Weasels of the Week: Pittsburgh Pirates fans & announcers

As human beings, we're imperfect by nature and design. We're prone to making mistakes, and we often own up. So why do some groups act like a bunch of spoiled brats with artificial senses of entitlement?

Case in point: Mets slugger David Wright is the team captain of Team NL in Monday's Home Run Derby. He got some people in Pittsburgh hot under the collar when he didn't select their star 3rd baseman, Pedro Alvarez, whom some folks might've figured would've been a slam dunk pick in the first place, considering that Alvarez is from New York and this would've been a sweet homecoming. Instead, Wright opted for one of his Virginia homeboys, Colorado's Michael Cuddyer, which at the time gave the Rockies half the team for the Derby, as the NL HR leader, Carlos Gonzalez, was also picked, but on Thursday, Gonzalez withdrew due to a finger injury, although he did play in games this weekend.

Suffice it to say, Pirates announcers encouraged fans to boo Wright every time he came to the plate in the weekend series vs. the Mets. The jabronies without brains in the stands happily complied, despite the fact that before Friday's game, Alvarez was named to the team to replace Gonzalez, and, as a gesture of goodwill, shook hands with Wright on the field. That Pittsburgh won 2 of 3 was beside the point. Their own announcers encouraged a disgraceful show of disrespect, one that could eventually come back to haunt the Pirates in the second half.

To their credit, as noted, Wright & Alvarez handled the crisis like true professionals. As for Wright, Yankees star Robinson Cano, the AL captain for the 2nd straight year, can relate. Last year, Cano took heat for not including Kansas City's Billy Butler on the AL team for the Derby, and thus was lustily booed when the Yankees played in Kansas City, moreso than usual for a visiting player, as Wright has endured these last three days. Despite that, Cano was named AL captain for the Derby again this year, only because Tuesday's All-Star Game is in New York. This time, he had no drama that we know of.

But let this cautionary tale be an object lesson for future Derbies. Major League Baseball did offer Wright some advice (they recommended Washington's Bryce Harper), but not enough, apparently, to warn him about the small-brained goofs in the Steel City. Take a chill pill, peeps, and enjoy your Weasel ears.