U mad, bro? Rotten trade deadline, monumental collapse in Colorado have Pirates fans seething

A comically bad loss in Denver. A tragically mangled trade deadline. And some remarkably ill-phrased quotes from a general manager grasping at straws.

I’ll hand it to the Pirates. Even now that Steelers training camp has started, they keep finding ways to stay in the headlines.

I’ll hand it to Pirates fans, too. Apparently, some of you still care enough to get angry.

Really, really angry.

Here are some reader interactions I had this week that are (for the most part) suitable to print in this week’s “U mad, bro?”

We start with Dave. He sent me this message after the Pirates lost 17-16 to the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

The Pirates missed the extra point…

— Dave Graf (@DaveGraf1965) August 2, 2025

Of course they did. That’s because Ben Cherington traded away Chris Boswell before he got to his arbitration years.

Up next is Ron. He was a big fan of my column in response to George Pickens gushing over the Cowboys’ Super Bowl heritage.

”You don’t know (expletive). YOU’RE just mad because he has a better shot at winning then (sic) the Steelers. So you bring up winning Super Bowls? Like that’s so easy to do. Shows you’re (expletive) sore. But, hey, pandering for clicks is important.”

First of all, Ron, great to hear from you. Please email anytime. I always enjoy pleasant, good-natured banter and healthy dialogue such as this.

To be clear, I won’t debate that the Cowboys are better than the Steelers right now. When did I ever suggest otherwise? Also, Pickens brought up the Super Bowl himself. I didn’t.

And, no, it’s not easy to get to Super Bowls — which is why Pittsburgh hasn’t done it for 15 years, and Dallas hasn’t done it for twice as long.

I’m not mad. I’d rather see Pickens win in Dallas than have him do anything good, bad or indifferent here. I’m just glad he’s gone.

Maybe you’re the one pandering in this conversation.

Mr. Mon Valley is tired of Pirates owner Bob Nutting.

I'm to the point where I'm ready for the team to pack it up and move to another city. Nutting isn't selling and they've embarrassed our city long enough. ✌️

— CDK (@MrMonValley) August 2, 2025

I think at this point, if the Pirates tried to leave for another city, the team would be sent back with a big, fat “Return To Sender” tag.

And Nutting would refuse to pay for the postage.

Eric responded to the news that recently traded Pirate Ke’Bryan Hayes homered in his first game with Cincinnati.

Are you surprised

— eric carman (@BrianWa02044252) August 1, 2025

No. The only thing that surprised me was that Bailey Falter didn’t throw a perfect game in his first appearance as a Kansas City Royal. I thought that was a lock.

ESPN’s Peter Schrager sent out a social media post that I just couldn’t ignore.

Everyone said the same stuff and talked the same way about Russ, even before he was practicing cuz of the calf. Another annual case of the Latrobe flu https://t.co/HlFz4LG623

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) July 31, 2025

K man would beg to differ.

1000% incorrect
Zero Buzz for Wilson
Ton of buzz for fields and they screwed up not playing fields the whole year

— K Man (@KellyCoach22) July 31, 2025

This is a complete misrepresentation. That’s selective memory. Not just from camp, but also from Russell Wilson’s first two months after the season started. He began 6-1 after getting healthy. They were 10-3 and it was happy-happy, joy-joy in Pittsburgh until they fell off the cliff during the last five weeks.

You’re trying to create a convenient narrative. Don’t attempt to rewrite history when the history is only a year old.

Finally, Bruce did not like Cherington’s statement that the Pirates never make trades strictly for financial purposes.

It's even worse what GMBC says in answering the same question. He first says that the K'Bryan trade is not about money, and then follows up with what can we do with the money not spent. You know they aren't going to spend that money.

What a clown

— Bruce (@Bruce58m) August 4, 2025

C’mon, Bruce. That’s not fair … to clowns.

They spend lots of money. Those red noses, squirty flowers and big shoes are more expensive than you think.

Listen: Tim Benz and Chris Adamski discuss Will Howard’s injury, the Steelers’ opening depth chart and the preseason opener in Jacksonville