PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have embraced the concept that less is more. This season, they will have fewer stars and fewer veterans in their starting lineup. They'll even have 10,000 fewer seats at Three Rivers Stadium.
No team in baseball has won more games in the 1990s than the Pirates, defending three-time National League East champions. And, as the Pirates prepare for their 107th season by opening camp this week in Bradenton, Fla., they are totally in touch with the times. Downsizing, that buzzword of the '90s, is reality here.
The assumption everyone is making is that they'll also cut back considerably on the 96 victories they had in 1992, which enabled them to win the NL East by nine games over the Montreal Expos. But the Pirates, much like IBM or Westinghouse, believe that becoming "lean and mean" is the only way to ensure long-term survival, regardless of the short-term effects.
"We're telling the people the truth," said general manager Ted Simmons, who has had to oversee the club's reduction policy that, in two seasons, has resulted in the loss of top players such as Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Bobby Bonilla and John Smiley. "This is where we're going, and this is why.
"How could we afford to pay $43 million for Bonds, $20 million for Drabek, $30 million for Bonilla and $18 million for Smiley? That's $111 million for four players. In contrast, San Francisco paid $100 million to keep the Giants in the city."
Baseball economics long have stopped making sense for the Pirates, a small-market franchise with a history of attendance woes. Last year, the Pirates' third consecutive division-winning team attracted 1.8 million fans, a paltry figure given the game's new financial pressures.
As a result, the Pirates dropped out of bidding wars that resulted in the free-agent departures of two-time National League MVP Bonds (to the Giants) and former Cy Young winner Drabek (to the Houston Astros).
When Gold Glove second baseman Jose Lind became eligible for arbitration, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for prospects; a prospect the Pirates considered more attractive than paying him $3 million a year.
During the past three years, the Pirates have made at least seven cost-conscious personnel decisions, resulting in the departure of Bonds, Bonilla, Drabek, Lind, Smiley, Sid Bream and Danny Jackson.
L "This club is in transition," Simmons said. "It clearly is."
