We’ve all been awfully hard on the Pirates’ off-season free agency acquisitions this year, and with good reason. Matt Diaz and Lyle Overbay were completely awful and even though Kevin Correia somehow made the All-Star team, his peak was really only “Better than Brian Burres” and even that didn’t last for a full season.
It’s easy to pile on Neal Huntington for this and he certainly deserves some blame, but whenever people do that I always think back to my interview with him during spring training. Specificially, this exchange:
WHYGAVS: Going back a bit to Hurdle; Matt Diaz and Lyle Overbay both said that Hurdle helped recruit them to the Pirates. Does having him add a different dimension when it comes to selling players on the Pirates?
Neal Huntington: Yeah, Clint brings a lot to the organization: the knowledge, the passion, the ability to teach, the ability to communicate, the ability to lead. He brings some tremendous things to the organization. And yes, he’s a good recruiter because he believes in what we’re doing here as he gets to know the staff and the system more. We think that’s only going to grow and he’s going to pass that belief onto his players. If Clint can impact that belief in Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz so that they want to come here — because honestly we’ve not always been a place that people want to play —
It’s hard to convince a free agent to come play for the Pirates?
It hasn’t been the easiest, which is a tough thing to admit. I’ve had an agent tell us we’d have to vastly overpay in terms of years and dollars if we wanted to get his client and that’s just not something we’re interested in doing. It’s not good, sound business practice.
Here’s what I’ve been wondering the last few days: if the Pirates need to sign a free agent or two this winter to shore up the roster — say a catcher or a second/third baseman or another starting pitcher — did they do enough in 2011 to become a more attractive option? I feel like the Pirates’ surprising and successful first half made a much bigger impression than their collapse. They’ve gone out of their way to accomodate Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick, neither of whom appears to have a future in Pittsburgh. Players seem to like Clint Hurdle, late season collapse (and certain fans’ opinions about his in-game meddling) notwithstanding.
So are the Pirates a more attractive free agent destination this winter? Will that even help the Pirates this winter? Honestly, I’m not certain of either answer, though I suspect the answer to the first one is “no.”
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