It hurts to be a Pirates fan these days.

Long removed from its glory days in the 1960s and '70s, Pittsburgh's franchise is currently stuck in what fans believe to be an owner-imposed purgatory, one in which even one of the best players in baseball isn't enough to turn the middling franchise around. Indeed, Chairman Bob Nutting is frequently maligned by fans during games at PNC Park and around Pittsburgh, where diehards have resorted to chants and even billboards urging the executive to sell the team if he won't spend money to make it better.

But it would seem Nutting will not budge until his hand is forced—that is, there will be no management changes on his end until movement is required by the league. That isn't an inspiring notion for fans, who would of course prefer to enjoy the Paul Skenes era while it lasts and are tired of the disappointment.

On Monday, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred at the very least sounded aware of Pittsburgh's macro-level problem—and even made clear that the league needs to fix it.

During the commissioner's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee, a Pittsburgh native, divulged that he did not grow up as a big baseball fan because the Pirates were not a competitive team. He then suggested that it would be good for MLB to fix that issue around the league—not just with the Pirates, but other franchises, too—to make the sport better as a whole.

"The fact of the matter is Pittsburgh's a great sports town," Manfred said in reply, after making clear he agreed with McAfee's point. "There are tons and tons of really passionate Pirates fans who remember when the Pirates were a great, great team year in and year out. And they just want to look at the system and say, 'We got a fair chance to win' when you're sitting around in February looking at Spring Training and what the year's gonna be like. And we need to deal with that issue."

Listen to that below:

He added: "It is undeniable ... that we have fans in markets who believe they don't have a fair opportunity to compete. You can blame the owner, or whatever—it is the system that produces that. And at the end of the day, what we sell is competition. So anything that undermines competition ... sooner or later, we're going to have to come to grips with that issue, 100%."

So, no clear promises made, but it might feel at least somewhat nice to hear Manfred say there's a problem with teams like the Pirates that needs fixing.

And as salary cap (and possible salary floor) discussions continue, hopefully, the team's fortunes are eventually reversed, with or without Bob Nutting.

More MLB on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rob Manfred: MLB Needs to Deal With 'Issue' of Pirates, Other Non-Competitive Teams.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate