By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
As May gets ready to turn into June and the Pirates continue their annual free fall to inconsequential oblivion, team president Frank Coonelly has yet to pick up manager John Russell's contract option for 2011 or give an extension to general manager Neal Huntington, whose contract is up after the season. I haven't heard many howls of protest from the fan base. Not one, actually. But if I'm guessing, I would think the majority wouldn't mind seeing Russell go. I get that. His comatose personality doesn't exactly generate much hope that he will inspire the team to greatness, this season or ever.
I look at it a little differently, though.
I don't think Russell is the big problem.
It's Huntington.
Matt Slocum/AP
At 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA, Charlie Morton has symbolized the Pirates' shortcomings in the first two months of the season.
Certainly, if Russell is fired, he will be able to put much of the blame on Huntington. What Huntington is doing to his manager is almost criminal by insisting that second baseman Aki Iwamura stays in the lineup and first baseman Jeff Clement stays in the big leagues. He also insisted that pitcher Charlie Morton stayed in the rotation until he was placed -- conveniently, a cynic might suggest -- on the disabled list Friday with what the team described as "right shoulder fatigue."
Huntington's team-crippling actions are understandable from his point of view, I suppose. Iwamura, Clement and Morton are his guys, key players he acquired in trades. His fanny is on the line and he wants them to look good. But that doesn't change the fact he is killing the team.
And the Pirates have the nerve to preach about accountability?
Forget about accountability with the players involved.
How about a little accountability with Huntington?
Wouldn't you love to hear Huntington trying to explain to Pirates owner Bob Nutting why he's paying $4.85 million this season for Iwamura, who has the highest salary on the team? Huntington traded relief pitcher Jesse Chavez to get him during the offseason when the Tampa Bay Rays were on the verge of releasing him. Iwamura was hitting .170 through Friday, went a month between RBIs and has no range in the field, yet he is expected to keep his job for who knows how long.
Neil Walker -- not one of Huntington's guys, but a player drafted No. 1 in 2004 by previous general manager Dave Littlefield -- would be an upgrade at second base, but Huntington has said he will be used as a utility player.
I mean, why?
Clement was hitting .202 through Friday despite five hits in his past 14 at-bats. He came to the Pirates from Seattle last summer in the Jack Wilson trade, a deal in which Huntington also sent the Mariners $3.3 million to make sure Clement was included. Clement was given the first base job in spring training despite having little experience at the position and kept it far too long -- based on his production -- before Russell sent him to the bench to overhaul his batting approach with hitting coach Don Long.
Is it just me or shouldn't that overhaul have been done in the minor leagues?
Then, there's Morton, the primary acquisition in Huntington's Nate McLouth trade last June. He gave up two long home runs and four runs in the first inning of an 8-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds Thursday night, then three more runs in the second inning after a throwing error by third baseman Andy LaRoche, another Huntington trade pick-up who has been a disappointment at the plate and, this season, in the field. Morton's record is 1-9, his ERA 9.35. He should have been in the minors a month ago trying to figure out his game.
Sending a guy out doesn't mean the organization is giving up on him. Often, it helps save his career. Beyond that, why not give Brad Lincoln a chance and see what he can do? Oh, that's right. Lincoln was drafted No. 1 by Littlefield in '06.
At least Huntington agreed to put Morton on the disabled list and didn't force Russell to give him another start. Keeping Morton in the rotation isn't fair to Morton; the weight of the numbers he's lugging around could crush him. It also isn't fair to his teammates; they feel as if they're beaten before the game starts when he takes the mound.
Can you say demoralizing?
I imagine Russell can say it, but that's not his style. A lot of people think he has been a fool for playing Iwamura and Clement and starting Morton. I'm not among them. Russell is no fool. I believe he's doing what he has been told to do and trying to make the best of the poor-performing players he has been given. He's a good, loyal company man who appreciates being -- at least for now -- one of 30 big league managers, even if it's with a ghastly franchise.
That's why Russell will never speak the truth about this Pirates issue. So I'll say it for him here this morning. Huntington is sabotaging him, the team and the season.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author
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