WHAT PIRATE fans need to know in relation to their baseball club.

August 6: It’s all about Paul Skenes.

Last Week: Actions speak louder than words: Ben Cherington.

Today: Non-actions speak louder than words: Bob Nutting.

Next Week: A Brave New Pirates World.

In April 2022, the Pirates signed then-25-year-old Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year $70 million contract, which is one tenth of the amount the Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani the following year for each of the next 10 seasons.

Owner Bob Nutting oohed and aahed: “Ke’Bryan is the type of [core player] who makes a true difference in the direction of the organization,” he said. “Today isn’t about a contract, its length, or the terms. Today is about our firm belief in Ke’Bryan as a player and person, and our organization putting a stake in the ground moving forward.”

Following that 2022 season, Nutting said, “I do believe we’ve rebuilt [the minor league] foundation to the point that we can really focus on the major league club.”

In 2023, when Bryan Reynolds (eight years, $106 million–$12 million in 2025) and in 2024, when Mitch Keller (five years, $77 million–$15 million in 2025), were these more “stakes in the ground”?

Those signings were accompanied by a flourish of PR hooey that veiled the fact that signing a “stake” a year means little if nothing else is done to improve the other 25 players in the dugout or the personnel to develop them.

Last month “Stake” Hayes traded to Cincinnati for a 20-year-old Low A-ball infielder, a 34-year-old reliever, and cash (of course, cash); and both “Stake” Reynolds and “Stake” Keller became potential trade fodder.

Thank your lucky stars that the “stakes” of Andrew Heaney, Tommy Pham, Jack Suwinski, and Alexander Canario survived.

Before this season began, Nutting told MLB.com and the Post-Gazette that he respects the passion fans have for the Pirates. “What I want them to know is that I share that,” Nutting said, “working every day to put a winner and a championship team out here on this field. We did a lot of that work over the offseason. Fundamentally, my role is to make sure that we have [general manager] Ben [Cherington] in place, and we have Shelty [manager Derek Shelton] in place, and they have the tools to support our players and provide everything that we possibly can to give them an opportunity to succeed.”

Nutting was even more direct in an Opening Day interview with the Post-Gazette: “I think I’ve done everything I can to provide the tools and resources to the team,” he said. “There is a point where it becomes execution.”

He doubled down when Shelton was fired six weeks later. “There’s a lot of baseball left to be played, and (there was a need) to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization.”

Back in August 2008, after the Pirates had signed their second-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez just five minutes before the deadline, Nutting referred to team president Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington as “the single best management team in all of baseball, maybe all of sports.”

The following January, sportswriter Dejan Kovacevic asked Nutting about that statement. “I have to feel that way about the people I put in that position,” Nutting said. “Our goal is to be a championship organization. When I don’t feel that way anymore, then maybe I don’t have the right people. I firmly believe that I do.”

Too much of Nutting’s tenure indicates his belief that “shuffling the chairs on the deck of the Titanic” is the equivalent of taking essential actions.

It is not.