PiratesFest Q&A Questions

1-3-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X

The Pirates, rationally or not, ticked off a good percentage of the fan base today with two shrewd moves regarding the upcoming PiratesFest on January 6th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, here’s hoping we avoid an insurrection, sorry, couldn’t help myself.

First, and this wasn’t really an announcement as much as a realization upon opening email, but the Pirates have decided to curate the Q&A with management staff Ben Cherington, Travis Williams and Derek Shelton. Instead of what the team has traditionally done, just taking questions.

After years of not having the event, it just felt like a slap in the face in the moment. Not that I don’t understand why that might be uncomfortable for them, but it felt somehow to me like, well, they owe us at least that damnit.

Then the whole autograph session thing drops. The first session entirely for season ticket holders was off the table, with my personal favorite player of all time Andy Van Slyke. All the other sessions went on sale, most were gone before 15 minutes passed.

Oh man, again, c’mon, give us something here right?

I mean I don’t even collect autographs, but it’s nice getting a chance to just shake hands, say hi, shoot the shit.

Listen, we all have takes, I’ll probably have more to say on the Pirates Fan Forum tomorrow night, but for now, I simmered down. Thought about it a bit, and you know what, I planned on asking what I consider to be respectful questions anyway, so I used their system instead of just being mad they created one.

I submitted questions I think are completely fair, and here’s hoping they answer some of them, at the end of the day, I want answers, not gotchas anyway.

Question 1: Ben Cherington
I’ve seen it reported that Andy Haines and Oscar Marin are in charge of overseeing the implementation of their areas of expertise throughout the entire system as well as direct coaching at the MLB level. Other teams have structured this with a pitching or hitting coordinator position to avoid such a heavy lift. Thoughts on why you’ve chosen this approach?

Question 2: Ben Cherington
The sum and structure of the Shohei Ohtani deal was tops in the baseball world this offseason. Why should Pirates fans feel their franchise can compete more frequently in a league with a spending gap this wide?

Question 3: Ben Cherington
Is there a reason we haven’t seen anyone signed to more than a one year contract in free agency, aside from options of course?

Question 4: Travis Williams
Season ticket holders are the life blood of a franchise, but creating them should be too. Do the Pirates do enough to show non-season ticket holders a look at what it might be like behind the curtain?

Question 5: Derek Shelton
How much input do you have on who gets called up or demoted?

Question 6: Derek Shelton
Can you explain why you change the batting order as often as you do?

Question 7: Derek Shelton
Trying to win with not enough and expecting to win with what you hope is enough are two different things, how do you expect to have to evolve as a coach?

Question 8: Ben Cherington
Has the organization provided you with everything you felt you agreed to have access to since being hired?

Question 9: Ben Cherington
I’m not asking you to disclose your plan, but I’ll simply ask, would you say things are in range of what you expected to play out?

Question 10: Ben Cherington
Jackson Chourio and Milwaukee have agreed to 8-year deal, I’m sure you know the details (but 82 million just in case). Regardless of the amount, would you entertain something like this as a method of locking in talent for a bit less money but a bit more risk?

That’s what I got. I sent them in and I hope they answer one. I think they’re all fair, and I think if answered we’d learn more than being an angry mob and yelling sell the team anyway, lol.

Anyway, fingers crossed!

Hit me with some of yours on Facebook or X.