Pirates news? Wtf?
Yeah, the Buccos hired a manager in my absence. If this was the Steelers or Pens, I would’ve had it updated pronto. After 5 years of less than mediocre baseball, I figured this one could wait. Hell, I’ve waited long enough between playoff appearances.
John Russell is the man in charge of securing a 16th consecutive losing season. I’m just ecstatic that the name announced wasn’t Grady Little. I held out hope that Joe Torre would’ve been given serious consideration, but the Nuttings are more intent on spending their $6-7 mil a year on guys like Jeromy Burnitz and Matt Morris.
I’m not going to get deep into this subject, because I’ll get all emotionally disturbed thinking about the Pirates during Penguins and Steelers season. Here’s a list of the recent hires that filled the top posts on the team.
Scouting Director – Greg Smith.
Player Development Director – Kyle Stark.
Director of Baseball Operations – Bryan Minniti.
Smith has been with the Tigers for the past 11 seasons. Sure, they’ve had recent success, but the 9 years prior to that success was very Pirate-esque. However, he did draft both Curtis Granderson and Joel Zumaya in 2002.
Stark has been with the Indians for the past several years. Their small-market turnaround, although not attributed to Stark, is a bit encouraging.
Minniti is a Pirates guy who was simply promoted from within.
The Buccos are also trying to convince Chuck Tanner to take a front office position.
That’s enough Pirates news for a couple months. Call me when we sign a big free agent player to a multi-year deal.
/crickets.
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