Venting....Miller, the Hall of Fame, Jason Werth, the Pirates, and Pitt and the BBVA

I find myself in a state of high dudgeon this morning, so I will vent a bit (isn't that what I always do?) in today's posting.

ITEM #1, as you may have gathered from the picture to the left is the news that something called the "Expansion Era Committee" announced yesterday that they had elected baseball executive Pat Gillick to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Gillick, but the bigger story here is that once again, Marvin Miller was NOT elected to the HOF. Miller is arguably the most, or certainly in the top two or three, significant executives in baseball history. His absence in the Hall of Fame lessens the Hall as an institution (especially so when you consider that Bowie Kuhn, someone who Miller routinely made a fool of, IS in the Hall).

The Committee consisted of sixteen members, and 12 votes were needed to gain entry into the HOF. Miller received 11 votes. I am intrigued by who the five voters were that denied Miller. The committee consisted of 4 executives, or "front office" people (Bill Giles, Phillies, David Glass, Royals, Andy McPhail, Orioles, and Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox), four journalists (Bob Elliott, Tim Kurkjian, Ross Newhan, Tom Verducci), and seven HOF players (Johnny Bench, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Tony Perez, Frank Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, and Ozzie Smith, and HOF manager Whitey Herzog.

Now, I think we can assume that the four front office types went thumbs down on Miller, and I can't believe that the four journalists would have denied Miller, so that leaves one of the eight Hall of Famers to have nixed Miller. The seven guys on the committee, with the possible exception of Robinson, all played in an era that would have benefited from Miller's efforts. That leaves Herzog, who is in the Hall as a manager, and may be a guy who has front office leanings.

I am sure that the who-voted-for-whom will eventually come out (if it hasn't already), and I can't wait to see it. If it was a former player who voted against Miller, I am dying to hear his reasoning.

ITEM # 2: The Washington Nationals sign free agent outfielder Jason Werth to a seven year, $126 million contract.

Already, this deal is being soundly criticized as being an overinflated contract to a player who doesn't deserve it, but I say "Good for the Nats." They have shown that they are making a commitment to getting better by bringing in a proven major league ballplayer, even if they have to overpay, which teams in this strata of MLB must do to sign players of this caliber.

In contrast, you have our Beloved Buccos, whose needs include a rightfielder and a right handed power hitter, which describes Jason Werth to a "T," yet the Pirates never even sniffed around Werth. Instead we hear rumors about Derrick Lee, Jack Cust, Scott Olsen and others of that ilk, guys who might produce decently enough to be traded in July for "prospects" who maybe will be available to contribute to the Pirates three or four seasons down the road.

Signing a player like Werth may or may not be a good deal for the Nats or other teams like them, but deals like that seem to be the cost of doing business in the majors if you really, REALLY are serious about putting a winning team on the field. This signing said a lot about the Nationals...and the Pirates.

ITEM #3: The Pitt Football Panthers accept a bid to play in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

Yes, the 7-5 Panthers will play the 6-6 Kentucky Wildcats in this wildly anticipated match-up. The game will be played on January 8 in Birmingham, Alabama. Yes, you are reading that right, JANUARY 8TH. This whole situation encapsulates just about everything that is wrong about college football today. In a Pitt season that can best be described as "extremely disappointing," why play this game? I can't imagine that the players want to play in this game. The Pitt team appeared to be totally unprepared for their most important game of the season in the Backyard Brawl two weeks ago, so how can the coaches possibly get them up for the BBVA Compass (btw, what is a BBVA Compass?) Bowl that is being played a week after New Year's Day? January 8th will be the Saturday of the first weekend of the NFL playoffs, so how big a TV audience do you think this game will attract? Do you think that anyone besides the players' families will be watching? And it's not like it will be a financial bonanza for the University as it has been reported that both schools will lose money by traveling to play in the contest. Finally, do you even think that the good people of Birmingham will care enough about this game to show up at Legion field to watch?

Again I ask, why play this game?