By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pat Sullivan/Associated Press
John Russell, who will be introduced as the Pirates' manager today, spent three years as a coach with the team.
John Russell was the only one of the five interviewed candidates for the Pirates' manager's job who did not have a tie to general manager Neal Huntington.
But Russell ended up being the one who got the job.
"That says something about Neal," said Mike Arbuckle, Philadelphia's assistant general manager for scouting and player development. "In baseball [hiring], we all tend to lean toward those people we're comfortable with."
It also says something about Russell, 46, who coaxed 55 wins out of a terrible Ottawa Lynx team -- the Phillies' Class AAA affiliate in the International League -- and wound up becoming a big-league manager for the first time.
"I would say our process has concluded and we're excited to name the next manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates at a press conference [this] morning," Huntington said.
Russell, interviewed by Huntington around the middle of last week, is a name Huntington had on a list of people who made solid impressions on him during his career.
It didn't hurt Russell's chances that when Huntington, formerly a special assistant with Cleveland, did some scouting of the Ottawa team in August, Russell's club still showed energy and took infield before games.
Arbuckle also noted that when he watched Ottawa in August.
"We knew going into last season that our strength in the minor leagues was going to be from [high Class A] down," Arbuckle said, "and that our weakest team was going to be at [Class AAA] -- and it certainly was.
"But when I was there in August, John still had his team getting after it and competing with nothing to play for. You've got to be a pretty good manager to get a team to do that. John did a great job with a team that was extremely thin talent-wise."
The Lynx finished 55-88, the 55 victories being the lowest in the International League. They were last in the league in runs scored (553), home runs (59) and team earned run average (4.77).
This was Philadelphia's final season linked to the Lynx. The Phillies' AAA team in 2008 will be Lehigh Valley, which Russell would have managed.
Arbuckle isn't surprised Russell won't be managing Lehigh Valley but will be managing the Pirates instead.
"I felt personally he would manage at the big-league level," Arbuckle said. "And with him having been there as a coach and what they're trying to do in Pittsburgh, all the pieces fit real well. I can't say enough about John Russell. This is the kind of guy who has a chance to make them better."
Russell, a former major-league catcher with Philadelphia, Atlanta and Texas, ended his playing career in 1993.
He successfully managed for eight seasons in the Minnesota minor-league system before being picked by then-general manager Dave Littlefield to join the Pirates' major-league coaching staff as third-base coach after the 2002 season.
Lloyd McClendon was the Pirates' manager then.
McClendon yesterday declined to comment on Russell.
During his three years as a Pirates coach, Russell also was the team's catching instructor, working closely with Jason Kendall. Perhaps he'll do the same now with Ronny Paulino, the Pirates' defensively challenged catcher.
McClendon was fired late in the 2005 season, and his coaches were let go after that season.
Russell joined the Phillies organization and was named International League manager of the year in 2006.
Russell won the Pirates' manager's job over Chicago White Sox bench coach Joey Cora, Cleveland third-base coach Joel Skinner, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Dave Jauss and Class AAA Indianapolis manager Trent Jewett.
"I wish him luck going forward," Jewett said. "I care a lot about a lot of people there and hope they have success."
First published on November 5, 2007 at 12:00 am
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