The Pirates announced today that they've
signed three-year extensions with GM Neal Huntington
and Manager Clint Hurdle, along with 2018 options. NH's old contract ran through this season, as did Hurdle's, which had an option year (2015). No financial details were made public. The agreements were finalized during the off season, but not made public until today, per the FO's usual MO.
"Neal and Clint have led a team of baseball professionals, in the
front office and on the field, that has transformed the Pittsburgh
Pirates into a club that again must be reckoned with in the National
League," said club president Frank Coonelly. "We are extremely pleased that they will
continue to lead this team in Pittsburgh."
"I have a tremendous amount of personal respect and appreciation for
the impact that Neal, Clint and their staffs have had on our
organization," said Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting. "My expectation has
been and remains that they, led by Frank, will continue to play a lead
role in our success for years to come."
Huntington, 45, has been the Bucs' general manager since September, 2007, and Hurdle, 56, was hired to skipper the club in November, 2010. Huntington inherited a 68 win club that he rebuilt from scratch with a media-grabbing losing streak of forever looming over his head while Hurdle took over a 57 win team from 2010 and rolled up 94 victories last year.
With the quick starts in 2011 and 2012 that were eventually short-circuited by a lack of depth followed by a playoff run last season, both extensions were a matter of when, not if. Huntington has helped put together a highly rated farm system and kept the payroll in check while Hurdle has outperformed his Pythagorean record in each of the past three seasons.
The two also work together well, something that was missing in the John Russell era when there was little communication between the on-and-off field staffs. Hurdle not only has NH's ear, but has a working knowledge of the farm system and has become the face of the Pirates, living in the city and attending the endless gamut of off-season events.
The Pirates are working on deals with senior staff members now that Huntington and Hurdle are locked up and the staff knows there will be continuity in the organization. Connelly is not one them; he said during the press conference that he was working without a contract as a sort of "at will" employee.
Showing posts with label neal huntington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neal huntington. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Monday, July 1, 2013
First Half MVP - Neal Huntington
So who's your pick? Liriano? Locke? The Shark Tank collective? Martin? Cutch? Starling? Searage? Hurdle? All good choices, but we have to go with GM Neal Huntington.
Yah, yah, he's the guy Pittsburgh loves to hate, right after Bob Nutting. But guess what? His plan to make the Pirate competitive is finally bearing fruit.
He started last year when he finally realized that he couldn't land a free agent, the top flight out of his price range and the second tier guys looking for a team that, you know, could maybe win more games than they lost. So he brought in AJ Burnett for a few beads early in the year, and added Wandy Rodriguez, Gaby Sanchez and Travis Snider at the deadline for some of the depth he had accumulated.
The core of the 2012 team still had David Littlefield's fingerprints all over it - Cutch, The Pittsburgh Kid, Starling Marte, etc. But Huntington's guys began at long last to step in. Pedro, Jordy Mercer, Gerrit Cole and Justin Wilson became key components while trades along the road added Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, Mark Melancon, Bryan Morris, Jeanmar Gomez and Vin Mazzaro to the staff. Some last-chance tickets hit, too, in the form of Garrett Jones and Jason Grilli.
He signed Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin as FA's, his best class ever, and now it's pretty much Huntington's team. There's no guarantee that the club is going to do anything than give us fifteen good minutes this year, but Huntington has built a squad that's deeper in pitching along with a lineup that's not a Murderer's Row, but not Little Bo Peep anymore (usually). We think the dog days will be worth watching this season.
We're like everyone else - we threw our stones when Huntington broke up the team he inherited; we thought he could have backed off the accelerator a bit. But it ended up that Jay Bay, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez were pretty much at the end of their effective shelf life, even if the return was minimal. We didn't mind him breaking up the pitching staff so much.
GW fretted when he kept going for high upside, high risk high school kids in the draft when there were safer college guys who could help the cause sooner rather than later. But we've now come to accept that as a given for the small revenue clubs, even if the return is sometimes spotty and always a longer process from minors to the show.
We painfully remember living through Akinori Iwamura, Rod Barajas, Andy LaRoche, Delwyn Young, Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno, John McDonald, Bobby Crosby, Ryan Church, Lyle Overbay, Ramon Vazquez, Craig Monroe, Brandon Wood, Luis Rivas, John Bowker, Josh Rodriguez and the gang, plus all those waiver wire pitchers. His bad.
But that's yesterday. Now we're looking ahead to Tony Sanchez, Kyle McPherson, Jameson Taillon, Gregory Polanco, Vic Black, Alen Henson, Josh Bell, Dilson Herrera, Luis Heredia, Nick Kingham, Max Moroff, Tyler Glasnow, Phil Irwin, Austin Meadows and the other pups looking to pull on a Bucco jersey.
Huntington is probably right about on schedule now for where he'd like the team (most back of envelop calculators say its a 5-7 year process to tear down & rebuild a club), and more importantly, the organization, to be. And after all the years of abuse, it's time to recognize that sometimes the tortoise wins the race. Make no mistake; it was a slow, slow slog, but the Bucs are finally nearing the finish line.
Yah, yah, he's the guy Pittsburgh loves to hate, right after Bob Nutting. But guess what? His plan to make the Pirate competitive is finally bearing fruit.
He started last year when he finally realized that he couldn't land a free agent, the top flight out of his price range and the second tier guys looking for a team that, you know, could maybe win more games than they lost. So he brought in AJ Burnett for a few beads early in the year, and added Wandy Rodriguez, Gaby Sanchez and Travis Snider at the deadline for some of the depth he had accumulated.
The core of the 2012 team still had David Littlefield's fingerprints all over it - Cutch, The Pittsburgh Kid, Starling Marte, etc. But Huntington's guys began at long last to step in. Pedro, Jordy Mercer, Gerrit Cole and Justin Wilson became key components while trades along the road added Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, Mark Melancon, Bryan Morris, Jeanmar Gomez and Vin Mazzaro to the staff. Some last-chance tickets hit, too, in the form of Garrett Jones and Jason Grilli.
He signed Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin as FA's, his best class ever, and now it's pretty much Huntington's team. There's no guarantee that the club is going to do anything than give us fifteen good minutes this year, but Huntington has built a squad that's deeper in pitching along with a lineup that's not a Murderer's Row, but not Little Bo Peep anymore (usually). We think the dog days will be worth watching this season.
We're like everyone else - we threw our stones when Huntington broke up the team he inherited; we thought he could have backed off the accelerator a bit. But it ended up that Jay Bay, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez were pretty much at the end of their effective shelf life, even if the return was minimal. We didn't mind him breaking up the pitching staff so much.
GW fretted when he kept going for high upside, high risk high school kids in the draft when there were safer college guys who could help the cause sooner rather than later. But we've now come to accept that as a given for the small revenue clubs, even if the return is sometimes spotty and always a longer process from minors to the show.
We painfully remember living through Akinori Iwamura, Rod Barajas, Andy LaRoche, Delwyn Young, Brandon Moss, Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno, John McDonald, Bobby Crosby, Ryan Church, Lyle Overbay, Ramon Vazquez, Craig Monroe, Brandon Wood, Luis Rivas, John Bowker, Josh Rodriguez and the gang, plus all those waiver wire pitchers. His bad.
But that's yesterday. Now we're looking ahead to Tony Sanchez, Kyle McPherson, Jameson Taillon, Gregory Polanco, Vic Black, Alen Henson, Josh Bell, Dilson Herrera, Luis Heredia, Nick Kingham, Max Moroff, Tyler Glasnow, Phil Irwin, Austin Meadows and the other pups looking to pull on a Bucco jersey.
Huntington is probably right about on schedule now for where he'd like the team (most back of envelop calculators say its a 5-7 year process to tear down & rebuild a club), and more importantly, the organization, to be. And after all the years of abuse, it's time to recognize that sometimes the tortoise wins the race. Make no mistake; it was a slow, slow slog, but the Bucs are finally nearing the finish line.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Fish Sweep Bucs 4-1
Meh, pretty much a repeat of last night. The Bucs big opportunity knocked early, but it was set up for the pitcher with two outs. The Marlins had one frame where they could do no wrong, and that was enough to down Pittsburgh 4-1 to complete the sweep.
After a quiet start, the Pirates loaded the sacks in the second. Dewey walked with an out and Ryan Ludwick singled him to second. After a Josh Harrison force and steal of second, Ronnie Cedeno walked on a 3-2 pitch. J-Mac struck out swinging after four pitches, and that ended that.
The Fish threatened in the fourth on the strength of a walk, hit batter and passed ball, but McDonald worked out of it. But he didn't have an answer in the fifth.
After a lead off walk, the next pair of Marlins were retired. But the third out would remain elusive. A double, single, walk and double, all with two outs, would make it 4-0, and that was the game. J-Mac went 4-2/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits with four walks, a hit batter and three Ks.
In the seventh, Harrison singled with an out, went to second on a grounder and came in on Jason Jaramillo's knock up the middle. That ended the day's excitement.
The Bucs collected six hits; that gives them seven in the last two games as Javier Vazquez shut them down today. The starting pitching hasn't been great, but with the ways the bats are going, anything short of a goose egg is asking for trouble.
The Cards come to town tomorrow. Kyle Lohse faces Brad Lincoln.
After a quiet start, the Pirates loaded the sacks in the second. Dewey walked with an out and Ryan Ludwick singled him to second. After a Josh Harrison force and steal of second, Ronnie Cedeno walked on a 3-2 pitch. J-Mac struck out swinging after four pitches, and that ended that.
The Fish threatened in the fourth on the strength of a walk, hit batter and passed ball, but McDonald worked out of it. But he didn't have an answer in the fifth.
After a lead off walk, the next pair of Marlins were retired. But the third out would remain elusive. A double, single, walk and double, all with two outs, would make it 4-0, and that was the game. J-Mac went 4-2/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits with four walks, a hit batter and three Ks.
In the seventh, Harrison singled with an out, went to second on a grounder and came in on Jason Jaramillo's knock up the middle. That ended the day's excitement.
The Bucs collected six hits; that gives them seven in the last two games as Javier Vazquez shut them down today. The starting pitching hasn't been great, but with the ways the bats are going, anything short of a goose egg is asking for trouble.
The Cards come to town tomorrow. Kyle Lohse faces Brad Lincoln.
- Dewey left the game in the fourth inning. He set up outside, the pitch came inside, and he whiffed on it, catching it off the chest protector and watching it bounce halfway to the hill. J-Mac said he missed the sign; Doumit was expecting a curve away and got a heater in. The result was a chest contusion.
- Today was the seventh time this season that James McDonald has been unable to finish five innings. The third time around the lineup seems to be Achille's Heel. Whether that's a conditioning (mental and physical) or strategic problem, it's holding J-Mac back from becoming a pitcher a team can rely on. Maybe that's why LA had him in the pen.
- The Pirates, in a widely expected move, extended the contract of GM Neal Huntington through 2014 with a club option for 2015. Love 'em or hate 'em, he'll be around for awhile. And at least this time they announced it; maybe the FO is growing up a little.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Huntington
Yesterday's story from Bradenton was the old "vote of confidence" interview with Prez Frank Coonelly over the future of GM Neal Huntington, whose contract is up at the end of the year.
Coonelly said all the right things about his GM, as to be expected. But the bottom line, no matter what is said in the spring, is that another 100 loss season is quite likely to usher Huntington out the door. He needs the team to show progress and his draft picks to start showing up at PNC.
His trade record for prospects has been hit-and-miss. That's probably to be expected; Huntington era deals stress upside in the return. Instead of getting guys who are projected as steady, mid-level players, he rolled the dice on talented but underperforming players, hoping to hit the jackpot.
It worked for Jose Tabata, Joel Hanrahan and James McDonald; not so for Lastings Milledge and Jeff Clement. Minor league talent evaluations are admittedly a crapshoot, but guys the FO counted on as being big leaguers and cornerstones, like Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss, didn't pan out.
That's to be expected; after all, the baseball scenery is littered with guys who couldn't take that last step. But for a rebuilding team, the results have delayed the original timetable for fielding a competitive squad in a city impatient for some baseball success.
His history of bringing in free agents is equally spotty. Huntington didn't want to block his young players, nor did he have the financial resources ala Washington to overpay and bring in big ticket performers.
Throw in the undeniable fact that players tend to gravitate toward teams that can at least sniff the playoffs, and his signings are what they are. Still, he 's had some success, like Octavio Dotel and Javier Lopez who he flipped into young talent; we'd toss Rule 5 keeper Evan Meek into that mix, too.
Last year, Huntington made his first effort at bringing in an undisputed starter from outside the organization with Aki Iwamura. That fizzled, and time will tell if Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz will help hold the fort until the minor league troops ride into Pittsburgh any better than Eric Hinske or Bobby Crosby did.
The minors is where he shines. For the first time, Indy will be stocked with mostly his players. Huntington's brought in a handful of potential difference-makers, like Pedro Alvarez, Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia. There's no denying that the organizational pitching is as strong and deep as its ever been. And he's loosened the leash on Rene Gayo in Latin America.
But building through the minors is a painfully slow process. So the question is whether he'll have time to see the process through. Remember, Branch Rickey's teams were the worst in Pirate history, but Joe Brown rode his roster and some wheelin' and dealin' to a World Series championship.
What has yet to be seen is if Huntington can construct a contending MLB team from the toolkit once enough pieces are in place, just like Brown did.
There's no question that Huntington has rebuilt the Pirate system to at least respectability. How, and more importantly, when, that translates into a successful major league product is the key to his future in Pittsburgh.
Coonelly said all the right things about his GM, as to be expected. But the bottom line, no matter what is said in the spring, is that another 100 loss season is quite likely to usher Huntington out the door. He needs the team to show progress and his draft picks to start showing up at PNC.
His trade record for prospects has been hit-and-miss. That's probably to be expected; Huntington era deals stress upside in the return. Instead of getting guys who are projected as steady, mid-level players, he rolled the dice on talented but underperforming players, hoping to hit the jackpot.
It worked for Jose Tabata, Joel Hanrahan and James McDonald; not so for Lastings Milledge and Jeff Clement. Minor league talent evaluations are admittedly a crapshoot, but guys the FO counted on as being big leaguers and cornerstones, like Andy LaRoche and Brandon Moss, didn't pan out.
That's to be expected; after all, the baseball scenery is littered with guys who couldn't take that last step. But for a rebuilding team, the results have delayed the original timetable for fielding a competitive squad in a city impatient for some baseball success.
His history of bringing in free agents is equally spotty. Huntington didn't want to block his young players, nor did he have the financial resources ala Washington to overpay and bring in big ticket performers.
Throw in the undeniable fact that players tend to gravitate toward teams that can at least sniff the playoffs, and his signings are what they are. Still, he 's had some success, like Octavio Dotel and Javier Lopez who he flipped into young talent; we'd toss Rule 5 keeper Evan Meek into that mix, too.
Last year, Huntington made his first effort at bringing in an undisputed starter from outside the organization with Aki Iwamura. That fizzled, and time will tell if Lyle Overbay and Matt Diaz will help hold the fort until the minor league troops ride into Pittsburgh any better than Eric Hinske or Bobby Crosby did.
The minors is where he shines. For the first time, Indy will be stocked with mostly his players. Huntington's brought in a handful of potential difference-makers, like Pedro Alvarez, Jameson Taillon and Luis Heredia. There's no denying that the organizational pitching is as strong and deep as its ever been. And he's loosened the leash on Rene Gayo in Latin America.
But building through the minors is a painfully slow process. So the question is whether he'll have time to see the process through. Remember, Branch Rickey's teams were the worst in Pirate history, but Joe Brown rode his roster and some wheelin' and dealin' to a World Series championship.
What has yet to be seen is if Huntington can construct a contending MLB team from the toolkit once enough pieces are in place, just like Brown did.
There's no question that Huntington has rebuilt the Pirate system to at least respectability. How, and more importantly, when, that translates into a successful major league product is the key to his future in Pittsburgh.
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