So, as put forth in this space a week ago, we've now got a plan to cover the Pirates on a two-track basis:
• The baseball basics, like normal
• Finding out, fairly and accurately, why the franchise of Roberto Clemente has failed so spectacularly over the past four decades and, of greatest immediacy, why there's still almost no accountability amid ongoing failures
So, to that end, we're enlisting several people in several different walks of life to help. All I'm going to offer on that for now.
There's also another individual we're interested in enlisting, and that's ... you.
Three different ways you can make a difference:
1. Talk to us.
Since the season ended, and since Ben Cherington made known that Bob Nutting and Travis Williams signed off on keeping both him and Derek Shelton in place despite a fifth year of failure that looked virtually no different than their first four together -- aside from having had Paul Skenes fall from the figurative sky -- many, many people have reached out to me. From the most common fans, to former players and other employees, to those in the local financial community, to those in our political realm, to those elsewhere in the baseball world ... and we want that much more.
Meaning information. Tips. Stuff we can track for ourselves.
2. Support us.
Chris Hylen, a Utah-based investor in our operation, also happens to be the most ardent of fans of our teams. He reached out yesterday to confirm he'll foot half the bill of this bonus, beyond-our-budget venture. I won't share the figure here, but it's not small. He's serious about this. And he wants to challenge others to be serious about it, as well.
Reach us at my email: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
If no one helps, we'll still do it. But I also know there are those who'd LOVE to be part of it.
3. Spread the word.
This won't be limited to articles and Feed entries. Part of Chris' vision is that the work will be collected, possibly, into a book. He even concocted some wacky, way-too-long title for it. I forgot what that was, but I'm envisioning -- pending the results we deliver, of course -- something simpler like 'Sell The Team, Bob,' or even resurrecting 'Our Team, Not His,' or whatever.
From there, where everyone can help is by drawing attention to the content we end up creating in this context.
Oh, and one other thing I feel compelled to share anytime anything like this arises: Do NOT see this in any way, shape or form as some substitute for the only voices that matter. Those are yours. Those are the six fans who protested the Pirates' ownership Downtown a few days ago. Those are the out-of-town fans buying billboard space on the North Shore. Those are the ones writing and calling 115 Federal to express themselves.
All we're doing is a bit more to our jobs.
MILITARY DRIVE AT 432!
Our annual Military Drive, in which we give out 1,000 free subscriptions to those who've served in our Armed Forces, had another superb week with 198 more committed for a total of 234. (A mind-blowing 100 of those came from longtime reader Tom Proctor in response to canceling his Pirates season tickets for 2025.) The deadline, as always, is on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, so there are five weeks to go.
If you'd like to contribute, too, here's how: Buy a military subscription for $20 (one-third of the regular price), enough to cover a full year for any veteran. However many you'd wish to donate, even if it's just one, email me directly at DK@DKPittsburghSports.com to let me know, and Dali will do the processing.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• The not-yet-visible 2.0 version of this app/site, built by our friends at BoomPress, is still being tested. Including by us. Next step will be to ask a few longtime readers to do their own testing.
• Among the components we're testing is a dramatic upgrade to the commenting system that, among many other new features, alerts you when someone's replied to you. Similarly, you can address someone specifically in an initial comment to ensure that person sees it. And there's easy additions for photos, videos and a nearly limitless array of pre-made GIFs.
• I switched up the recently installed Site Stuff Feed into what I'm calling a DK's Grind Feed, and I'm enjoying this way, way more. It's all my stuff, written and spoken and everything else, all in one spot. It'll still appear in the appropriate team feeds, as well.
• Everyone loving being ad-free? If you're not there yet, it's only for paying subscribers. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level. We also offer mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• If you believe you have an active subscription AND you're seeing ads, just log back in, and they go poof. If you have any issues with this at all, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Grateful that so many of you continue to leave us good reviews on outside platforms. Feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Apple and Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version. These make a difference.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 1,018,892, with 47,326 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, Oct. 4-10. Our most-read original piece was my George Pickens column from Acrisure Stadium, at 47,044 views.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 90,410, and our YouTube video views were 176,167.
• Our company social media accounts are at 57,680 followers on X, 46,947 on Facebook, 33,342 on YouTube, 15,698 on Instagram, 5,322 on Threads, and 1,436 on TikTok.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Our HQ/shop merch is available online. The Downtown shop itself's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this proud independent venture.
