Svuem Out

It was reported that Dale Svuem is out of the running of the managerial race in Pittsburgh. It became plainly obvious when he accepted the hitting coach position in Milwaukee, despite the fact that they do not have a manager as of yet.

This development really makes me think that the Pirates are really looking for a manager that is currently unavailable for an interview, meaning that they are in the playoffs right now. That could be a guy like Tony Pena or Clint Hurdle. I would be shocked if we did not see Pena's name come up this week.

Manager Search on Hold?

Rob Biertempfel of the Trib suggests that the Pirates are waiting around to see how the playoffs shake out to interview a few more candidates. He has a quote right from Huntington himself:

"The managerial search is an ongoing process," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Wednesday. "We continue to do due diligence on candidates and are considering additional interviews."

I think this would suggest Tony Pena as strong possibility, as well as Ron Wotus of the Giants and perhaps Clint Hurdle of the Rangers. I would like to see them interview all three as it would definitely provide some much needed different perspectives to hear from. Clint Hurdle would be a really good option as a manager, though I would think he could command a high salary.

This is good news to hear that there may be more people coming though. Also good news to hear is that on Twitter, Bob Dutton the beat writer for the Kansas City Star reports that John Gibbons has removed himself from consideration for the managerial position in Pittsburgh. Gibbons was far from my favorite, so personally I wish him the best in KC and thank him for not coming here.

While it has been a painfully quiet few days, it looks like it might be quiet for quite a few more days to come.

Update on Skippers

The list of candidates to be the next manager has slowly shrunk as some of them have taken jobs elsewhere. Eric Wedge, a prime candidate due to his ties to Huntington in Cleveland, has taken the job in Seattle. He was probably tops on the list for many but is now off.

Bo Porter, seemingly a wildcard candidate, known for teaching of fundamentals is reportedly is the favorite for the Marlins job. If Porter is indeed the lead for the Marlins job, then that leaves a list of:

Ken Macha
Jeff Bannister
Dale Sveum
John Gibbons
Carlos Tosca

While I really like Dale Sveum as a choice, have an affinity for Ken Macha, and understand the Jeff Bannister interview, the list is not all that inspiring. Take a look and really you see only 3 organizations truly represented there. You have the most recent top men in Milwaukee and the two of the more recent managers in Toronto that were not Cito Gaston. It is not all that diverse.

Looking at that list, I almost wish that the Bobby Valentine rumors were true as it would at least add some spice to the list.

Speaking of rumors, Buster Olney seems to think that John Gibbons is the favorite. If that is the case put me in with the chorus of fans yelling, "Why!". I mean the fact that Gibbons openly challenge one of his players to a fight is more than enough to tell me something is amiss with him. I am sure others managers have done this, but I cannot think of one that has done it as openly as Gibbons. I would think that this has disaster written all over it.

If the above list of candidates is true, then I am openly hoping for Dale Sveum to be the man.

Freak Show Part Deux?

Today the Bucs interviewed a former player for their managerial position. No it was not Andy Van Slyke, instead it was Dale Sveum, formerly of the Freak Show Pirates. Many may remember Sveum from that team as well as being the manager for the Altoona Curve. Sveum had been a hitting coach in Milwaukee, but he along with Willie Randolph are not going to be considered for the job.

After a rather promising beginning to his coaching career in Altoona, Sveum has been a third base coach with the Red Sox, bench coach, manager, and hitting coach with the Brewers. He has spent time in many organizations, many levels, and has plenty of big league experience on teams and positions that are pretty valuable to have from an experience standpoint.

Early on in the search, I had pegged Sveum as a guy that would perhaps be a favorite in the search. I liked what he did in Altoona and even then thought that some day he would be a big league manager. I remember at the time thinking the very same thing about Gary Varsho as well. but Sveum always stuck out as a possible guy that could be the manager here someday.

I think he would bring a good deal of experience to the job, but also a good deal of energy, as it would his first job steering a team. I would think he would be a good fit and it would also be interesting to see what kind of staff he would bring on as well, if he were offered the job.

ESPN Coverage of Maz Homer

I was a little surprised to see this when doing my daily baseball reading. ESPN, the Yankee/Red Sox Network, created a few features, called Maz's Moment, on the home run in 1960 that sent the Yankees home. Jim Caple does a few videos, and he Sox fan revels in the beating of the Yankees. There is also a very in depth article from David Schoenfield, calling Game 7 the Greatest Game Ever Played.

Kiss It Goodbye....

This can never get old.

More Candidates

The Pirates keep on interviewing candidates to replace John Russell. They have officially interviewed five men for the job. After interviewing five, I cannot imagine that many more candidates being interviewed for the position, especially if they want to move quickly.

John Gibbons, formerly of the Blue Jays, interviewed for the position earlier in the week. For those who want a fiery manager Gibbons is it, as he once challenged some players to fight him. He openly challenged Dave Bush, perhaps if Gibby is hired we won't really be looking at signing Bush anymore, and tried to fight Shea Hillenbrand.

Also being interviewed was local favorite Ken Macha, who must be tired of interviewing for the Pirates job. I really did not think that they would talk with Macha, who would be a really good fit, but it was nice to see he has another shot at coaching his boyhood team.

Also interviewing was Jeff Bannister, he of the decades of service to the Pirates. I think he would be a dark horse, but Bannister is viewed highly by many in the organization so it was perhaps not that unusual to see him get interviewed.

There cannot be that many more candidates that they are looking to interview, so we might have another week left of interviews until they decide to make a hire, possibly right before the World Series.

Waxing Nostalgic

Since the managerial search has slowed, slowed might not be the right word when they interview a guy like Bo Porter, derailed might be better, there has been some Pirates' related stuff flowing around the intranets.

The Post Gazette is marking the 50th anniversary of the 1960 World Series, by re-running their articles covering that series. It is pretty cool to read how sports writing has changed in 50 years. I like reading articles about teams in the 20's or earlier as the writing is even more different.

It is pretty neat to check out. On Sunday they posted the first 4 games with Monday being 5, Tuesday Game 6, and on the anniversary Game 7.

Check them out here:

Post-Gazette coverage of the 1960 World Series: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4

Who is Untouchable?

Is Tony Sanchez untouchable?

Let's say for this hypothetical scenario to play out this offseason. For some reason or another the Pirates have a chance to trade for Evan Longoria. I'd like to believe in this scenario Longoria has asked for a trade to the Bucs, he was a big Jeff King fan growing up or something. In order to make this trade the Rays are asking for prospects in return. Who would be untouchable?

While the team is probably not going to be in trade talks with the Rays for Longoria, but lets say that Huntington has the opportunity to add a younger player to the team via trade. An arm or a bat, and to get that player he would have to give up some prospects to get him.

A few quickly jump to mind. Tony Sanchez is probably an untouchable. I'd also say that Bryan Morris is untouchable. Of course the draftees from this past year, Taillon and Allie, are not eligible to be traded, but they'd be untouchable anyway. Zach Von Rosenberg is probably one as well. After that I don't know of anyone that would be deemed untouchable. You might be able to add Rudy Owens, but even with him I am not so sure.

With the need to improve the major league club, after spending time improving the minor league system, we may be approaching the time, where we may start to entertain trading prospects for younger major league players or almost major leaguers.  Huntington has spoken in the past of wanting to be at the position to trade from the minors to help the majors.

While many may think that you trade prospects when you are contending for the playoffs, an argument can be made that a core of the team is here, lets start to build around and add to it. I don't believe that you can just bank on the young guys we have now and wait until they are ready to contend. That is sort of the Dave Littlefield rebuild strategy. No we have to develop, build, and supplement all at the same time in order to see real results.

It is going to be interesting to see how the 40 man roster is managed this offseason, as there are plenty of players to add, but it will also be interesting to see if any of the young prospects are dealt to help the current big league club. If Huntington is in the position, who would he not deal?

Wedge Has Interviewed

It looks like the Pirates are wasting no time at all in interviewing candidates. It also seems as though many were on the mark with speculation in that Wedge would be a candidate. I believe that speed was an issue in interviewing Wedge, as he has been mentioned as a possibility in Chicago with the Cubs and in Toronto.

The PG says that Juan Samuel is another that the team is looking to interview with in this process. Since the Orioles are not in the playoffs, depending on their permission, we could see that interview happen very quickly.

I think we might see a manager get named either before or right after the World Series, as baseball outside the series seemingly stops during that time. The quicker the better, as the league has moved up a bunch of key offseason dates, the Rule Five, offers to arbitration eligibles, and others. Huntington has less time to prepare for what will be a busy early offseason, compiling the 40 man, so getting his manager is place is something that needs to be done right and quick.

Who Will Be Next

The search for a new manager will begin in earnest now that the team has relieved John Russell of his duties. The coaching staff too will be looking for new employment as well, but could be back. I am sure that John Bannister will be back with the organization in some capacity and it looks as though Searage might as well.

Those jobs probably won't be as the big league manager so the team will probably look outside the organization for a new skipper. As such here is a list a few that came to the top of my head and with a little bit of thinking put into it as well.

First I would think that the guys that Huntington interviewed when he hired Russell will make the list, except for Trent Jewett, whom probably will not get a phone call this time. Those gentlemen are:

Joey Cora - bit of a rising star in the MLB coaching ranks
Joel Skinner - seemingly has been everywhere in the Indians system, recently at AA Akron
Dave Jauss - currently the Mets bench coach for how long

Added to that list I present the following that would probably be on the list. Do I think they all would make good managers for us? Perhaps not, but I could see a case being made for each.

Willie Randolph - former Bucco is one of the top guys to take over in Milwaukee, but if he lost out on the job he would surely be a candidate
Dale Svuem - former Bucco and Curve skipper, Svuem has made stops at Boston and even managed in the playoffs for Milwaukee. I think he would be an excellent choice.
Don Baylor - He has been all over and is the Rockies hitting coach. Maybe a little older, but could be our Dusty Baker like candidate.
John Farrell - Huntington really liked him the first time, but could not talk to him. Who knows if time has changed the Red Sox thinking.
Brad Komminsk - Bowie's AA manager, has been a minor league star as a manager.
Tony Pena - Could his second big league job be the one that works out? Currently with the Yankees.
Clint Hurdle - May be too high profile, but would be a good fit.
Wally Backman - Rumors circulated this summer that the team could look to Backman. He was back with the Mets in the NYP, but there is a lot of baggage.
Eric Wedge - former AL Manager of the Year. Obvious ties to Huntington. Has had success and experience in the same phase of rebuilding.
Andy Van Slyke - I think I heard in an interview that Van Slyke would be open to interviewing. He has no real managing experience, but would be a huge hometown favorite.

Out of all of those names, I would say that the guys that are my favorites are Wedge, Svuem, Randolph, Farrell, and Cora. Personally I would really like Wedge or Svuem. I am sure that someone is also calling into a talk show right now and making the case for Bob Walk, though I do not see that one happening at all.

It's Official: Russell Out

What was speculated for some time now has become official.

I ask the question; If the Pirates fire their manager after a Steeler loss and the return of Big Ben, does it make a sound?

To me and many of you, yes. To most of the populace here, no.

Russell on the Way Out

Today the news came across that John Russell may be on his way out of the team's future. With the club having meetings to determine the fate of the front office, the field staff, and to plot out the offseason this week in Bradenton, it is being reported that Russell will be let go early in the week. 

Russell's job has been in jeopardy for some time now, even though he did get a contract extension. The team failed to perform, really even to modest expectations, this season and fell apart all over the place. For a time it looked like he might stick it out, as they ousted Joe Kerrigan and Gary Varsho earlier this season. 

Despite that power play by Russell, maybe not a power play as they figured they would fire the whole staff at the end of the season anyway, he was still on the hot seat. Any time you see a team lose at the consistency that this Pirate team lost at, you would think that the manager would be on the hot seat.

If Russell is indeed let go, it will be a sort of ho hum event. I personally never had a problem with Russell, mainly because the team was not all that good to really care all that much about his tactics as a manager. Sure he made plenty of tactical miscues, some however were thrust upon him by the front office. He might not have been the best tactician, but he seemed to have the players respect and worked hard at improving the team.

As we prepare to close the book on the Russell tenure, we do so in seeing him as a loyal solider. A guy who did what was basically asked of him. Could it have worked out better in wins in losses? Probably not all that much better, but there is a possibility. How will he be remembered? Well mainly as the quiet guy that helmed the team that broke the record for consecutive losses, probably not all that much more. Which is good as it could be worse.

Russell was given the unenviable task of trying to improve some of the worst Pirate teams in recent memory. No easy task. Hopefully the next manager has a little more to work with and does not go down in defeat as a modern day General Pickett, as Russell did.

Outrage in Altoona

There are times that I cannot believe that a story gains legs. This is one of those cases. I cannot believe the fake outrage that the Pirates did not renew the the contract of Matt Walbeck. Of course the Post Gazette goes with the the headline of "Pirates fire title-winning manager at Class AA Altoona", despite the fact that Walbeck was simply not offered a contract for next season. See not offering a contract does not sell, like fired.

Furthermore, who cares if he led this team to a championship. Does anyone remember that many of these same players, playing together last season won the championship? So what did Walbeck do that was so magical? Make these already good players good? I don't understand.

On top of that, Walbeck has been in the majors and is probably looking for a major league job. It is not as though they are going to just guarantee him one, when the current major league staff is still employed. If they do go out and fire John Russell, then his replacement should be the one to decide on whether he would want Walbeck, not management and not because he just won a AA championship.

This story is just so ridiculous that it is unreal that it even merits any mention. I feel that I need to mention it as I cannot believe the outrage that some in the tin foil fandom are getting out of this. Hey you know PJ Forbes won the Hi A championship last season, lets give him a shot at the big league club. I mean c'mon he won a championship. Give me a break.