Pirates can't escape chaos even when the season just started

The Pittsburgh Pirates have opened the 2025 season with a 3-7 record. That’s disappointing but hardly surprising for a franchise that's spent much of the last three decades chasing its own shadow.

What's more frustrating is that even when the team should have some glimmers of positivity — like a phenom in Paul Skenes or a new season bringing fresh hope — Pirates ownership finds a way to dominate headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Last weekend, a plane circled PNC Park before the home opener carrying a now-familiar banner: "Sell the team, Bob." The frustration wasn’t just about the record. It was about the message fans have been sending for years: they’re tired of symbolic change and empty promises. 

Since Bob Nutting took complete control of the franchise in 2007, the Pirates have made just three playoff appearances and haven’t posted a winning record since 2018.

But this season, the anger isn’t just about wins and losses. It's about a franchise that seems more concerned with image and revenue than meaningful connection or progress. A case in point is removing a Roberto Clemente tribute sign from the outfield wall, replaced by an ad for hard seltzer. The team later claimed it was always intended to be temporary, but the decision sparked widespread backlash — including Clemente’s family, who weren’t consulted before the removal.

The same week, owner Bob Nutting gave a tone-deaf statement about filtering out the noise and “focusing on winning.” The irony? The team ranks among the bottom five in payroll, made minimal offseason improvements and still leans on “rebuild” language six years into the process under GM Ben Cherington.

Even when Skenes pitches like an ace — and he has — the conversation shifts to dysfunction. Even when fans pack the stadium on Opening Day, the postgame narrative concerns fan protests and PR clean-up.

There’s a disconnect here that feels institutional. Winning doesn’t seem to be the primary product in Pittsburgh. Instead, the franchise survives on nostalgia, just enough young talent to promise the future and a loyal fan base that keeps showing up — despite everything.

The Pirates had a real opportunity to change the tone this year. Skenes is a face-of-the-franchise talent. Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes still offer value. The NL Central is wide open, but instead of uniting fans around, the team's potential ownership has let the spotlight drift toward banners in the sky and disrespect toward Clemente’s legacy.

If this club wants to escape the cycle, it has to prove it’s serious about more than optics. Fans aren’t booing for the sake of noise. They’re booing because they’ve seen this movie and already know how it ends.

Until real change comes from the top, the Pirates may keep finding new ways to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.