Pirates Broadcaster Wehner On Road Trip: "It Appears As Though They Don't Care"
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster John Wehner joined The Cook and Poni Show on Friday following a horrible 1-5 road trip for the team against the two worst teams in baseball.
"I don't know if I've ever been that frustrated in a long time as I was last night, " Wehner said. "And I'm sure the fans have to be frustrated watching it."
Wehner points to a shot of the Pirates dugout last night on the broadcast that shows a team with a lack of urgency after playing a horrible week of baseball
"It appears as though they don't care," Wehner said. "I think that it's kind of hard to stomach when you're playing the Brewers and Braves, two of the worst teams in baseball, and you can't do anything. When you watch, especially this past road trip, it's hard to say, but are they really playing? Are they really giving it their all? I mean, don't the fans deserve to see their best? And we're definitely not seeing their best and that is the frustrating part."
Wehner says the team has had to deal with players being traded and friends leaving the team but that should not be used as an excuse for their poor play.
"Players are paid a lot of money to go and play," Wehner added. "If they are upset and boo-hoo over losing a teammate, shame on them. It happens all over baseball. Every team has trades, sometimes not even trades but sometimes good friends get released if you don't play well enough, that is all part of the game. You have to move past that, you have to be professional, sure, there might be guys that are a little confused or scratching their heads wondering why, but that's not their job. Their job is to go out there and play."
Speaking of play, Wehner says the lack of hustle shown by John Jaso not running out a play last night would have never been tolerated when he played the game, but it's become acceptable around the league these days. He told Cook and Poni he watches it all over baseball every night anymore.
Wehner says despite the poor play, this team still has a shot at the playoffs, but things must change if they are going to do it.
"If they really want to make the post-season, they have to turn it up a notch," Wehner said. "If they continue to play like they have this past week, they won't play .500 baseball the rest of the season."
Listen to the full interview here:
