DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: The Cherington delusion

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: The Cherington delusion

[Music] [Applause] Old scout in the Pittsburgh system once told me about how instructors in the minor leagues going all the way to the lowest levels would tell not only their managers and coaches and Rovers, but also their players that the only game that was being played that mattered in the entire organization was the game being played that night in Pittsburgh. Good morning to you. Good Monday morning. I’m Dan Kawachovich of DK Pittsburgh Sports. This is Daily Shot of Pirates. It comes your way bright and early every weekday. If you’re into football and or hockey, I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins, the other two teams in town that I cover. I hope you’ll check those out as well. Nationals four, Pirates three yesterday in Washington. That’s two of three for the Nationals. That’s a one in5 trip through the Baltimore DC area. That’s eight losses in the last nine games, that’s 65 and 85 overall. And that in year six of a management team’s tenure is a it’s a disgrace. That’s what it is. It’s a disgrace. And it’s one that should embarrass you. It’s one that should, if you had any self-awareness at all, prevent you from saying stupid things in public. Or actually, it would prevent you from even thinking those stupid things so that they don’t make it out. On his weekly team produced radio program yesterday, Ben Cherington said the following quote, “Our organizational talent level improved this year.” End quote. Stop right there with any analysis you might want to put forth in advance of forming an opinion because the only stance that’s required here is to understand that this individual is in no position to speak such a thing in year six. You’ve had 6 years to address organizational talent level. You’ve had 6 years of trading a bunch of legitimately useful veterans off the team that he inherited from Neil Huntington. know it was obviously not a great team, but when you’re trading Starling Marte and Marte is still going strong in more of a a spare usage, but that’s not a bad thing necessarily given his age and you’re trading other players at peak ages, peak points of their career, Joe Musgrove, Josh Bell, pretty much right off of that 2019 season when he had everyone thinking he was going to become some kind of star. Adam Frasier when he was leading the National League in hitting and others. There were several others. If you go and look at the returns that Cherington got, they were supposed to be the ones who, let me see the wording again, improved the organizational talent level. That was supposed to happen in the COVID year or 2021 at the latest. That’s when you were supposed to be improving the organizational talent level. Go look, and I’m serious about this, drop deadad serious about this. If you ever think a positive thought about this GM’s performance, go look at the returns on these. Most of those prospects, and that’s what they were, they’re not even playing baseball anymore. And of the rest, if you want to say, well, that’s just ordinary. That’s just the way things go. Go look at the rest. Ask Ask who made it. Who actually out of all those players made it? Got to Pittsburgh had a real impact. I’ll give you a hint. It’s David Bednar. The end. Then go look at the drafts. Not just at the one or two or three names that most people can identify. Not just at the Paul Skins, now Connor Griffin, of course, Nick Gonzalez is in the lineup every day. Look at the depth of these drafts. Look at how many players they got despite picking really high and having competitive balance choices or also known as sandwich picks. If you’re not familiar with that, they they get sandwiched in between the first and second round. So these are also really prized spots at which to be selecting amateurs. Keep going. Take any measurement you want. My goodness. Latin America alone should have already had him fired a year ago. Just that. But it didn’t happen. The organizational talent level didn’t happen. One, two, three, four, five years didn’t happen. So whatever goofy estimate he might be using or whatever number he had his five billion analytical workers putting together to show to Bob Nutting and I unfairly or not I always presume that’s the kind of thing that’s going on. All that matters in year six is did you win that game in Pittsburgh that night or not. One of the things that’s always scared me about these executives, they’re more common in baseball than any other sport who just live, breathe, and die over prospects and organizational stuff is that they see it all as one big ball. They don’t understand that the only reason the affiliates in Indianapolis and Altuna and Greensboro down to Bradenton and Dominican Summer League, the only reason they exist, the only reason they’re playing games, the only reason they have uniforms is so that at some stage of the process, they will contribute to winning the game in Pittsburgh that night. This guy either doesn’t get that or he’s putting on one hell of a show right now. Cuz this team, the one that you and I are watching with our own eyes, without any analytics telling us this or that, this team is wretched by any standards. And it’s doubly so for one in year six. That grades out to an F minus for the GM who says that his organizational talent level improved this year. My goodness. Two more weeks. Two more weeks. When we come back, J1Q. If you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for steak on a stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. Or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lockboxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstoch checkck.org. That’s gunstoch checkck.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the firearm industry trade association. Hey guys, if you’re planning to see a Pirates game, use the Game Time app to get your tickets. You can snag new ticket deals before anyone if you set it into app alerts. The app is easy to use, no surprise fees at checkout. You can see your seat view before buying, and you’re getting legit tickets delivered on time. Now, if you’re not much of a planner, you can get lastminute deals on tickets right up to the start of the event. Lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you $110% of the difference. Download the Game Time app and enter the code DK Pirates in your app profile for $20 off your first purchase. [Music] Today’s J1Q comes from Barry who says, “DK, the fact that you’re suggesting fans should root for fewer wins than last year tells me that you are not certain Ben Cherington is dead man walking. If you were, it wouldn’t matter how many wins would happen in the remainder of the year.” You have real doubts and you should because nothing was done in 2025 to tell us that Cherington is gone before 2026 when Bob Nutting tells you the primary goal is to win. Do you believe him? Okay, so this is what’s happening. A lot of what it is, and this has been true forever. And this is a good thing as opposed to a bad thing because you do want people to listen to what you say. Meaning in this line of work, you want people to read what you write. The alternative is much worse. But if a lot of people are listening to what you say and a lot of people are reading what you write, then you run the very real risk, not that there’s anything you can do about it, of people misinterpreting what it is that you say. And then when you suggest that they’ve misinterpreted, they tell you that you’re walking it back. This once and for all is what I said after I met with Nutting on May the 10th. I felt that this GM is dead man walking because I had heard lots of stuff from lots of people in the organization that were deeply critical of this GM including in ways that I had never considered that I wasn’t even aware existed. These things were said without provocation. What’s more, in the actual public statements, including the on the record portion of my talk with Nutting, he gave the furthest thing in the world from an endorsement. So, I took those things and that information and I expressed my sincere belief that this is dead man walking. Now, in the world of the hot takes people who do this for a living, or way worse, the predictions people, I I I I can’t stand the predictions people. They’re even lower than the hot takes crowd. And you know what I’m talking about. The ones who constantly feel the need to try to forecast the future so that they can either look really dumb or really smart. And the only ones who ever remember are the ones who remembered that you got it right. They’re both completely useless practices. I stay away from them. Barry, you are either misremembering or pretending that I made a prediction. I don’t do that. I don’t make predictions on any front anymore. I just don’t do it. The belief that I shared with you was mine. Which renders your final question here moot. You say, “When Bob Nutting tells you the primary goal is to win, do you believe him?” Well, he never told me what he was going to do with Cherington. If he did, there’s no chance that that sentiment wouldn’t have gotten out in some form. What he told me, what others have told me. To reiterate here yet again, things that were not the kind of things you would expect to hear from someone who is anticipating that he’s going to retain that individual. Therefore, I me developed the belief that he’s dead man walking. I me have that belief still. Not belief as in faith and hope and whatever else, although I’m positive it would be better for the pirates, but an actual belief that this is going to happen. That’s not a prediction. That’s what I believe based on a lot of stuff that I’ve heard. I hope that clears it up, but I really don’t think it will. I appreciate you either way, Barry. I appreciate everybody listening to Daily Shot of Pirates. We’ll be back with another one of these tomorrow. [Music]

The Ben Cherington delusions achieve new lows.

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