GM Kevin Reitmeyer, Year 5

Now that the Pirates 11-game win streak has ended and the team (and their fanbase) has fallen back to reality, let talk about how they should approach the trade deadline.

For each of the last 4 seasons I have suggested moves for Neal Huntington to make at the MLB trade deadline.

2014:
http://thereitmeyerrant.blogspot.com/2014/07/to-trade-or-not-to-trade-that-is-neal.html

2015:
http://thereitmeyerrant.blogspot.com/2015/07/3-trades-neal-huntington-should.html

2016:
http://thereitmeyerrant.blogspot.com/2016/06/time-to-trade.html

2017:
http://thereitmeyerrant.blogspot.com/2017/05/hey-pirates-3-strikes-and-youre-out.html

http://thereitmeyerrant.blogspot.com/2017/07/general-manager-kevin-reitmeyer.html

Each of the last 4 years Huntington has ignored my suggestions and now the Pirates organization is a complete mess.  You connect the dots…

Maybe he learns in Year 5.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are close to being contenders.  They have a very nice young core, with Marte, Polanco, Bell, Moran, Diaz and Meadows in the field.  This is the core you build around.  But they need more.  They don’t need a A-ball prospect that will be good in 2022.  This team is close, but they just aren’t ready this year.  If Huntington plays his hand right however, they could be in 2019.

The Pirates should not be buyers this season.  They need to sell and the sooner the better.  The Pirates have assets.  They don’t have the typical trade deadline, rental player assets, but they have assets.  They have controllable assets.  The kinds of assets that Neal Huntington LOVES to collect, so asking him to part with these assets is an uphill battle.

The Pirates do have a few of those “rental player” types, but nothing that is going to bring back any type of real return.  Josh Harrison’s trade value peaked early last season.  Harrison not being able to stay healthy has completely drained any value he had before he demanded a trade after Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole were traded.  Francisco Cervelli now has ZERO trade value due to his concussion problem.  Those are two guys that Huntington would have been targeting as possible trade chips at the beginning of the season.  Jordy Mercer and David Freese won’t get you much except a smaller payroll.  Ivan Nova, with another year left on his contract, will get you decent return, but nothing spectacular.

That brings us to the very intriguing, controllable assets I referred to earlier, Corey Dickerson and Filipe Vazquez.

Dickerson is having one of the best years of his young career this season with the Pirates with a 318/351/517.  He is currently under contract for the remainder of the 2018 season, with 2019 being his final year of arbitration.  Dickerson will turn 30 during the 2019 season.  Huntington acquired Dickerson in a salary dump trade of Daniel Hudson, so he is already playing with house money.  Now is his chance to cash in.  You won’t get a huge return for Dickerson, but you could get some MLB ready talent.

Vazquez is the golden goose in the organization.  Just days after trading away Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, the team announced Vazquez’s new deal and said that they would build around their young closer.  The deal that he signed was an extremely team friendly deal.  Vazquez is in Year 1 of a 4-year deal paying him a total of $22M dollars.  Mark Melancon, the player the Pirates traded to the Nationals for Vazquez, is making $20M THIS YEAR!  At just $3M this year, Vazquez is the 20^th highest paid Closer in baseball.  A player of Vazquez’s caliber, with his contract would pull multiple top-level prospects from any organization that bids for him. 

“Ugh more prospects!?!?”  I can hear the complaints now.  But again, this is where Huntington must think outside his incredible small box that he works out of and be creative.

If the Pirates were to deal Vazquez, Dickerson & Nova (the only 3 with any real value) by the end of the weekend, they would then have 2 days to flip the prospects they get in these deals for MLB level talent.

A report Thursday night from Ken Rosenthal had the Texas Rangers considering four Pirate prospects, RHP Tyler Eppers, RHP Dovydas Neverauskas, SS Kevin Newman & OF Jordan Luplow as the key piece in a deal for the current Rangers closer Keone Kela. 

Among names #Rangers are considering from #Pirates in Keone Kela discussions, per sources: RHP Tyler Eppler, OF Jordan Luplow, SS Kevin Newman, RHP Dovydas Neverauskas. All are at Triple A. Newman is team’s No. 8 prospect, per @MLBPipeline, Luplow No. 22.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 26, 2018

If I am Neal Huntington, I do it.  Do it, regardless of which of those 4 the Rangers want.  And the moment the ink is dry on that deal, call the Braves and dangle Vazquez.  The Braves closer, Arodys Vizcaino last recorded a save on June 17^th, since then he has pitched just 3 times and has landed himself on the DL.  Since June 17^th, the Braves are 11-16 and have fallen out of 1^st place.  You think they might be in the need of a closer?  Vizcaino will be heading into this final season of arbitration this year.  Acquiring Vazquez not only makes sense now, but for the future too.  Oh and did I mention that the Braves have one of the best farm systems in baseball?

According to MLB.com Prospect Watch the Braves have 8 of the Top 100 prospects in baseball.  That is 2^nd only to the San Diego Padres.  Best of all for the Pirates is that the majority of these prospects are MLB ready.  6 of those 8 prospects are pitchers, with 7 of the 8 expected to be in the Majors by the end of the 2019 season.  The Braves farm system is deep too.  It doesn’t stop at those 8 players, they have plenty of depth, especially at the pitcher position.  That means they can’t possibly keep all of them and they are likely to move them. 

After the Pirates pick through the Braves farm system for some guys that can contribute immediately for the Pirates, they then turn around and call the Tampa Bay Rays.  Chris Archer is the target here.  Archer is a guy that the Pirates have liked for a long time, but the asking price has always been too high for Huntington.  Now though, with the current Pirates farm system and the return he has gotten from Dickerson, Nova and Vazquez, Huntington finally has the prospects that the Rays would desire (and the asking price has come down since he is signed his 6-year deal in 2014).  Archer is controllable for the next 3 seasons at a total of $27.66M.  The Pirates signed Ivan Nova to a 3/$26M deal before the 2017 season, so those contracts are a wash.  The difference is that Archer is a better pitcher than Nova in almost every facet of the game, and Archer is younger than Nova.

By making these moves, you are now looking at an improved rotation that would look something like Taillon, Archer, Musgrove, Williams & Kingham/Keller (or Braves prospects) for the 2019 season.  You then can finally move Chad Kuhl to the bullpen where he belongs, joining Steven Brault and Tyler Glasnow.  If you are able to move Harrison and Mercer, you then have the ability to bring up Kevin Kramer and Kevin Newman (if not traded for Kela) to get Major League AB’s for the last 2 months of the season.  Trading Dickerson also allows Austin Meadows to truly become an everyday outfielder.

There you have it.  Sell today, win tomorrow.  I am sure Huntington will ignore me for the 5^th straight season, but at least I can say I tried.

Neal Huntington Must Go

The Pirates have failed their team and their fans.

Neal Huntington failed the Pirates players and their fan base.

General Manager Neal Huntington’s contract with the Pirates expires with the team after this season, with a team option for the 2018 season.  He does not deserve to be back with the organization.

Yes, Huntington has done a lot of good for the Pirates.  He helped build the 1^st playoff team in over^nd straight season that the Pirates lost at home to a dominant pitcher in the Wild Card Game, Huntington has done nothing to move the team forward.  For that reason, the Pirates need to find a new General Manager for the 2018 season.

20 years.  He also oversaw a team that won 98 games in 2015.  He was the General Manager of a playoff team for three consecutive seasons, something not done with the Pirates since 3 straight NLCS appearances in the early 90’s.  Since the end of the 2015 season, which was the 2

Huntington supporters have lots to defend him with.  Two of the best players (Josh Harrison & Felipe Rivero) this season were acquired via trades made by Huntington in his time with the Pirates.  He pushed all the right buttons getting leaders like AJ Burnett, Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano and Edison Volquez among others.  He also has signed players like Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Andrew McCutchen to very team-friendly contract extensions. 

More recently however, Huntington did nothing, NOTHING!

After leading the Pirates to 3 straight playoff appearances, the Pirates missed the playoffs in 2016.  To make sure that didn’t happen again, Huntington did NOTHING.

On December 1^st, Jung Ho Kang drove his BMW at a high speed over a median, hitting a barrier and left the scene, later receiving a DUI while is South Korea.  It was his 3^rd DUI, THIRD!!!  Huntington later admitted that he and the Pirates were unaware of the previous two incidents.  After losing his 3^rd baseman to a possible MLB suspension, or worse and what took place, having a suspended visa preventing him to come back to the United States to play for the Pirates, Huntington once again did NOTHING.

On February 10^th (71 days after the Kang DUI) Huntington acquired Kang’s replacement.  He waited until less than a week before Spring Training started before attempting to replace his 2^nd best hitter from the previous season.  He replaced him with Phil Gosselin.  Gosselin played a total of 216 games in 4 Major League seasons before being acquired by Huntington and the Pirates.  He played more than 46 games just once in his 1^st 4 seasons.  Gosselin, who had a career total of 33 extra base hits in 460 AB’s was the replacement for Kang, who had 40 extra base hits in 2016 alone.  UNACCEPTABLE.

The Pirates then had their starting centerfielder Marte suspended for 80 games for PED use.  Huntington reacted to that by doing… NOTHING.  Literally, the Pirates never made any roster moves to acquire an outfielder after losing their best player from the 2016 season for half of the 2017 season.

Already playing with a makeshift outfield including guys like John Jaso, Jose Osuna and Adam Frazier on July 21^st, Gregory Polanco injured his hamstring and went to the DL, leaving McCutchen as the only outfielder from the Season Opener on the active roster.  On his weekly radio show July 23^rd, Huntington said he would be in the market to add a 4^th outfielder.  He didn’t.  The Pirates lost 6 of the 8 games since Polanco went to the DL.

Jung Ho Kang DUI, Huntington did nothing.

Starling Marte suspension, Huntington did nothing.

Gregory Polanco injury, Huntington did nothing.

After all of that, I was okay with Huntington.  He was waving the white flag and he was going to sell at the trade deadline.  Who could blame him after all the unexpected hurdles that came up over the past 8 months? 

The Pirates had a couple of expiring contracts that he could trade off at the deadline, allowing some younger prospects a chance to prove themselves over the final two months of the regular season.  They also had some very nice trade assets of controllable players that they had a chance to flip for some nice young prospects.  Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, and Josh Harrison all would have brought back a nice haul for the team, which has a nice young core.

Nope.  Once again Huntington did NOTHING.  Well, almost nothing.  He traded away Tony Watson to the Dodgers about an hour before the trade deadline.  He failed to move other expiring contracts like Juan Nicasio and John Jaso.  He did make another deal however.  He acquired 40 year old relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit.  Benoit is FORTY years old and his contract is up after this season, and THAT is the only MLB player Huntington acquired at the deadline.

Correction… 40 year old Benoit is the only Major League player that Huntington has acquired since February 10^th, when he acquired… Phil Gosselin.

Neal Huntington did nothing to improve the Pirates this season, NOTHING.  He did nothing when Kang got his DUI.  He did nothing when Marte was suspended for 80 games.  He did nothing when Polanco was injured in the midst of the team’s most important stretch of the season.  He did nothing at the trade deadline.

For those reasons, when his club option comes up for the 2018 season, there is just one thing the Pirates should do… NOTHING!

Pirates Scheduling News

The Pirates made 2 scheduling announcements today.  The 1^st announcement, that Major League Baseball has selected the Pirates and Cardinals to officially open the season, moving the game from its originally scheduled date of Monday April 4^th, to an ESPN Broadcast Sunday afternoon game.  Typically, ESPN kicks off the season with a Sunday night game, but this game will be a 1:05 1^st pitch to kick off the season.  With the season opener moving up 1 day, the rest of the series adjusts as well.  The series was originally scheduled Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.  This now changes to playing Sunday, OFF DAY Monday, play Tuesday and Wednesday, OFF DAY Thursday.  The Pirates then travel and play in Cincinnati for a weekend series beginning Friday.

Obviously, this is a huge honor and recognition for the Pirates to be selected for this game, but the 1^st thing that I thought of was how this allows Hurdle to set up his rotation.  If the Pirates would elect to, and I don’t see why they wouldn’t, they don’t need to throw their #5 starter until GAME 8 of the season. Considering the large question marks regarding the Pirates starting pitching staff for the 2016 season, I think this could be very beneficial.  This also allows the Pirates to throw Cole 3 times in the teams 1^st 9 games.  I know that people may complain about pushing him too much early in the season, but he is the ace of your staff and he would still be going on full rest for all of these starts.  The way the Pirates have started off the last 2 seasons, I would say it would be a good idea to push Cole to make these starts.  The Pirates were 21-26 in April over the last 2 years, which is 5 games UNDER .500.  They were a combined 63 games OVER .500 after April in those 2 seasons.  For whatever reason, the Pirates get off to slow starts, this may be something that helps to avoid that again in 2016.

Another small benefit from this scheduling means that the team could elect to carry an extra bat for the 1^st 7 games of the season.  Being that the Pirates play in Detroit for games 7-8, I’m guessing that they will opt to keep an extra bat, since they will need a DH.

As for the 2^nd announcement made today, the Pirates will be playing in Puerto Rico this season.   The Pirates and Marlins are scheduled to play a 4-game series in Miami from May 30^th to June 2^nd.  Major League Baseball, assuming with the Miami Marlins, moved the 1^st 2 games of that series to Puerto Rico.  The move was to celebrate Roberto Clemente, as all of Major League Baseball will celebrate Roberto Clemente Day on May 31^st.

My only hope is that the celebration of Roberto Clemente Day is kicked off by Major League Baseball announcing the retirement of the number 21 league wide. It would be long overdue.

3 Trades Neal Huntington Should Consider Making

The MLB trade deadline is just days away and this is the year that the Pirates should be making a big move that can get them into deep October.  If the Pirates knew that they wouldn’t have to play in a win-or-go-home game to start the playoffs, I think that they would be more aggressive before the deadline.  However, the memories of Madison Bumgarner striking out 10 while throwing a complete game 4-hitter last October may be sticking in the backs of some of the executives heads.  Is it worth going “all-in” with the likelihood of your season still coming down to a 1-game playoff?

The Pirates are currently 5.5 games back of the 1^st place Cardinals.  They do still play each other 9 times (6 @ StL, 3 @ PNC), but even in the unlikely chances of the Pirates winning all 9 of those games, they still may not win the division.  The Pirates have a much more difficult schedule than the Cardinals the remainder of the season, including 6 against the Dodgers (3 home, 3 away), 3 in New York against the Mets and 4 against the defending World Series Champion Giants.  It would seem that the Pirates are playing for a chance to host the Wild Card Game for the 3^rd straight season.  So again, how much should the Pirates be willing to give up at the deadline, just to have the chance of running into a Clayton Kershaw, or a Madison Bumgarner or maybe Zack Greinke in a 1-game playoff?

I for one, think that this year, is the start of about a 3-4 year window that the Pirates should have a legit chance to compete for the NL Pennant and World Series every year.  With that being the case, I have put together 3 trades that I think the Pirates should consider making before the 4pm deadline Friday.

THE ULTIMATE RENTAL DEAL: Detroit Tigers

Pirates Get:
SP - David Price
OF - Yoenis Cespedes

Tigers Get:
SS – Cole Tucker (#10 prospect)
SP – Nick Kingham (#11 prospect)
OF – Willy Garcia (#13 prospect)
*Probably will cost another player, a 20-30 range pitching prospect

Both Price and Cespedes are free agents at the end of the 2015 season and there is no chance that the Pirates would sign either one during the off season, so this move would be the Pirates pushing in the chips for this season.  The Bucs were rumored to be close to acquiring Price last year at the deadline before the Tigers made a last second move and got him from Tampa, so we know that the organization likes him.  As for Cespedes, the Tigers have to be shopping him, because not only is he in the final year of his contract, but Detroit will not receive a compensatory pick if they lose him in free agency either.  If you are the Tigers you might as well get something in return for him now.  The problem right now is that somehow the Tigers still believe that they are in the AL Wild Card Race.  They are 4 games under .500 and have lost 6 of their last 8 to some of the worst teams in the league, yet for some reason they are still standing pat and have not become sellers.

As for the return for those 2 All-Star rentals, that is always tough to judge, but I am trying to go based off what the return has been for similar players so far this year.  Johnny Cueto, also a rental starting pitcher, cost the Royals 3 pitching prospects.  The Reds received the Royals 2^nd overall prospect and 2 lower tier prospects for Cueto.  Price should draw a comparable return.  When you add Cespedes to the deal, those 2 other pitching prospects that the Royals gave up for Cueto, cause the upgrade to Garcia and Kingham.  Garcia is an outfielder that has played about half the 2015 season in AAA Indianapolis, so he is someone that is on schedule to make his Major League debut at some point in the 2016 season, at the age of 23.  Kingham was one of the top pitching prospects in the Pirates organization before undergoing Tommy John surgery at the beginning of this season.  Kingham already has over 100 innings at the Triple-A level, so once healthy he is a player that should be a contribute quickly.  Tucker is the top prospect in the deal, is was the Pirates top pick in the 2014 draft.

For the Pirates, adding Price would give them a major boost in the starting rotation the rest of the season, making roughly 12 starting after the trade.  More importantly, it would give them a much more formidable playoff rotation if they do get past the wild card game.  Having a 4-man playoff rotation of Gerrit Cole, David Price, AJ Burnett and Francisco Liriano would be among the best group of starters that any team could roll out for a playoff series.

With Cespedes, the Pirates get a big right handed bat in the outfield to platoon with Gregory Polanco as well as much needed bench depth.  Right now the right handed option off of the bench is Sean Rodriguez, who is a career .224 hitter.

THE DIVISION DEAL: Cincinnati Reds

Pirates Get:
RP – Aroldis Chapman
OF – Marlon Byrd

Reds Get:
OF – Austin Meadows (#2 prospect)
P – Clay Holmes (#18 prospect)
*Again, you would probably see the Pirates adding another low level prospect to make this trade happen.

The big get for the Pirates in this deal is Chapman.  It might take a while for some of the guys in the clubhouse to warm up to him, but he would certainly make the bullpen, and more importantly, the team better.  Chapman is one of, if not the hardest throwing closer in the game right now.  Another power arm in your bullpen is never a bad idea, (see KC Royals last year).  I don’t know exactly how he would fit in the back end of the bullpen setup right now.  I would imagine that he immediately becomes the Closer and it just bumps Watson and Melancon down a notch.  Watson working the 7^th and Melancon the 8^th.  Both Watson and Melancon seem like the type of teammates that would be willing to swallow a little pride if it helps the team in the long run.  Chapman also has another year of control in his contract, which is his last year of arbitration.  It is doubtful that the Pirates would extend him, but even if they don’t, he is more than a rental.  He probably sees action in 80 to 90 games with the Pirates through the 2016 season.  That is the reason that the Pirates would need to give up a prospect like Austin Meadows to get someone like Chapman.  The Reds are in rebuild mode and getting a former 1^st Rd pick like Meadows would certainly help that process moving forward, especially since the Reds are shopping both of their corner outfielders at the deadline (Jay Bruce is the other).

As for Byrd, Pirate fans already know what they get with him.  He was acquired by the Bucs via a waiver trade in 2013.  In 30 games with the Pirates in 2013 he hit .318 with 12 extra base hits.  Byrd would likely be a rental player, like he was during the 2013 season.  He does have a vesting option for 2016 at $8M, but he would need 550 plate appearances for that to kick in, which is unlikely, since he has just 309 so far this season.  Byrd would be filling a similar role as laid out for Cespedes.  He would be the right handed bat replacement for Polanco as well as immediately becoming the best right handed bat available to Clint Hurdle off the bench.

THE KEYSTONE BLOCKBUSTER: Philadelphia Phillies

Pirates Get:
SP – Cole Hamels
OF – Jeff Francoeur
CASH

Phillies Get:
P – Tyler Glasnow (#1 prospect)
OF – Meadows (#2 prospect)
C – Either Reese McGuire (#6 prospect) or Elias Diaz (#15)
INF – Alen Hanson (#5 prospect)

The 2 biggest question for every team interested in acquiring Cole Hamels is 1) Will he waive his no trade clause to allow a trade to your team?  And 2) How much money will the Phillies eat of the roughly $90M that he is owed over the next 4 years?

It seems like Hamels wants out of Philadelphia pretty badly, so he is likely going to waive his no trade clause for any team that is in contention.  As for the money involved from the Phillies, that is where things get interested.  The Phillies want to start over and dump the bad contracts that were signed under Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro, Jr. (since 2009).  Philadelphia still owes Ryan Howard roughly $48M over the next 2 years, but they clear the contracts of Cliff Lee, Chase Utley and Jonathan Papelbon after the completion of the 2015 season.  Lee and Utley will both not have options picked up and Papelbon was just traded to the Nationals on Tuesday.  This allows the Phillies to eat more of Hamels contract to get a higher return for their ace.  Now they just have to decide whether they want to be rid of him completely and take less in a trade, but clear his contract. Or do they want a higher return so therefore are more willing to eat some of his remaining contract.  The only way the Pirates make this move is to have Philadelphia take a large chunk of that contract.  The Pirates have done this before (Wandy Rodriguez and AJ Burnett), and with the depth they have in their farm system, they could do it again.  In this circumstance I have Philadelphia taking on $30M of the $90M remaining on Hamels contract.  That gives the Pirates the rights to Hamels for 4 years at $15M a year out of pocket.

For the Pirates, not only does it give them a top of the rotation type talent in Hamels, but it give them long-term stability in that rotation.  The top 3 in your rotation becomes Cole Hames (through 2019), Gerrit Cole (2020) and Francisco Liriano (2017).  Charlie Morton is still under team control through the 2017 season and Jeff Locke though 2018.  Those 2 will help bridge the gap for prospects like Nick Kingham and Jameson Taillon to work their way back from injuries and possibly into the Majors. 

Jeff Francoeur becomes a throw in on this deal, doing the same as Cespedes and Byrd on the previous 2 deals, although not as flashy of a name as the others.  He is a steady right handed bat that can play defense.  A career .262 hitter, who has found a bit of power this year, hitting 9 home runs this season, the most he has had since the 2012 season.

The Pirates would rather not give up players like Glasnow, Meadows, Hanson and McGuire or Diaz, but they have the depth to do so.  Glasnow is still at least 2 years away and as mentioned before the rotation would be in pretty good shape with Hamels in it for the next 4 years.  Meadows has been very good from Day 1 after being selected with the 9^th overall pick by the Pirates in the 2013 draft.  He has batted over .300 in every league that he has played in so far through the minors, but he also is still probably 2-3 years away, being just 20 years old.  But Meadows plays outfield a position that the Pirates have locked in place for the foreseeable future.  Andrew McCutchen is under contract through 2018, Starling Marte through 2021 and Polanco through 2020.  That plus some other young talent in the organization in the outfield makes Meadows expendable.  Alen Hanson is a player that at the beginning of the year nobody would have expected to be expendable, but the play of Jung Ho Kang changes that.  Many Pirate fans (and some front office personnel) have penciled Hanson in as the replacement for Neil Walker at 2^nd base after the 2016 season, but that role can now be filled by either Josh Harrison or Kang.  As for the catcher position, the Pirates are suddenly pretty deep their after years of nothing in the minor leagues.  In fact, they are looking at a log jam at the position unless they move 1 of them.  The Phillies currently have Carlos Ruiz behind the plate, he is 36 years old and signed for the next 2 years.  They don’t have much behind him either.  Adding a player like Diaz or McGuire to this deal would be exactly what the Phillies need.  Diaz is much closer to the big leagues, as he could probably start next year in the Majors with most clubs.  McGuire, the 14^th overall pick by the Pirates in 2013, has the bigger upside, but he is still a few years from being ready to step into the role of everyday catcher.  Once again, the Pirates can afford to lose either one of the 2 catchers and still be fine moving forward.

Now, I do believe that the Pirates will be active over the next few days and that they will make some moves.  I could see them adding some depth in the bullpen and maybe a bat off the bench.  However, I don’t expect any of these trades to be made by Neal Huntington and the Pirates by Friday’s deadline.  I do think they are all fair and reasonable trades on both ends that would benefit both teams in each situation.  I think that any and all of the trades would help the Pirates win this season, and in some cases in the future as well.

Reality Check For Bucco Fans

For all the Pittsburgh Pirate fans who are panicking after the Buccos' most recent home stand in which they finished 4-7 and failed to keep the opponents from scoring at least 5 runs in the final 10 games, I have one word for you.

Relax.

The Pirates aren't as good as they were the first two months of summer, and they aren't as bad as they played the past 11 games, so let's find a middle ground for this team.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that Pirate team that you just saw during this home stand is more like the real team than the team we saw take the field for most of June and July.

Let's step back and look at this team from an outsider's perspective and not as an irrational fan that has been dying for a winning team for the past 20 years.  The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 105 games just 2 years ago.  Last year, they improved that mark by 15 games.  Not many teams improve by 15 games in 1 year.  This year, they are on pace to win 88 games, once again improving, this time by 16 games.  I know that everyone in Pittsburgh would love to see this team in the playoffs come October, but why can't people just be happy that this team has continued to improve in drastic measures over the past two seasons?

When this season began, everyone that followed this club knew that they were a year or two away from being serious contenders.  That plan was set in place by drafting Jameson Taillon and Garrett Cole, two of the top young pitchers in the country, with back-to-back first round picks.  Add in signing all-star Andrew McCutchen to a long term deal, and the promising younger position players the team has in the organization (Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Starling Marte), and the future looks bright.

Also consider the fact that all of the key players on this years team as well as all of the players acquired at the trade deadline are signed at least through the 2013 season.

Sure, making the playoffs this season would be great, but let's remember where this team was just two years ago, and be happy with the results we have seen this year.  It is about continuing to get better, and the Pirates are doing that.

The 2012 Pirates team has been really fun to watch, but this is just the start of things to come for Pirate fans if all continues to go right in the Pirates organization.  Just be patient, and relax. 

RANDOM RANT

RANDOM RANTING

It’s been a while since my last Rant, so here are some thoughts regarding the sporting world, quarterbacks in it, and certain 4-letter stations that report it.

BRETT FAVRE

This one has been boiling for a while, since he came back for this “final” season. Brett Favre has played in something like 700 straight games, which is an NFL record. All the hype a few weeks back was that if he missed a game with his broken ankle, the streak would be snapped. Okay, let’s dissect that last thought.

First, this action by Favre trying/wanting to play illustrates his career in a nutshell. He wanted to keep his personal record in tact and was willing to do so, despite what was best for his team’s chance to win. He already held the record. He was not chasing it. I could possibly understand his desire to play if he was closing in on the record, but he is not. He is more than 100 games ahead of the next closest player on the active games streak. Eventually, this record will be snapped. Eventually, Favre will ACTUALLY retire and no longer play. I cannot wait for that date! Oh yeah, he played with a BROKEN ANKLE!

And we wonder why the Vikings are currently sitting at 3-6 in a year they were expected to compete for the NFC title. They are playing a 40+ year old QB with 2 broken bones in his ankle, and he is all but running the team because the pathetic coach doesn’t have the guts to stand-up to him. I am starting to think that Favre decided to play for Minnesota as one last move as a true Packer. He knew he could no longer play at the NFL level, so rather than retiring, he went to the Vikings to destroy the only real threat the Packers had in the NFC North. That is the only reasonable explanation.

Brett, please do us all a favor, and leave. Go back to Mississippi. Play football in your Wranglers. Go do whatever you want. Just quit trying to play in the NFL. I know that the people in Bristol will be upset when you finally do that because the will have to find REAL programming, but everyone else who enjoys sports will be grateful. You are ruining what was, at one point, a great career.

CAM NEWTON

Okay. Let’s move on to the next overblown QB story. Reports over the past few weeks are basically saying that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s dad, Cecil, told Mississippi State that it would cost anywhere between $100K to $180K for his son to play in Starkville. Frankly, I think that is being generous, I would want more if I were going to put my son on that shitty team. But seriously, what is wrong with his dad saying this? Why is this an issue? Why is this news?

Cam Newton plays at Auburn. He does not play at Mississippi State. There are not currently, nor have there been, any reports/rumors that he accepted any money to go to Auburn. Until that happens, this is not a story!

This would be like anyone else getting a job offer to do the job you currently do in Baghdad. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty sure my response would be something like, “You’d have to pay me between $100K and $180K for me to go there.”


THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES

First, I must say that not only did I not get the managerial job with the Pirates, but they did not even contact me for an interview. I am very upset and disappointed by this.

The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager. He is the 6th manager for the organization since they decided to stop trying to win. It is an absolutely terrible hire, which makes it perfect for Neil Huntington, Frank Coonley and Bob Nutting. In an odd managing circle, Clint Hurdle takes over a position once held by Jim Tracy. In 2 seasons with the Bucs, Tracy went 135-189. He is now the current manager of the Colorado Rockies, a spot he took over from Clint Hurdle. He has since gone 157-121 in nearly 2 full seasons in Denver. In 2009, Tracy went 74-42 after replacing Hurdle, who had that same team at 18-28. Just basic math tells me Hurdle was 10 games under .500 and Tracey was 32 games above .500 with the same exact players. That is a 42 game difference. At that rate, we should expect the Pirates to win a total of 51 games over the next 2 seasons. So, the Pirates are basically hiring a guy who is a much worse manager than Jim Tracy; the same Jim Tracy who was fired after 2 seasons in Pittsburgh. Hmm, interesting!

The hire that I wanted (other than me) was Bobby Valentine. This guy must be black-balled by Major League teams. He is the only guy since Davey Johnson to win with the Mets. After getting canned there, he went overseas and won in Japan. He led the Chiba Lotte Mariners to their first pennant in 31 years and first Japan Series Title since 1974. That is about the same drought the Pirates have been in. Seems like a perfect fit for me. Yet he doesn’t even get an interview?

As a Pittsburgh sports fan, this weekend has been difficult for me. Pitt looked embarrassing on Thursday night, opening the door for what will be the typical Panther collapse that their fans are oh-so-familiar with. The Pirates have just committed to losing for another 5 years, minimum. And the Steelers were completely exposed by the Patriots. At least we have Pitt hoops!

The Pirates Need A New Manager, Why Not Me?

October 4, 2010

Frank Coonelly
Pirates Team President
115 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

I am interested in the open managerial position with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As you can see from my enclosed resume, the invaluable experience I have had both coaching Brookline Little League and working a job that had me at nearly every home game has prepared me well for this position of managing the Pirates.

I am energetic, hard-working, and extremely knowledgeable of sports, something that most Pirate employees don‘t seem to be. My work background has supplied me with an understanding of the game of baseball. I also read Managing Baseball for Dummies, so I am well ahead of the game compared to your recent hires for this job. While coaching Brookline Little League, I have been a part of 7 championship teams, and I fully expect them to put a bust of me at the field entrance due to my success. Seeing how the Pirates love building statues to honor people, I thought this would be a plus for me. While watching over the past 3 seasons, I learned so much from watching every home game the team has played since I started. You know the old saying, “mistakes aren’t bad if you can learn from them.” Well, I’ve seen plenty of mistakes in the games I’ve seen and learned from all of them.

I have the skills, determination, knowledge, and natural instinct to be successful as the next manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I love baseball and there is nothing more that I would like to be a part of than turning this joke of a franchise around and making it a winner. I look forward to speaking with you about the opportunities involved in this job.

Sincerely,

Kevin Reitmeyer

Enclosures
RESUME


OBJECTIVE
To bring winning baseball back to the team and city that I love.

EXPERIENCE

AS A PLAYER:
1992 Knight of Columbus - Brookline Little League
Starting 2nd baseman and reserve centerfielder.

AS A COACH:
1998 - 2007 5 Championships - Brookline Little League
1st base coach and hitting instructor for Steve Poremski Plumbing (1998 - 2001)
Won 3 championships in 4 seasons and runner-up the 4th season.
2 straight undefeated seasons, the only time that has ever happened in 60 years of BLLA. (98-99)
Coached the BLLA All-Stars to the District Finals for the first time in 20 years.

3rd base coach and pitching coach from 2002 - 2007
Won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007 with 2 different teams.

AS A MANAGER:
2003 - 2005 Minor League Manager, 1 championship
Manager and 3rd base coach
Took over as interim Manager mid-way through the 2003 season. Led a winless team in 2003 to the championship series in 2004 before losing in the 3rd game of a best of 3 series.
2005 Champions, sweeping the Championship series.

OFF THE FIELD:
2008 - 2010 Worked in the stadium allowing me to watch every home game
My Responsiblities including paying close attention to the fine details of each and every game. I believe this experience has given me a better understanding of what not to do on the field and how to handle the players and deal with the umpires.

EDUCATION:
SELF TAUGHT
* I have learned the ins and outs of the game of baseball from my father, who at young age took me to games at 3 Rivers Stadium and taught me tendencies and strategy involved with the game.
* I have also watched baseball and studied the great managers of the game, like Jim Leyland who the Pirates let go.
* I watch the game on TV as well, listening to some of the best minds in the game dissect each and every play, including Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and other baseball announcing greats.
* I also watch Pirate baseball, almost religiously, despite how incredibly painful it is to sit through. By doing that, I feel that I have learned what NOT to do.

COACHING STYLE:
MIXED BRED STYLE
* I feel that my style is considered to be more of a small ball coach, which would work well in Pittsburgh since there is nobody on the roster that will hit more than 30 HR’s, minus Pedro.
* I like to use plate patience, good speed on the bases and the ability to advance runners to manufacture runs. This may be tough considering it does not seem that the current players on the 40 man roster have any of these capabilities.
* I like to trust my pitchers and let them fight through their struggles instead of keeping them on a strict pitch count and pulling them on the first sign of difficulties, and thereby wearing down the bullpen.