DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Milton loses his stapler

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: Milton loses his stapler

[Music] [Applause] At a scout, we used to make fun of the local ball club for its internal emphasis on mental skills. And while that sounds really antiquated and kind of off-putting, I did kind of get where he was coming from when he would say, “Hey, we’re never going to win the World Series, but we’re going to be great at the mental Olympics.” Good morning to you. Good Thursday morning. I’m Dan Kvachovic of DK Pittsburgh Sports and 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 in the same place that you found this. John Baker was the latest to either leave the organization or to get shoved out or depending on how many times you’ve seen Office Space, the ultimate cinematic masterpiece of our time and how familiar you are with the individual lines. Baker really got Miltoned here. Milton in the movie just keeps getting shoved further and further back into smaller and darker cubicles until eventually he ends up in the basement and then the boss comes by and rudely takes away his red swing line stapler. It just I I don’t mean to give away the plot. You’ve got to see office space. This is what it sounds like happened to Baker here. He was hired away from the Cubs in November of 2020. He was hired to be the director of coaching and player development. And he was hired to do that for reasons that almost nobody inside the organization understood because he wasn’t a baseball guy. He was a mental skills guy. he’d end up flaming out like all of those guys do. And in his case, it was one of those awkward promotions or sounds like a promotion in which you might as well be fired on the spot. He was promoted into a new position where he would oversee people who actually knew what the hell they were doing. What an organization. I I’m going to say this now with firm firm emphasis. They retained this general manager. Bob Nutting retained Ben Cherington who has been the guy watching all of this. He still has his job. Well, Baker doesn’t. Baker’s Baker’s been milened all the way out of Initech. And this means just nothing. This means nothing. And the only reason I’m even bringing it up today is because you know all those times when you watch the Pirates screw things up or you watch prospects go backward or you wonder why players come here and get worse whether it’s in Pittsburgh or whether it’s at any other level of the system. This is why. This is why they fill their own heads with all this gobbledegook nonsense, this self-important self flagagillation. The pirates Twitter account has a a sub account called YoungBucks. It’s YoungBucks pit. If you really really are into a good laugh on occasion, they tweeted out u a picture, a little video actually of Esmerlin Valdez, that rarest of all animals in society, that being a hitting prospect in the Pittsburgh organization. And whoever it is that runs the social media account, whether it’s the main one or this one or if it’s all the same people or person, I have no idea. Here’s what I do know. This was typed onto a screen after which somebody hits send. You ready? A culture built on collaboration, connection, and enjoying the game. Who talks like that? Who who even thinks like that? And if they do talk and or think like that, what would compel them to put that out into the public when the public that would follow an account like this is painfully aware of what that system has produced and how it has been and should be universally mocked throughout the industry. on that count alone. Never mind doing this and the mental Olympics and whatever else. When we come back, J1Q, [Music] 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 lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstorage check.org. That’s gunstoch check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the firearm industry trade association. Delete Me makes it easy, quick, and safe to remove your personal data online. At a time when surveillance, and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable, data brokers can compile your name, contact info, social security number, home address, even information about your family members, and they can sell it online. Have you ever been a victim of identity theft, harassment, doxing? If you haven’t, you probably know someone who has. Delete Me can help take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me. Our listeners get a special discount. Get 20% off your Delete Me plan when you go to joindeme.com/hit. Use promo code hit at checkout. That’s hit. The only way to get 20% off is to go to jointdeme.com/hit and enter hit at checkout. That’s jointdeme.com/hit code hit. [Music] Today’s J1 Q comes from Rico who says, “Wait, Derek Shelton got hired elsewhere. Can we retather Ben Cherington to him again? You guys never let up. There’s no off season for you guys. There’s no off season for Bucko Snark. Let’s never forget that. But yes, Shelton was hired here. And I say here because I’m in St. Paul, Minnesota, covering hockey. Twins, of course, are in the other Twin City, Minneapolis, just a few minutes away from here via car. And if you thought Shelton had himself a rebuild when he joined Pittsburgh in the COVID year, what the Twins are doing will make all rebuilds look pale by comparison. For anybody who doesn’t follow the franchise in this state, they sold off everyone and everything this past season. The Pad family tried to sell, had everyone around here excited because they want the Pole ads gone here almost as much as Pittsburgers want Bob Nutting gone. Nothing came of it. They put out a follow-up statement that said, “Hey everybody, we’re sticking around.” You can imagine how that was met. And it was at that point that they just said, “See you to like everyone.” So, how does Shelton get a job like that? Well, I tried to watch a little bit of the press conference when I got here out of just mild curiosity, and I heard some higher up associated with the Minnesota organization say that they’re looking for someone who can really ace it with the fundamentals. And it was at that point that I lost interest. Shelton’s not going to make you a fundamentally sound team. That’s not why you get Shelton. There’s five full years of documentation on that. On top of that, the way that Shelton carried himself early in this past season, the way he was roundly ripped by the clubhouse after his departure, not least of which was the common criticism that he had checked out. That was the term that I kept hearing again and again and again. He had checked out. Not checked out once they started losing. Not checked out when the season began. Checked out at the opening of spring training. I don’t know how much diligence most major league baseball teams do when it comes to hiring at this position, but the Twins couldn’t have lifted a solitary pinky finger here. So, what that tells me is they’re looking for someone who will just, what’s a nonvulgar way to say this? Someone who will just eat what he’s supposed to eat there. How did I do? I mean, that’s that’s what this job is. That’s what the job was when he took it in Pittsburgh. They want somebody who can wear losing well. Well, he’s really good at that. You couldn’t tell if they won or lost. And I mean that in both directions. I really do. You know all too well that nothing ever changed about him when the Pirates lost, but you might have forgotten that a couple years ago the Pirates got off to that rollicking start for about a month and it just it had no effect. The only things I ever saw move Shelton, like really move him, was when an umpire would screw up something related to the pitch clock or some other technical thing where he might have thought that the manager in the other dugout was getting more respect than he was. That’s it. That is it. I I even when you saw him come out of the dugout and go through the arguments, that’s kind of what it felt like. He was going through the motions. He was doing the things that a manager is supposed to do. And he did that for a long time. And listen, I I’m not one to forecast the future, but I don’t know how much of an advanced script you’d need on how things are going to go here. The Twins are going to be really, really, really bad. Now, if and when there’s a salary cap system, which I’m positive is part of what the poll ads are counting on, then they’ll see if they can rebuild with whatever. I don’t care about the twins. Hey guys, listen. I’m going to punt on the Friday episode of Daily Shot of Pirates. We’re going to be back with another one on Monday. The reason is the same as last week. I’m just doing all kinds of traveling and my head is in a million different places. So, there will be a new daily shot of Pirates on Monday morning and maybe by then we’ll have had the conclusion of the last complete Major League Baseball season for some time. I appreciate the question, Rico. I appreciate everybody listening to Daily Shot of Pirates. And I do hope you can make it back Monday. Should be lots to talk about. [Music]

Milton’s finally robbed of his red Swingline stapler.

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