Media Savvy
Different Sport, Same Tune
By Stan Savran

Hockey and baseball are as disparate as sports can possibly be. Outside of utilizing some form of stick to achieve a scoring objective, they are totally dissimilar. But in the front offices, they have become twins.

The NHL has become baseball on ice. Its financial disparities have forced a caste system, the same one that has kept the little guys in baseball with their noses pressed up against the playoff window. Baseball's owners have shown a disdain for getting dirt under their fingernails, not wanting the blood of another strike on their hands.

They didn't have the stomach to shut baseball down last August when they had the chance to effect REAL change. What we got was a band-aid, one that will soon fall off, bringing us back to the same point, where the little guys can't pass go, can't collect $200, and more importantly, can't compete for championships consistently.

Despite the aberration that was the Carolina Hurricanes last year and that is the New York Rangers EVERY year, hockey has arrived at this same abyss. The owners appear to be willing to play hardball with the players. We'll see if hockey has learned anything from baseball. And we're about to see if the Penguins have learned anything from the Pirates.

It can be done. It HAS been done. But you have to have a plan, and you must follow it. Once you draw the blueprint, you can't bypass steps for expedience. If you do, a strong wind will blow the building down. General Managers who want to add fancy accoutrements before the foundation has been set and settled will soon sit in a pile of rubble.

The Penguins in 2003 are where the Pirates were in 1996. After championship, or near championship seasons, the economics of the respective games tore asunder what had entertained us for a thrilling bit of history. Three division championships from 1990 thru 1992, and the list of major contributors began to melt away like fat in a George Foreman grill. The franchise faced bankruptcy more than once, and the specter of moving vans backing up to Three Rivers Stadium more than that. Until Kevin McClatchy bought the team and kept it here with large parts chewing gum and bailing wire, the wolves howled at Pittsburgh's baseball door. The franchise embarked on a five year plan, which was noble. Its execution was not. Seven years after the fact, Phase II under Dave Littlefield is underway. The destination remains unclear, but at least there are signs that they're on the right road.

The Penguins teeter on the brink of financial disaster, where a strong gust of wind could blow them over the edge and out of town. The Pens' glory years were even more glorious than those enjoyed by the Pirates. The dismantling of Team Lemieux was less dramatic and occurred over a much longer period of time. But at what price? Some of the shadiest economic theory this side of Enron, sent them careening into bankruptcy. Like the Pirates, they tried to hold it together, tried to maintain a championship legacy, or at least one of competitiveness, but there was only so much water this dam of finance could hold before it burst.

Welcome Penguins, to Pirates baseball, circa 1996. Learn well from the mistakes made from that initial five year plan. It can be done, but not if you draft the hockey equivalents of Clint Johnston, Chad Hermansen and Mark Farris. And you, Pirates' scouts, will not bring the Littlefield vision into focus if you select the baseball equivalents of Robert Dome, Craig Hillier and Chris Wells. Neither of you have much margin for error.

You cannot buy your way out of mistakes like the Yankees and Rangers, nor can you buy your way to success. You must excel at the cheapest way of player procurement—developing your own. There's no other way to win. Or survive.

Even though their successes coincided in history, the Pirates reached ground zero much earlier than the Penguins, who now have admitted they've dropped to that inevitable destination. The Pirates had a false start, and wasted a good five years before making strides. We'll see if Team Lemieux has learned any lessons from watching the Pirates' missteps.

The sports are totally different. Their paths to success are eerily similar.

Stan Savran hosts a sports talk show 3-6 pm weekdays on WBGG Fox Sports Radio 970.