Getty Images The Pirates are disintegrating as the season ends. Generically speaking that sort of thing is not necessarily on the GM. Usually that sort of thing gets a manager fired, whereas long-term ineptitude and a crappy roster get the GM fired. But two data points suggest that Pirates GM Neal Huntington is on the outs.
First: That story about the SEAL training stuff from last week. That reflects poorly on Huntington and his assistant Kyle Stark, and given that the story itself makes the point that neither the team owner or team president knew about the program suggests that, perhaps, someone close to them was putting that story out there.
Second: Over the weekend Huntington defended himself and the job he’s done, but made a conspicuous plea for the jobs of his underlings:
“If [owner] Bob [Nutting] or [team president] Frank [Coonelly] decide to make a change and they bring in a new general manager, that’s their call,” Huntington said. “I sure hope they don’t because I believe in the people we’re working with. I believe in what we’re doing, and I believe in how we’re doing it.”
Kind of gives one the vibe of a captain going down with the ship. Which has its own nobility to it, of course. But it does sorta seem like Huntington thinks he’s on the way out.
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David Freese suffered a gash on his right thumb Sunday when he lunged to tag Norichika Aoki on the left leg during a rundown along the third base line. It was only a minor cut, but he got stitches after the game and has not made an appearance since. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that Freese is…
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Orioles prospect Jonathan Schoop diagnosed with stress fracture in back, out 6-8 weeks
May 22, 2013, 6:40 PM EDT
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Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles infield prospect Jonathan Schoop has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back and is likely to need 6-8 weeks of rest. He will meet with another doctor this week for a second opinion, but the initial diagnosis probably won’t change. Schoop is hitting .268/.331/.386 with three…
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Jered Weaver threw 5.2 innings of one-run ball in an extended spring training game today, potentially setting him up to come off the disabled list and rejoin the Angels’ rotation next week. Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that Weaver threw 75 pitches, 62 for strikes, and struck out nine versus zero walks.…
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Superman has kryptonite. Matt Harvey has Zack Cozart. Despite being a nearly unhittable pitcher this year, the Reds’ Cozart got four hits off Harvey today en route to a 4 for 5, two-double performance. Overall Harvey had his worst outing of the season, allowing four runs on nine hits in six and a third. One…
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Kinda feels like a lot of Rays farmhands get suspended for drugs: The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Tampa Bay Rays Minor League right-handed pitcher Angel Yepez has received a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for metabolites of Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug…
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Las Vegas police investigating Jose Canseco as a suspect in sexual assault case
May 22, 2013, 4:16 PM EDT
UPDATE: Las Vegas police issued the following statement: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating a Sexual Assault case. Jose Conseco [sic] has been named as the suspect in this investigation. At this time no charges have been filed and our investigation remains ongoing. Per department policy neither victim information or investigation details…
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Even though they met in the World Series nearly 22 years ago, the Twins-Braves series still stirs up some emotions in partisans of each team. Mostly Braves fans, to be honest, as we are bitter and angry and all of that stuff even more than two decades later. Freakin’ Kent Hrbek. Freakin’ Kirby Puckett. Freakin’…
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AP
It’s not often that you see an Opening Day starter sent to the minors, let alone demoted less than two months into the season, but that’s exactly what the Twins just did with Vance Worley. Worley got knocked around for eight runs in 3.2 innings against the Braves today, falling to 1-5 with a 7.21…
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Adam Eaton was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in March and was playing in rehab games. Then this: #Dbacks OF Adam Eaton has returned to Phx to see doc after having soreness in elbow. — Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) May 22, 2013 Eaton hit .259/.382/.412 in his cup of coffee last year and was…
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Rafael Soriano took back all that stuff he said about Bryce Harper
May 22, 2013, 2:44 PM EDT
AP
Remember how Rafael Soriano called out Bryce Harper for blowing last night’s game by missing a catch in right field? Not surprisingly the Nationals closer took it all back today, telling James Wagner of the Washington Post that the comments came during what he thought was an off-the-record conversation with a reporter. Here’s more from…
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We’re talking phenoms on HBT Daily today.
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Jeremy Affeldt was interviewed about his new book. Which, it seems, reveals the deeply Christian Affeldt to have experienced a transformation on the matter of homosexuality: When Jeremy Affeldt came to the Bay Area as an opposing player, he refused to leave his hotel room aside from going to and from the ballpark. He was…
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Chase Utley is getting an MRI exam after “burning sensation” in rib cage
May 22, 2013, 1:48 PM EDT
AP
Chase Utley was scratched from last night’s game with pain in his right side and Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Phillies second baseman is getting an MRI exam. Utley complained of a burning sensation in his rib cage and Salisbury speculates that it might be an oblique strain, which would almost certainly require…
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Don Mattingly may be uttering his last words as Dodgers manager
May 22, 2013, 1:00 PM EDT
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I’m usually the last guy to call for a manager’s head, but I’m sorry, when you call out your own team’s toughness and your boss’ construction of the roster, you’re not long for your job. Here’s Bill Plunkett of the OC Register, quoting Mattingly today about what ails the Dodgers: Don Mattingly pregame seemed to…
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AP
When the Cardinals placed left-hander Jaime Garcia on the disabled list last week they feared that he’d need shoulder surgery and sure enough Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that he’ll go under the knife. Garcia has a long history of arm problems and the possibility of shoulder surgery has been looming since last year, when…
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He didn’t actually use those words, but I kinda wish he did because I have a lot of fun with the “robot umps now” thing on Twitter. But Brenly does tell Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he thinks the game is too fast, the technology is too good and the calls are too…
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Kyle Lohse has been scratched from his next scheduled start with what the Brewers are calling elbow irritation. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that Mike Fiers will fill in for Lohse against the Pirates on Saturday. Lohse has an ugly 1-5 record since signing a three-year, $33 million deal with the Brewers late in spring…
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For the second time this week the Twins have called up a player they signed out of an independent league. First it was reliever Caleb Thielbar and now it’s first baseman Chris Colabello, who signed with the Twins last year after dominating in the Canadian-American Association. Colabello is 29 years old and wasn’t all that…
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Rafael Soriano calls out Bryce Harper for the game-tying triple last night
May 22, 2013, 11:02 AM EDT
Well, Bryce Harper and/or whoever is in charge of defensive positioning in the late innings of last night’s Nats loss to the Giants. From USA Today: “With two outs and the tying run at first, you have to play the outfield so the ball doesn’t go over your head,” Soriano said in Spanish. “It may…
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AP
Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting just .242 with a .307 on-base percentage, but Red Sox manager John Farrell has stuck with him in the leadoff spot. However, the manager did admit to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he’s considering shifting Ellsbury down in the batting order. For his part Ellsbury thinks that would be a mistake,…
