Pittsburgh Punts on Season, Apologizes to Fans

Pittsburgh Pisces Owner/GM Mack Shultz stepped to the podium today, knowing he was going to be roasted by a hostile press corps over a trade that effectively ended the Pisces' chances of contending in 2004. Pittsburgh sent four major leaguers and a good starting pitching prospect to Cairo, picking up only two prospects in return.

"We know this will be a tough day for our fans to swallow," said Shultz. "But we trust that they'll have patience with us as we rebuild for a brighter future."

Pittsburgh sent out its best starting pitcher in Oscar Leon, its best hitter in Paul Caldwell, last year's starting shortstop and third basemen in Donald Blair and Tyler Payne, along with starting pitching prospect Robert Yearby (the 40th ranked prospect). That bounty effectively stripped the Pisces of key pieces that fans were hoping would return the team to the playoffs as a wild card behind expected front-runner Seattle.

In return, Pittsburgh picked up #1 ranked prospect Richard "Buck" Ro and catcher Larry Jensen, who was the second pick in last month's amateur draft. While these players may contribute in the future, it's unclear how they will perform in the present.

"We felt like we needed to add some young talent to go with our core featuring "Tiny" Croce and Donald "Missing" Parson. Ro and Jensen are premier talents, and those players simply don't come cheaply," said Shultz.

Pittsburgh also recently took three players in the Rule 5 draft, including starting pitcher Joseph Basho, which some observers took as a sign that the club planned to focus on rebuilding efforts. Still, nobody expected the bloodbath of this trade.

"Leon and Caldwell will be free agents at the end of the year and Blair and Payne were looking at bench roles," said Shultz, attempting to appease the outraged fanbase. "Besides, Leon hadn't even arrived in town yet after the offseason trade with Stockholm."

Cairo fans, meanwhile, celebrated the news. The additions of Leon and Calwell were welcomed, as were the upgrades at shortstop and third base where Cairo had its two weakest starters.

Is Pittsburgh done dealing? Probably not. There are still a large number of players on the roster who will be hitting free agency at the end of the year and it's unlikely that the Pisces will want to, or be able to, sign them all. However, future deals may have to wait until mid-season, as contending teams identify the holes on their rosters and look for help filling them.