Just Say No To Bob Walk and Andy Van Slyke

After last weeks firing of former pirates manager John Russell, several names have emerged as potential candidates. Some, such as Phil Garner and Eric Wedge would be considered good hires.


There are others though, including names such as Andy Van Slyke and Bob Walk that would be awful hires.

Over the past week, both guys have been gaining some steam popularity wise and that's a bad sign. It would be just like the Pirates to offer one of these guys the job.

This is a major decision for a franchise that hasn't sniffed a winning season in close to two decades. There is more pure talent in the organization right now then there has been at any time during that span. This could be the Pirates only true chance to be competitive soon.

If they don't turn it around soon, then there is a chance they likely never will. You can't put that responsibility on a guy that has no managerial experience at all. Considering either guy simply because he has ties to the Pirates is insane.

Walk has no coaching experience what so ever. What makes you think he is capable of handling young players and handling a pitching staff that will likely struggle for 162 games?

The same goes for Van Slyke. Good players don't necessarily become good managers. In fact, there are very few cases in sports where it happens often. Van Slyke at least served under Jim Leyland's staff in Detroit for three seasons, but to think he's ready to be a big league manager is a bit of a stretch.

I would feel differently if either guy had worked his way through the minors as a manager the way the Cubs Ryne Sandberg has, or if either guy has spent significant time on successful big league staffs, but neither guy has.


Just because a guy has Pittsburgh ties doesn't mean he will be successful as a manager. Sure it could happen, but the Pirates shouldn't lay their future on a roll of the dice.

Hiring either guy won't mean a thing at the box office either. Thinking attendance will improve because they brought back a former Bucco to manage the team is also not smart. The only thing that will bring people to PNC park is wins. Plain and simple.

That's not saying having Pittsburgh ties is a bad thing. Garner and Ken Macha have them and both should be considered, although it looks like Macha won't be.

I've been wanting the Pirates to hire Garner for a couple of years now. They need a real baseball guy who has won before and at least shown the ability to handle a young team.

My top three candidates are still be Eric Wedge, Freddie Gonzalez, and Garner.

With the Pirates bad ownership and small payroll, it's also possible that these guys could fail as well, but with such a small window to hopefully succeed in, they have to give the job to a guy that's proven something as a big league manager.

The Pirates shouldn't even consider Walk or Van Slyke, no matter how much the casual fan want them to get the job. This is a bigger decision then most people realize. The Pirates haven't listened to the fans for over two decades. Let's hope they don't start now.

Pirates Extend Huntington and Russell- Pirates drop the ball twice in one week

The Pirates announced yesterday that they have agreed to contract extensions with both General Manager Neil Huntington and Manager John Russell.  The deals were actually agreed upon before the season began and only now announced, due to speculation on the job status of both men.

The Pirates dropped the ball on this the same way they dropped it on the Pedro Alvarez promotion. As I've noted here before, the Pirates should have taken advantage of Alvarez's arrival to fill the ballpark the last two days, but no, not the Pirates.  They prefer to play to a half empty ballpark and then afterwards complain about the attendance.  They should have taken note from the way the Nationals handled Stephen Strasburg's arrival and should have been able to generate extra revenue from it.

Now, onto today's issue.  First, Huntington.  I don't have a problem with this one bit.  In my opinion, he's done an above average job of bringing in talent to the organization.  he should be able to see this through for the next couple of seasons.  It's not his fault that Dave Littlefield left the cupboard bare for him.  Look at the entire organization now and before Huntington arrived.  The Pirates as a whole are in much better shape now.  Having said that, within the next calender year, the results are going to have to start coming.

As for Russell, here is where the Pirates dropped the ball.  They should have announced his extension when it happened.  Why hide it?  Are they that much concerned with the public backlash by extending Russell?  All of the deception actually makes me wonder if indeed he did receive an extension, but for now I will take it at face value.

Again, a case of the Pirates front office dropping the ball.  They come out of this once again looking like an incompetent organization.  Why extend him in the first place though?  I buy into the thought of not wanting a lame duck manager, but that's why you announce it before the season.

Only the Pirates front office would extend Russell in the midst of an 11-game losing streak.  The timing is even more peculiar than actually giving him the extension.  Now that the rumors have heated up concerning Russell's job status, giving him an extension in the middle of the season definitely means he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

You don't want these young players playing for him.  I still say make the move now and really go after a Phil garner or Willie Randolph.  I'd even settle for Eric Wedge or Jose Oquendo who were rumored.  Either way, the team will not improve and become competitive under Russell and the Pirates once again dropped the ball, looking foolish in the process.