Comments on: Pirates extend GM Neal Huntington through 2015

By: royalsfaninfargo

royalsfaninfargo — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:54:32 +0000

He deserves this. Like the Royals, the Bucs are starting from so far behind the field any improvement is a good sign. I would be quietly confident going forward if I was a Bucs fan (which I am by the way, they are my NL team).

By: dailyrev

dailyrev — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:48:43 +0000

I’m OK with this. The Bucs aren’t unique in terms of the 2nd half collapse — young, rebuilding teams will commonly have to deal with that. Bottom line is they’re building a pitching staff that could be very tough by 2013-14 when that kid Cole is mature enough to bring up; and as kids like Presley, Jones, and maybe Alvarez mature to support Walker and Cutch, the offense will get steadier. I also like the fact that he didn’t bend too much to the pressure to trade up at the deadline (and it’s not exactly his fault that D-Lee broke his hand in his first week with the team).

One point made above ought to be seconded, however: they’ve finally started selling some tickets to that marvelous ballpark of theirs, so the time’s come for the owners to give back a little in terms of working the FA market this winter. All right, no one expects to see Albert or Prince wearing the jolly roger; but they can spend some time around the hot stove this year and come away with something worthwhile.

By: genuinejake

genuinejake — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:37:53 +0000

“The Pirates should be able to snap their streak of consecutive losing seasons by the time Huntington’s freshly inked deal expires.” I didn’t know this became the new grounds for front office retention.

Under Huntington’s watch, the Pirates have hovered around a .400 winning percentage and have finished in last place for the past 3 years, save this one. I know he’s taken on a lot of long-term problems from previous GMs, but if the Pirates are EVER going to dream about making the playoffs again, they need more money, a better commitment to the city of Pittsburgh and reinvestment in their players, a shake-up in the front office, and a focus on winning rather than turning a profit.