How to fix the Pirates
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The Hardball Times found this 8/8/2007 on www.hardballtimes.com [flag] |
Tags:
MLB
Pittsburgh Pirates
Comments (6)
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s.zielinski +2- Littlefield has mostly lost whatever PR value he can impart to the franchise. Years of spinning stupid moves has that as one consequence. He's got to go.
- I can't see Cuban taking a CEO job without an ownership stake. I can't see the Nuttings giving him a stake.
- DePodesta would be a nice hire for the Pirates. But, why would he go to a team that is uninterested in winning?
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Geoff Young Nice. I particularly enjoyed this line: "Bonus points if you've intentionally run a franchise into the ground in order to expedite its no-bid sale and eventual relocation to Washington."
As for DePo, it's not just going to the Pirates, it's leaving the Padres, who are enjoying unprecedented organizational success at the moment.
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bads85 If DePodesta were going to the Pirates, Jim Tracy would have to be canned, something that isn't going to happen in the near future as long as Littlefield is on the organization.-
notsellingjeans Very good point. My top choice would be Joe Girardi, who proved in Florida that he can have success with a roster almost entirely composed of young players, which I think is how Pittsburgh should be constructed in the interim.
That would complete my "All Exiled Management Team" of Cuban-DePodesta-Cuban, anyway. :)
I hesitated to name a new manager in the article because I have no way of knowing which manager that DePodesta would pick for himself. If he doesn't think Girardi would be a good fit for him obviously that wouldn't be a good choice.
But I certainly should've mentioned that Tracy would've had to go in the scenario of DePo being hired because of their past with the Dodgers.
Most likely Tracy and Littlefield are a package deal and will be treated as such. Both of their deals expire after next season and if something happens before then, it'll happen to both of them.
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John Brattain My God ... that column was about 5,500 words long.
That sir, isn't an article, it's a testament.
Most amazing about it is that it still seemed to end much too soon.
Ah well.
Nice job sir. As a man that has a soft spot for the Bucs' (despite 1979's effect on the 'Spos) I hope Nutting reads it.
Best Regards
John
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islander As a transplanted Mets fan who has adopted the Pirates as my 2nd team, I appreciate the positive suggestions rather than the same old rants. Tackling your suggestions...
1) Mark Cuban - will never happen. Good rationale but no way that he would take on a job with so many limitations. What happens when his draft players are ready for the majors? They'll be Ryan Braun'ed/Miguel Cabrera'ed for service time because the major league salary is paid by Nutting. Cuban wouldn't stand for that, he'd want them up at PNC Park as soon as they can contribute, and this would lead to clashes between Nutting and Cuban that would eventually have Cuban leaving; Nutting is the owner and his word is final.
2) Paul DePodesta - Oh, we can only pray that they make a smart move like that. However, if they're talking baseball retreads like Walt Jocketty & Joe Garagiola Jr. for the CEO slot, that will never happen. Mark Cuban would do it, but...well, see above.
3 & 4) - It would be nice to have a viable philosophy for a change, but for that we'll have to wait and see who the new CEO & GM are.
5) Please, the memories are still too fresh...<shudder>.
6) Sure, everything else in Pandora's Box has been let loose, what have we got to lose?
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Links (5)
Wednesday links
Published 8/8/2007 by Gilbert at Obscure Sports Quarterly
... * Jacob Jackson of The Hardball Times has an excellent, well-thought out post about how to fix baseball’s worst franchise, the Pittsburgh Pirates. I like one of his suggestions — hire Paul DePodesta. While it would never happen, I would love it if he replaced Bill Stoneman when Stoneman retires one day. DePodesta got a raw deal with the Dodgers, ...
THT: How to fix the Pirates
Published 8/9/2007 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
THT: How to fix the Pirates How can this small-market team make it back to .500 and eventually into playoff contention—especially with an ownership group that seemingly prioritizes profit and financing stadium debt over investing their piece of the revenue sharing pie directly back into the product on the field? How can the Pirates keep their rightfully fed-up fans from retreating permanently into an Operation Shutdown of their own? There are some good outside-the-box ideas in this piece. Not likely to happen, but the author (Jacob Jackson) gets points for creativity.
The News
Published 8/10/2007 by mondesishouse at Mondesishouse.com
... An article suggesting how to fix the Pirates sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, they lost me at point #1, which would be the mention of Mark Cuban as CEO. Give it up, folks. ...
NTRs: Non Tigers-related Baseball Thoughts
Published 8/11/2007 by Mike McClary at The Daily Fungo | A Detroit Tigers Blogazine
... titled: How to fix the Pirates, by Jacob Jackson. In this lengthy piece, Jackson writes about how that one play in October 1992 changed the fate of three teams: the Pirates, the Braves and the Giants. ...
Will Everyone Please Get Off the Pirates’ Backs?
Published 8/16/2007 by Spartacus at Yard Work
... And because I love my Penn. clubs so much, I am having an h-e-double-toothpick of a time trying to figure out why everyone is bagging on the Pirates. Everywhere I look, another of these ...
