U mad, bro?: Fans tear into stumbling Pirates — and Matt Canada, of course

This week’s “U mad, bro?” is an all-out assault on the Pirates’ nine-game losing streak.

Along with one mandatory shot at Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Oh, and a full-fledged attack on my character … and my gender.

Here’s an email from C Steiger. It dates back to June 13, after the Pirates merely split their six-game home stretch against the awful Oakland A’s and the struggling New York Mets. Apparently she thinks Mark Madden and I were too hard on them then.

I wonder what she is thinking now?

“Ok, so they need to hit better with men on base. At least this year they have men on base.

So it’s all a start and a process. Been to a couple games already this year and they’ve all [been] fun and they’ve had their chances to win where they haven’t won. And they’ve won some too.

I miss the baseball writers from The 60’s and 70’s. While you and Madden are excellent, sometimes you’re whiny about some of this sports stuff.

As a woman, I would be able to call it.”

Well, C, as a woman, were you able to “call” the current nine-game losing streak? Because it began just a few hours after you sent this email. Or does your female intuition only work when it comes to predicting wins?

I don’t pretend to have the ability to see the future. But I do have an understanding of the past.

At least to the point that I could grasp the idea that trends, which were starting to show themselves in May and mid-June, were more consistent with most Pirates teams since 1992 than one good month of baseball was from a roster that still doesn’t measure up with most Major League clubs.

I’m sure those baseball writers of the 1960s and 70s did come off less “whiny.” They had a lot less to complain about. Between 1960 and 1979, the Pirates won three World Series titles, were a part of seven postseasons, and totaled 15 years of the franchise being .500 or better.

For folks like me who have been covering the organization since 2001, we’ve never even covered a division winner, let alone a World Series, and I’ve been around just four teams with a winning record.

So, I’d argue that my accounts of most Pirates results are not “whining” but are more about just telling the truth.

Related:

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Craig says he is a lifelong Pittsburgh Sports fan living in Oregon. But he sounds pretty fed up with the Pirates right now.

“What the (heck) is going on over there? Does anyone give a rat’s (backside)? Who is this Nutting clown and how is it that he can be allowed to own an MLB team, let alone one with such history and significance? Clemente must be rolling in his untimely grave. How can that clown sleep at night knowing that he’s the laughing stock of the league?”

How does Nutting sleep, Craig? Very soundly. Pillowcases stuffed full of cash are remarkably supportive of the head and neck.

This guy on Twitter had some thoughts on the call-up of Henry Davis, and the Pirates decision to try him in right field instead of immediately making him a full-time catcher.

When you are the #1 overall pick in the MLB, NHL, or NFL draft...your skill set should be well defined and ready to play. These are NOT developmental leagues.

— MOJO (@mjro1105) June 20, 2023

Right. Unless the entire team is made up almost exclusively of developmental players with a planned agenda of always being in the business of development.

David emailed about the Pirates too.

“I know it is still early, but I told you in preseason under .500 by the All-Star game, and over 100 losses by the end of their (again) non-playoff season.”

In preseason, I certainly agreed. I predicted they’d be a 72-win team. Thus, by extension, failing to qualify for the playoffs again.

However, David, I think going 20-8 to start the year and being in first place in early June made it OK for fans to adjust their eye-level of what to hope for the rest of the year.

Note, I didn’t say “expect.” I said “hope for.” Those are NOT the same things.

Suddenly, though, after just two months, I have neither hope, nor expectations.

Here’s Sully on some Pirates’ woes after the Wednesday afternoon loss to the Cubs.

today is the "adjust the expectations" day that many feared would come. June or not, you don't come back swiftly from losing 9 straight divisional games. Make some changes, lets see the young guys and lets find out what we have for next season. 14-31 since 20-8 says it all.

— Sully (@sullymygoodname) June 21, 2023

Sully, as I said previously, I started readjusting already. But I’ll ask what young guys that aren’t playing, should be playing? I mean, they are playing plenty of young players as it is. I supposed they could call up more and I expect to see that soon enough — for guys such as Endy Rodriguez, Quinn Priester, and maybe Nick Gonzales.

I mean, we can advocate trading of veterans such as Carlos Santana, Rich Hill and Connor Joe. But other teams need to want them first.

And I’m sure Ben Cherington’s voicemail isn’t full just yet.

Finally, we’ll end with our weekly complaint about Matt Canada. It’s an email from Raymond, citing a quote from the Steelers offensive coordinator in a recent column of mine about red zone inefficiency. Within a larger quote, Canada said. “It doesn’t matter why we weren’t successful” in the red zone last season.

Ray didn’t like that.

“This statement by Canada tells me he doesn’t understand how to call plays. Or maybe his play calling is predictable.

Of course you want to know why you failed so you can make adjustments by calling better plays. Why Canada is still an offensive coordinator in the NFL is baffling.”

You are taking that quote out of context, Ray. The very next words out of Canada’s mouth were, “The bottom line is we have to be more productive down there.”

In other words, he is trying to avoid offering up any explanations, because he knows those explanations will look like excuses.

I’m not Canada’s biggest fan, either. But I’m not going to join you in ripping him over that particular statement.

I sure don’t want to come off as “whiny” again. Maybe you just need a woman like “C” to explain it to you better than I can.

Or at least a Pirates beat writer from the 1960s.

I hear Maz and Groat were excellent in the red zone.