Firing Line
Time Well Spent
By Ellis G. Cannon
Publisher,Pittsburgh Sports Report

Change is everywhere in the sports world. Whether it's fans, media coverage or salaries, things are on the move.

Some things, however, remain the same, like the chance baseball offers fans, even in Pittsburgh, to see the game's great players. That's the case even if the Pirates find themselves out of contention before the Fourth of July (something else that doesn't seem to change).

Why fans go to games is not much different now than it's ever been.

Consider the Penguins of the 1980s, if you have the stomach. Going to Pens' games had everything to do with going to see the best visiting players, not the ones calling Pittsburgh home. Things started to change when Mario landed from wherever he came from, but even with him, at first, it had everything to do with checking out Edmonton's superstars or Broadway's villains.

Pirates' fans may be motivated to do the same these days. That's nothing to apologize for if it keeps them interested.

Pirates' bankers could care less what draws fans to PNC Park as long as they visit. The money spends the same. Over the long term, the Bucs need the attraction to be their own product, but in the short term they won't complain if it's the Cubs, Astros, Bonds or Big Unit that draws. It pays bills and keeps fans' interest until the Pirates give them something to cheer about; something the Penguins lucked upon years ago with Mario.

There are no guarantees of future success. There's not a Mario in the Pirates' system. But while the Pirates slowly feed their talent pipeline to the majors, there are many reasons to keep fans' interest, even if it's through television until the Pirates home schedule tilts back toward the division in September.

With the acquisition of Carlos Beltran, the Astros have gone positively Steinbrenner in the name of winning, with Clemens, Pettitte and Oswalt on the hill and Kent, Berkman, Beltran, Biggio, and Bagwell playing every day.

Wait until Kerry Wood heats up Chicago after the break, joining Maddux, Zambrano, Prior and Clement. Sosa, A-Ram, and Alou keep everyone interested.

In St. Louis, Pujols, Edmunds, Renteria and Rolen are a fireworks show, but Carpenter, Morris, Marquis and Suppan have the Redbirds primed to perhaps upset both the 'Stros and Cubbies.

And, of course, the Milwaukee Brewers. While people get fired up comparing the Yankees to the Pirates, we find it better to focus on how the Brewers and Pirates stack up, at least for now. Both are small markets with new ballparks and losing streaks covering the same number of years.

It's an exercise in futility to bemoan the Yankees' advantage over the likes of the Pirates, it's been like that for 100 years and will be for the next 100, but it's not a waste of time comparing the Bucs and Crew. If the Pirates don't match up with the Brewers, it's a problem. Failing against the Brewers is a bad thing, not because Milwaukee stinks, but because they and the Pirates are one in the same. Milwaukee has a stacked minor league system and good baseball men calling the shots. Keep an eye on them.

The bottom line is there are a lot of reasons to venture to the ballpark regardless of where the Pirates are in the standings. Go to see your future stars, or watch somebody else's current ones shine. You can marvel at the royalty that is the top of the division or engage the battle of the traditional bottom feeders. Either way, it's time well spent.

"Ellis Cannon's Sportsline Pittsburgh" airs weeknights, 6-8 p.m. on FM NewsTalk 104.7. Ellis is also a regular contributor on the "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown", aired Sundays at 11:35 on KDKA-TV.