COLUMN: Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington is candidly weathering the storm

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is having one of his most challenging seasons to date. He is getting through it with candor.

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington is just like every other GM in baseball.

Tightrope walker, juggler, plate spinner…any metaphor for a more accurate description of a baseball executive is apt. Major League Baseball has the most unique minor league system in all of sports. Dozens of prospects are carefully selected and cultivated over the course of years.

Huntington and his staff obsess over this system as part of their job. To do so, they must develop a certain noise cancelling ability. Being able to drown out the noise – both internally and externally – is vital to any GMs success.

Just like everyone else, though, sometimes it helps to vent.

Thank you for your candor

Perhaps ‘vent’ isn’t the right word, but Huntington’s comments this week were not all lumped into the “GM Speak” that is all too common.

First, from last Sunday, we saw him be more open than usual with the media during his regular radio appearance. His openness for his plans with Josh Bell turned many’s heads. Then, this morning on the flagship’s morning show, Huntington really let it fly when addressing criticism for keeping Jon Niese in the starting rotatino.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Neal Huntington” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=””]“In hindsight, maybe the two fringe prospects and trying to figure out where to reallocate the money (that Niese is getting) might have been a better return.”[/perfectpullquote]

I cannot quite recall any team executive of any sport in recent history come out and admit a mistake with that much candid clarity. It was a breath of fresh air in what has otherwise been a very tough season for Pittsburgh Pirates brass.

Huntington could have came out and relied on the tired tropes, the ridiculous cliches or even dodged the question completely. To his credit, he owned the mistake and recognized it publicly.

With the news breaking today that Niese will be moved to the bullpen, Huntington has taken the first step to rectifying the mistake.

If being candid with the public – and maybe, just maybe, himself – brought Huntington to action in addressing Niese, then Pirates fans should hope for more candor when needed.