Pirates fans, my sympathies...

[Hammer]

I believe your ownership is doing a disservice to you. There isn't practically anyone left from your Opening Day (Zach Duke is the only one I can think of off the top of my head).

What is amazing is they do not have the worst attendence in MLB...

[Pigtunia]

ummm PNC is a really great park.

Pirates fans HAVE to be the best fans in all of baseball, what with the abuse they've taken from ownership since the 90s.

[Greenlawler]

The Pirates? They get a thread?

I remember something about Willie Stragell and Ed Ott? Other than that are they in the Pacific Coast League?

[Hammer]

ummm PNC is a really great park.

Pirates fans HAVE to be the best fans in all of baseball, what with the abuse they've taken from ownership since the 90s.

I agree that you have a beautiful ballpark. I tend to think Phillies fans are pretty loyal too. Wasn't like the ownership was real good to us in the 90's either.

The Pirates? They get a thread?

Hey, every team can have a thread. We do not discriminate here in the Locker Room...

[kakn7294]

Thanks for the support Christine! I have to say that I can't possibly be more disappointed in the season. In the beginning, I really, truly believed that this season was going to be different. I'm not fooling myself, we weren't going to make the playoffs but we were going to have a winning season for the first time in 17 years and things were going to turn around. I couldn't have been more wrong although this season has made everything different. I am soooo sick of trading for "prospects" that either never pan out or are traded for more "prospects" if they do become someone decent. I fully expect that in the next few days, Ryan Doumit and Andrew McCutcheon will be playing in other cities as well. Management and ownership have taken what was a not-so-good team (please remember, I love this team and support them every year) and made it the joke of the league. It's very disheartening and I can't even imagine trying to be one of the guys left and care what happens to the rest of the season when you don't even know who's playing next to you from day to day.

[Greenlawler]

I don't want any belly aching from Steal City folks. The Steelers and Pens have spoiled you! At least you had the late 70's

I would love to see one title, just one. I don't care which in my lifetime

Sincerly,
Brewers, Titans, and Predators fan

[Melanie]

ummm PNC is a really great park.

I have to agree that goes a long way.

[Hammer]

I have to agree that goes a long way.

Absolutely! Look at the Marlins. They have a better record than the Pirates, but the ballpark is horrible, so no one seems to go to games.

[sportsguy2315]

Absolutely! Look at the Marlins. They have a better record than the Pirates, but the ballpark is horrible, so no one seems to go to games.

Actually no. According to MLB attendance figures on ESPN's website, so far the Marlins are ranked 28th this year in total attendance with just over 900,000 fans. The Pirates come in 29th at 858,000 fans. The team that's lower? Oakland by just over 20,000 fans (aka horrible team and a horrible stadium). By comparison, the Yankees, not surprisingly are 1st with 2.3 million fans, Phillies 2nd, and rounding out the top 5 are Dodgers, Angels, and Cubs. Red Sox are 8th.

[Hammer]

Andy, that's just about a tie in attendence.

Honestly, I don't believe that number for the Marlins. Every time I watch the Phillies play the Marlins in Miami, there is no one there. None of the other parks look as empty.

[sportsguy2315]

Honestly, I don't believe that number for the Marlins. Every time I watch the Phillies play the Marlins in Miami, there is no one there. None of the other parks look as empty.

I do agree there. I went to a Marlins in August 2003 (The year the won the World Series) mainly to see Dontrelle Willis pitch with my cousins. The place was next to deserted. Mind you, this was a team IN CONTENTION. While I think the new stadium will help lots for the Fish (Dolphin/Landshark/Whatever it is this week Stadium is WAY too big for them), they have to also bring a consistent winning product to field as well by not trading everyone after a playoff appearance/World Series.

Getting back on topic, although I'm a Cubs fan, I want to see to see the Pirates do well. Pittsburgh is towards the top of my list on top sports cities, and if the Pirates ever get their act together that great ballpark is just going to be one rocking party all summer. However, while "throwing in the towel" by trading your best players mid-season during a terrible season is perfectly acceptable, doing this on an annual basis and having your team basically being a yard sale for all of baseball does irreparable damage to the fan base. Case in point, to be perfectly honest, with Freddy Sanchez being traded, I can only name one current Pirate player right off the top of my head, which is a LaRoche, probably Andy.

[mouseneer]

I've been following these guys for years, and I'm tired of doing it. The modern Pirates team is nothing more than a universal farm club. Wait until they get good, then we'll trade 'em. Jason Bay expressed wanting to retire in Pittsburgh, but it fell on deaf ears. I think PNC Park is very nice, but not as nice as Camden Yards. That park has been the template for new baseball stadiums for 17 years now. I've been an Orioles fan my whole life, so I'm right there with you, Pirates fans.

[WDWfanatic742]

The Marlins do have some pretty good fans. Like the broadcasters were saying yesterday, they have quality, but they don't have quanity. After 1997 and 2003, they basically traded away everyone that had some kind of talent. Just imagine the teams we could have kept instead of trading most of our rosters to Boston or New York. Here's just some of the players they have traded after 1997 when they won their first World Series:

Moises Alou, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, Gary Sheffield, Edgar Renteria, Derrek Lee, Carlos Delgado, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, and Josh Beckett

Plus they play in Landshark Stadium/Dolphin Stadium/Pro Player Stadium/Joe Robbie Stadium where the Miami Dolphins and University of Miami play until 2012, and the park is definately a football stadium and way to big for baseball.

Sorry for going off topic

Anyway, I can't believe that the Marlins have had more attendance than the Pirates. There are some games that they have where they can barely draw 500-1,000 people.