Five Reasons To Believe in Neal Huntington's Plan

If you’re a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, you are undoubtedly tired of losing seasons.  One or two in a row is one thing. Sixteen—and don’t hold your breath on 2009—is something entirely different. It’s unacceptable and, for the most part, the team’s management is to blame.

Not the current management, however. If anything, the brain trust running things in Pittsburgh right now is off to the best possible start.

GM Neal Huntington was a risky choice for a team mired in such an extensive slump, but he has done an admirable job so far in his bid to put the Pirates back on track.  Here are five reasons that you should believe in his plan. 

The Farm System

When Huntington took the reins from Dave Littlefield at the end of the 2008 season, he inherited arguably the league’s most depleted farm system. Outside of a few blue chip prospects, the players staffing the club’s minor league affiliates were not major league caliber. 

While it was painful to see Xavier Nady and Jason Bay sent packing last July, it was necessary to begin the healing. Those two players brought a bevy of prospects for the entire system. Combine that with the daring draft of Pedro Alvarez and you suddenly have a farm system infused with talented young men.

He Knows When To Say Enough

Two words: Matt Morris. Forget that a man with Huntington’s savvy would never have even acquired the guy. Give him props for knowing when to put his foot down regardless of the financial ramifications. Morris was the Pirates’ worst pitcher in 2008—not an easy feat on the staff with the league’s highest ERA.

While Littlefield would have likely let him pitch the team into oblivion, Huntington and the new management ate the rest of his $9 million salary and sent him home. If Huntington shows similar tact with other failing parts of the team, he will quickly clear Pittsburgh of its expensive mistakes from years past.

Don’t Forget What He Was Handed on Day One

Let’s not be so quick to judge someone who was handed a major league disaster.  We’ve talked about the farm system, but how about a major league team fielding 25 guys who probably would be backups on most of the elite franchises in the majors and an organization continually paying for the sins of the past (Jason Kendall) with the money of the present. 

With Kendall finally coming off the books and the Pirates starting to, at least on paper, resemble a competitive team, fans can finally start resting easier.

Avoiding the Big Mistakes

Sometimes the mistakes have been monetary, sometimes the mistakes have been in talent evaluation. The names are familiar: Morris, Jeromy Burnitz, Randall Simon, Kris Benson, Aramis Ramirez, Joe Randa.  The thing that connects all of these names together is that they were at one time members of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Whether they should not have been signed (Burnitz, Randa, Simon), acquired (Morris), kept as long (Benson), or traded away so soon (Ramirez), they have all been part of the mistakes that have defined an organization.

So far, Neal Huntington doesn’t seem to have made a mistake. Everything he has done to this point makes a great deal of sense.

Doing it the Right Way

If anything can be said positive, it is that the Pirates are doing things by a proven blueprint. The proof comes from the Tampa Bay Rays in baseball and from the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers just down the street from PNC Park. It is a simple blueprint: draft well, don’t spend big money on risky signings, and infuse your team with homegrown, young talent. 

Huntington is systematically creating this system in Pittsburgh as he eradicates the losing culture in the clubhouse. 

Whether or not the Pirates contend this year, it is safe to say that Huntington has not done anything so far this offseason to hinder their success.  Perhaps the best acquisition of all will not be a player but a coach. Joe Kerrigan has a record of success with young pitchers.

If he can bring that to Pittsburgh, it may not be long before we can fill the beautiful PNC Park with adoring fans once again.