Pirates Name Russell as Manager
By
Amanda
Posted at 5:58 pm
The Pirates finally ended the managerial suspense today when they named John Russell as the next guy to try to right the ship. From the press release:
The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that John Russell has been hired as the 38th manager in team history. The announcement was made by senior vice president and general manager Neal Huntington.
Russell, 46, spent the last two seasons as the Triple-A manager in the Philadelphia organization. He was named the International League Manager of the Year after guiding Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Northern Division title in 2006. Russell, who served as manager at the 2007 International League All-Star Game, managed Ottawa last season.
There’s also a letter to the fans from the general manager. Letters from the general manager? That won’t last.
Dear Pirates fans:
I am extremely excited to officially announce today that we have hired John Russell as the new manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. John’s hiring is another significant step in the process of changing the culture of this organization to a culture of pride, passion and excellence.
Throughout the process it became clear that John was the top choice to lead our ballclub. His positive energy, intense passion for the game and strong managerial experience set him apart from every other potential candidate we considered.
John has been extremely successful getting the most out of his players in his 10-plus years of managing. During his Minor League managing career, John was a two-time Manager of the Year and twice selected by Baseball America as a top managerial prospect.
John is a great teacher of the game, an exhaustive communicator and tireless worker. He will hold himself, the coaching staff and our players accountable for being the most prepared and hardest working club in Major League Baseball. He will ensure that our players continue to improve at the Major League level and play with the pride and passion we, and you the fans, expect of them.
He brings a focused intensity to the managerial role and to our clubhouse. I am extremely confident in John and his abilities to manage our ballclub and instill in our players the sense of pride they should take in playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He shares our vision of how we will return the Pirates to a consistent winner.
Thank you for your continued support of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sincerely,
Neal Huntington
My favorite part is where he qualified “John has been extremely successful” with “getting the most out of his players.” That can only say good things. And as if that weren’t enough, this original sentiment always turns out to be true about new managers:
Speaking to reporters at PNC Park on Monday, Russell, 46, used the words “accountability,” “discipline,” “pride” and “passion.” Those were adjectives Russell believes will be attached to the club moving forward, and are words that Huntington believe already describe the man that he brought in to replace Jim Tracy.
Pat at Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke fails to be outraged:
I can imagine that a lot of people’s thoughts today run along the lines of, “We looked for a month and we ended up with this guy?” The truth is, most managers are incredibly similar.
While Jake at Bucco Blog takes a somewhat firmer stance:
Some will suggest the proper thing to do would be to give Russell a chance before blasting him, but since he’s already proven to be total garbage in Pittsburgh, why wait?
And what do I think, you might ask, seeing as I’m supposed to be a Pirates blogger these days. Well, I’m just so psyched to see that they picked up Phil Dumatrait, I can’t even think of anything else.
The Reds have released their 2008 schedule. They play the Yankees June 20, 21, and 22. Maybe I’ll go down and see them. Been a long time since the Yankees played the Reds. Seems like they play the Pirates every year, but never the Reds.
Those tickets are going to go fast. Hotel rooms, too. Make sure you plan in advance.
Let me know when you decide. We could meet you down there and buy you a beer.
If I go, I will probably take the train down, rather than stay in a hotel. Unless my friend from Pittsburgh wants to come up that weekend. She’s been threatening to come to NY to see Clay Aiken on Broadway. (He’s playing Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot).
Yankees games almost always sell out, but then again, you can almost always get tickets from a scalper or something. Though maybe not together, if you have a group.
Hotels are wicked expensive in NY. The last time I was there (which was awhile ago, I admit), I stayed at the Milburn Hotel, on the upper west side. 242 W. 76th St. So cheap I was afraid it was going to be a dive (I could tell you some stories…), but it was quite nice. Old, but clean and well-maintained. There’s a kitchenette in each room, with a fridge, microwave, sink, etc. And a little gourmet grocery store around the corner, so you can save a lot of money on meals if you’re so inclined. A short walk to a subway station.
The only think I didn’t like about it was the bathrooms were really small. As in hard to turn around in when the door was closed small. But for the price and other amenities, I could put up with it.
Meanwhile, back in Pittsburgh, Neil Huntington’s first move as the new GM is to hire as manager a guy they fired two years ago when he was their third base coach under Lloyd McClendon.
The other candidates reportedly included Class-AAA Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett, White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, Indians third base coach Joel Skinner, and Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.
I think the only guy in the bunch with any major league managing experience is Skinner. The team motto for the managerial search must have been “Aim Low!”
HMZ
The last time I remember seeing the Reds play the Yankees, it was the 1976 World Series. If you’re a Yankees fan, e-mail me to claim your broom. The Reds own the last two NL World Series sweeps, and this was one of them (Reds over A’s in 1990 is the other).