Talking points Monday

With today being an off-day and all, we get fun talking points from everyone involved with the team about what needs to be done to prevent the entire city of Pittsburgh to be sucked into the gigantic black hole that is forming at PNC Park. Well, talking points from everyone but the one person with the power to do anything, Bob Nutting. As much as I dislike Smizik, he's been so frustrated recently that he's stopped writing his typical pieces that bait all of Pittsburgh into disagreeing with him and has been ranting on the state of the Pirates. Today he explains that while Kevin McClatchy stands out in front of the organization as a public face for everything that it does, the mysterious Bob Nutting is the man behind the curtain. He actually tried to get a hold of Bob Nutting for an interview, but was shooed away.

Of course, McClatchy has something to say, and he talks to Dejan today.

"I'm extremely disappointed," owner Kevin McClatchy said shortly after the team's 11th loss in a row, 7-4, to Los Angeles yesterday at Dodger Stadium. "When you look back at how we came out of San Francisco and the progress we were making ... I'm disappointed."

He goes on to give the vaunted "Vote of Confidence" to Littlefield and Tracy, which means that McClatchy will likely do the only thing he can do, fire everyone involved with the running of the team and hire a staff that will do the exact same thing that Littlefield's staff has done. Days like today are the days when I think that Smizik is likely correct, Bob Nutting runs the team and puts McClatchy out front as his lamb to the public slaughter. McClatchy seems genuinely frustrated by the way the team is playing, and I think it's because he knows he has no real power to change anything.

Today is also the day that the players have decided to speak out. Because they can't directly say what they think, let's translate.

What Jason Bay said:

I don't know if it's going to do us any good but, obviously, we need to mix something up. We're stagnant. We're making the same mistakes over and over, and we're not learning from them a lot of the time.

When asked, he said he meant the players needed to change. But what Jason Bay meant was:

I hate Jim Tracy. I hate him a lot.

What Jack Wilson said:

We've lost 11 in a row, and we went 0-6 on this trip without being competitive the whole way through. The type of baseball we're playing is just not getting it done. Whether it's a lineup shake-up or players changing ... I think most of the guys are open to whatever is suggested.

What Jack Wilson meant:

I also hate Jim Tracy a lot. I think he is full of shit because we do everything he tells us to do, then he directly blames us for every bad thing that happens on the field like his shit doesn't stink. Actually, it smells quite bad. It's easy to tell, because he's so full of it. Also, can anyone believe I was stupid enough to sign an extension to stay here? I mean, I'd rather play for free than play for a team like this for the rest of my life.

What Salomon Torres said:

It might happen. And if that's what it's going to take for us to be a better team, for Salomon to go somewhere else ... I don't want to see this team suffer anymore. This is eating us alive. It's killing us. You know, I'm willing to leave my arm on that mound for my team. A lot of us have that feeling. But something's not clicking.

What Salomon Torres meant:

This team has driven me so insane that Salomon is talking in the third person now. Salomon is very greatful for the chance to play here after everyone thought Salomon's career was over, but please, get me the f--- outta here right now before Salomon rips his arm off and puts it on the mound so that Salomon doesn't have to pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates anymore.

Don't forget, Dejan's new weekly chat is today at 2. Things should be fun.