the Astros were winning. I think it's fair to point out that
the Astros were doing well until Hidalgo (recently traded to the Mets) went into
a slump and that the Pirates were doing well until Craig Wilson's torrid pace
slowed down. Both teams' pitching staffs have also suffered more recently from
poor run support, not necessarily poor pitching efforts (but, to be fair, both
pitching staffs have also endured some injuries that have affected performance).

McClatchy's miserly approach has sent some of MLB's premier players out of
Pittsburgh and to teams where those players have made significant contributions.
Jason Schmidt comes to mind. Here's a guy who's in the top five names for the NL
Cy Young Award (along with Clemens, Randy Johnson, maybe Greg Maddux if his
turn-around holds up, and Carlos Zambrano), whose salary wasn't terribly high
($8m), and who was traded along with Vander Wal for Vogelsong and Rios --
nothing but a salary dump.

McClatchy's trades have done nothing to upgrade his team, only hurt the team.
That's eventually reflected in ticket sales. He's already whining about
declining attendance, and talking about moving more players before the end of
next month (as if he can dump Kendall's salary); that's the worst thing he can
do for both short and long term. Cutting the payroll to the league minimum will
only insure nobody in Pittsburgh will care about Pirate baseball; it will also
put the team in a hole at the start of next season. Don't take my word for it,
just look at Montreal and Seattle.

Now, on to the subject of food so you can't say this is off topic. MMP has
veggie hotdogs available at the game, but the buns contain minute traces of
dairy. I want to go to PNC and catch a series later this season. Do they have
veggie hotdogs? Do they have any interesting food selections for healthy eaters?