Monday, June 25, 2007

Irate fans


I've heard some mixed opinions on the planned protest of the Pirates coming up on Saturday at PNC Park. But in my opinion, the guys who are organizing it are showing that there still is interest in baseball in Pittsburgh, and those who still care are, to borrow from the late Peter Finch, mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

In a nut(ting)shell, the protest is planned for Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals. The objective is for people who are in attendance to walk out after the third inning, after they've collected their Bob Walk bobbleheads. But for those who don't want to give the Pirates ownership their money on Saturday, the organizers of the protest are planning activities on the public streets outside the ballpark (which, itself, came about pretty much with public money, apparently so that whoever ran the baseball team could turn a profit regardless of the product on the field).

Anyway ... supporting the protest is a group with a really catchy name for its Web site, Irate Fans, featuring a logo that sort of looks like there's a "P" in front of "Irate." Give credit where it's due when it comes to creativity. The site has been in place since last spring, and the publicity surrounding the protest really must be generating some hits these days.

Kraig Koelsch, one of the leading Irate Fans, forwarded this information regarding the protest planned by Fans for Change:



Hello everyone,

As you may have heard by now, Fans for Change will hold a formal press conference on Tuesday, June 26th at 2:15pm near the Roberto Clemente statue on Federal Street. At this time, we will officially announce our plans and objectives for the evening of Saturday, June 30th. All regional media outlets have been informed and will be in attendance.

We ask that all supporters of Fans for Change join us (if possible) on Tuesday afternoon, adorned in a green shirt, as a visual representation of the strength that we have gained in the span of less than two weeks! Our group presence will vividly illustrate the strength and passion of fans that truly demand and deserve change.

Remember, this movement is a team movement, and together we have power in unity.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday afternoon if you can make it.

Sincerely,

Seanpittsburghforchange@yahoo.com


So, if you're not doing anything tomorrow afternoon ... unfortunately, I am, so I won't hear firsthand what the Fans for Change have to say. But I'll pass on the information as I get it.

At any rate, the protest should be picking up a lot of steam following the Pirates' horrific showing on the just-completed West Coast trip, an interleague nightmare that included:

• Being shut out by a pitcher, Seattle's Jeff Weaver, who entered the game with an ERA above 10.

• Being shut out by another Mariners pitcher, Felix Hernandez, who seems to have a lot of potential but also seems to be injury-prone.

• Choking away an early lead and losing to the Los Angeles ... Anaheim ... whatever they're called, in extra innings.

• Giving up 10 runs to the Angels in a game started by Ian Snell, who has been mentioned as a possibility for the Pirates' representative in the All-Star Game (as if they deserve one).

• Tying the game in the ninth but blowing it in extra innings, giving the Angels the most victories in the majors to this point in the season.

Yeah, it's getting easier to protest. It's also getting easier to stay away from PNC Park while the Nutting ownership is reaping the profits. For Pittsburgh-area baseball fans, there's a viable alternative down the road in Washington, PA, with the Frontier League Wild Things. Read more about them in Chris Dugan's blog.

And unless you're protesting, you might want to consider steering clear of PNC.



Trivia question 43: Who was the second pitcher to win a World Series game for the Phillies? (The first was Grover Cleveland Alexander.)

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