I’ve been rooting for the Pirates since I was 7 years old. I’m in my 50th year as a Pirates fan. I’ve seen the good (1970s, 1990-92), the bad (1980s), the ugly (since 1992), and the indifferent (late 1960s). I’ve seen good management, bad management, and every shade in between. I can tell you from experience that building a good team takes TIME unless you can just buy a roster of All-Stars. Huntington started with very little, and he has had the team contending the last two years, only to see it fall apart last August and this September.

Give him another year, see if the progress continues; if not, then make a change.

They have to improve again next year, though, or Huntington’s gone, and maybe Hurdle, too, though he is working with a flawed roster. Someone–anyone–has to hit at the top of the order and get on base.

The good news: the record and roster shows a lot of improvement since the 57-105 fiasco of 2010.
The bad news: two late season collapses in a row.

The problem with him this year is that he’s been hurt. But if they hang on to him and give him a chance next year then I think he will be great.

As for Lincoln? Sure, he is a nice pitcher, I will not argue there. But if you give me the choice, I’m taking Snider ahead of him everyday. Heck, I’d take Snider over Rasmus any day as well.

That is Huntington’s problem: the Pirates’ collapse this year IS part of a continued pattern of failure. Sure, he has made a few good deals, but he hasn’t engineered a turnaround. The Bucs entered this year with a shockingly bad offense. The surprise was not their collapse but their run of playing well.

I had high hopes for Huntington and gave him the benefit of the doubt for a long time, but at this point it’s hard to make a case that he is a good GM.

Now obviously they can’t spend like LA, but they do need to focus on backing up Cutch, and while Pedro’s shown some signs he’s still not it. And they need a really solid #2 to follow Burnett — last I checked, #1 pick Cole was in AAA, so he might be close. To be fair, I like Barmes, who brings defensive stability to SS — if he can just hit .250 he’ll be fine for a while there. I’m okay with Wandy as a #3 starter, and they did right to bring Marte along, who could have a breakout year in ’13. So if I were the owners I’d lean toward giving the Huntington-Hurdle plan another year — they’ve gotten fannies in the seats at one of the coolest ballyards in the bigs and they’re more in need of a course correction than an overhaul.