Coonelly Interview on The FAN: Somebody Must Be Joking Me

Frank Coonelly picked up the phone and addressed the ‘dynasty’ comments on The Fan yesterday.   That was commendable.

But we were disappointed.  The interview was a joke.  What kind of questions were those?  Quick note to the Pittsburgh Pirates, next time call a real interviewer.  His name is Mark Madden.  Sure the guy is a turnoff for a lot of fans, but he is prepared.  He asks great questions.  Madden has a way of getting exactly what the fans want to know with his questions.

Listen to his Ben Roethlisberger interview.  Fans wanted to know Ben’s thoughts on the offense passing too much last season.  They got those questions answered. And then some.  Madden got even more from Ben in the same amount of time.  It was the big leagues of sports talk.

The Fan interview was a conversation in a bathroom.  The Fan and specifically Ron Cook didn’t come close.  An example is when Cook told Coonelly he agreed with most of the trades last year (buttered him up) and then asked the question to the effect of this:  the Pirates lost 99 games, didn’t do much in the offseason, why would 2010 be different.  “What was he missing?”  Here is the interview on the Fan.   

It was an awful question and produced a lengthy answer that ate up most of the interview time.  Shouldn’t better questions be asked by the station with its own theme song by Joe Grushecky?  I’m thinking a question that would have combined the dyansty into the greatest turnaround in history or maybe:  ” the exciting part of the 2010 Pirates are the young players, but what exact odds are there that the fans will see Alvarez on opening day?”  Zero would be the true answer.  Same for Tabata.  Same for Lincoln.

A great interview would force Coonelly into some real scoop on the team that will take the field in April.  Give us some meat, not meatloaf.  Listen, we are diehard fans, we are going to be behind this team thick or thin.  But many in Pittsburgh have thrown in the towel, make Frank sell those fans on why it’s important to get behind the team with better, more prepared questions.

When do you think Coonelly is going to go out on a limb again with another dynasty comment?  The moment was ripe.  The moment was lost.

As fans, shouldn’t we expect more from our sports radio?  Madden would have had much better questions than what we threw together.  We aren’t pro interviewers.  But to think some fans are giving Cook praise for ‘hammering’ Coonelly.  Well if that’s what’s considered hammering,  then give me a break.

Enough is enough.  We are going to check some odds at the Sports Book.  This dynasty talk has us confident in the Pirates in 2010.  Wonder what the odds are for the Pirates winning the NL Central today?  Also, please ping us us if a real interviewer gets Frank Coonelly on the line.

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Coonelly  said Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, and Brad Lincoln are fighting to make the roster.  Alvarez….jerked an inside fastball for a  380 foot shot.  Jose has been spraying line drives all over the place.   The Pirates are placing so much attention on these three players, it is setting up for a disaster if they struggle.  Andrew McCutchen had very little expectations on him. 

What’s the old saying under promise, over deliver?    Not much of that these days on Federal Street.

Listen to the interview and let me know if you were disappointed.  I thought it was going to be much better.

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Octavio Dotel was held out of practice again. He hopes to return to practice Friday. Why would the team even try that? Let him stretch, relax, and fully recover.  Isn’t a muscle pull in the oblique area, the exact injury that cost us seeing Jeff Clement last year?