Nutting Echoes Hurdle and Coonelly, Announces A Change In Expectations

First Hurdle.  Then Coonelly.  Finally, today it was Bob Nutting who spoke to the staff and players of the 2011 Pirates behind closed doors prior to the day’s morning workout.

“The real message was a change in level of expectations,” the Pirates owner said.  “It is critically important that they understand, and we understand, that 2011 is not going to be a year where small bits of incremental progress are going to be adequate.”

Mr. Nutting doesn’t stop there:  “Until we win a National League championship, we are not going to be satisfied with incremental progress.  It is critically important they understand that right up front.”

While initially these comments are quite uplifting from a Pirates’ fan standpoint, they also sound quite familiar to previous seasons.  His address to players certainly wasn’t out of his normal mode of operation in spring training, as for the past few seasons he has addressed players and staff early in camp.

Again, these comments about expectations are inspiring, and they would be VERY encouraging if we hadn’t heard them before, year after losing year.  Personally, I find it strange that the Pirates are coming off a season in which they won the fewest games in a year since 1952, yet their owner is speaking of a National League championship being the only outcome with which he will be satisfied.  That seems like quite an unreasonable expectation for improvement.

One comment that Mr. Nutting did make today that I felt was correct and appropriate was his response to the question of what happens if there isn’t progress this season:

“I think today is the first day I have addressed the group and we have our first spring training game coming up Saturday,” he said.  “It is not the right time to start speculating on ‘what if we fail?’ What we need to do is be focused on what the goal is, what the target is, and be committed to achieve it.”

Well done, sir.  It’s true, too.  The future of Neal Huntington and the questions surrounding his contract extension (or lack thereof) really shouldn’t be at the forefront of the media’s inquiries with less than a week before the club’s opening game of spring training.  But I guess that’s what happens when the team has lost so many games for so many years.  The focus is no longer on the field; it’s now in the offices and behind the desks.

Of course, there’s always that one media representative to ask about the fans and the criticism they have openly remarked towards the team and the management.  Mr. Nutting, of course, responded professionally and courteously:

“I absolutely listen to it (criticism), it makes a huge difference.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for and appreciation for the fans, that’s the reason the franchise exists.  That’s one of the reasons Pittsburgh is such a tremendous baseball town and sports town.  We owe our fans every opportunity to listen.”

If they put a good team that is well coached on the field on Opening Day 2011 and throughout the year, they’ll be hearing the fans cheering all across the North Shore.

What do you think of Bob Nutting’s comments?  Write to us at fansfromthestands@yahoo.com and let us know what you think! 

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

***Special Thanks To Colin Dunlap Of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette For Contributions To This Article***

Hurdle Speaks To Players About Expectations

On Saturday morning, minutes before holding his first official full-squad workout, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle delivered a motivating speech to his players, addressing his expectations for the upcoming season.

In summary, Hurdle spoke to his team about on-field improvement as well as trust. 

“There will be a group of men that turns this thing around here.  It will happen.  So why can’t we?  Why can’t we be the start?  We need to set our bar at the championship level, staring with the execution and a mindset.  We’ve got to think that way.  We’ve got to act that way.”

For the full story, check out the article at the Pirates Official Website:

Hurdle to team: This is the year to turn it around

 

So what should we, the fans, take away from comments like this?  First of all, it is always inspiring and uplifting to hear comments like these from Pirates’ management, especially considering the fact they are coming off one of the worst seasons in club history (57-105).  Pirates’ president Frank Coonelly shared the same enthusiasm as Hurdle, with expectations at an all-time high, considering the circumstances.

 

“I expect to see us compete,” Coonelly said.  “We’re all about doing.  As Clint said to the guys in there today, trying hard isn’t good enough.  This is a doing league and it’s time for us to start doing.”

 

Well first of all, both Hurdle and Coonelly are correct.  It is time to turn things around.  With talents like Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez, to name a couple, it seems as though the stage is set for the team’s situation to change. 

 

However, if we look a little closer at these comments, it seems a bit confusing to the fans. Hurdle speaks to championship level expectations, while Coonelly is content with competing.  The casual baseball fan, oblivious to the reality of the Pirates’ situation, would set the bar high, at a championship level.  But to the majority of Pirates’ fans, those of us who have endured one disappointing season after another, we know this isn’t going to get turned around overnight.  We realize that change will occur over a series of steps, and the first is being able to compete on a daily basis.  The Pirates haven’t been able to do that for quite some time, but again, with the talent that is present in the locker room in 2011, this appears to be an achievable goal.  With better coaching and some motivation, this team can bring respect back to Pittsburgh baseball.

 

On the contrary, we can’t ignore the fact that we, as fans, have heard these uplifting comments before.  Yes, before Hurdle, we were told that the days of consistently losing were soon by the likes of former managers, Jim Tracey, Gene Lamont, and John Russell.  That being said, it’s not fair to criticize Hurdle because his predecessors weren’t able to live up to their comments.  As we are now exactly one week away from the Bucs’ first spring training game of 2011, all we can do is hope that the players believe in the comments of their manager and president as much as the fans wants to believe it. 

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Bradenton Welcomes Buccos With Sunny Skies

Credit: Jason Bartolone

The Buccos arrived in Bradenton, Florida earlier this week to beautiful sunny skies with temperatures in the low 70's.  Our friends at The Patch in Bradenton were in Pirate City and have been covering the Buccos' Spring Training experience thus far.

While pitchers and catchers were the only "required" to report at the beginning of the week, all of the Bucco top names, including Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata were in Bradenton when Spring Training began.

Take a look at the link below for all the coverage from Bradenton.

Bradenton Patch

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!

Bucco Blast From The Past!

Each week, we at Fans From The Stands will be recognizing a Pirate, former or current, at random, acknowledging his accomplishments while also giving us Bucco fans a blast from the past and a trip down memory lane.

For the inaugural Bucco Blast From The Past segment, we recognize Jay Bell.  Bell played in the Major Leagues from 1986-2003, which included a seven year stint with the Pirates.  He won a Gold Glove Award in 1993, snapping Ozzie Smith’s streak of 13 straight awards.  Additionally, it was the first Gold Glove by a Pirate shortstop since 1966-67, when Gene Alley won the award in back-to-back seasons.

Jay began his MLB career with the Cleveland Indians from 1986-1988, and following his run with our Buccos, he jumped from the Kansas City Royals (1997) to the Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2002) to the New York Mets (2003).  Throughout his career, he maintained the reputation as one of the top shortstops in the game, due to his high baseball IQ and phenomenal anticipation on both the offensive and defensive ends.

While he initially entered the league as a singles and doubles hitter, Bell added diversity to his offense, becoming a superb bunter while also showcasing his power by hammering over 20 homeruns in two consecutive seasons (1997-98).  He was a career .265 hitter, totaling 195 homeruns, 868 RBIs, 1123 runs scored, and 91 stolen bases.  In addition to being awarded the Gold Glove in 1993, he was also selected to the All-Star Game that same year as well as in 1999.

Currently, Bell serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization devoted to helping former players through financial and medical difficulties.  While he was a member of five different teams throughout his productive career, we all consider Jay Bell a Pittsburgh Pirate, now and forever.

Be sure to check back for our weekly recognition of a former or current Pirate in our Bucco Blast From The Past!

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

The Wait Is Over: Spring Training 2011 Is Here!

For all those Pittsburgh fans out there who are still heartbroken over the Steelers' Super Bowl loss and are discouraged by the injuries to the Penguins' Crosby and Malkin, our very own Buccos officially kick off Spring Training tomorrow when pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, Florida.

For those Pirates' fans who are making the trip down to Bradenton to get the first glimpse of the 2011 Pirates, Jason Bartolone, the editor of The Bradenton Patch created a Fan's Guide to Pirates' Spring Training.  Take a look.

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!

ESPN's Jayson Stark Provides More Bulletin Board Material For Buccos As They Enter Spring Training

In a recent column posted yesterday, ESPN’s Jayson Stark revealed his lack of interest, and apparently his lack of knowledge, in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization.  In the category listed as “Least Recognizable Team,” here is what Mr. Stark had to say about our beloved Buccos:

“I might as well retire this category. What's the point? The Pirates seem to win it every year, anyway. Here's how I know exactly how faceless this team is: I cover baseball for a living. I kept a daily log book on every team's transactions all winter. And even I couldn't correctly identify the Pirates' entire prospective Opening Day lineup this week. So there's no telling how much money you could win if you walked into any tavern not located in the 412 area code and challenged your buddies to do it -- even if you gave them Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez free of charge. It's not a good sign when more Americans can name the lineup of the 1979 Pirates than the 2011 Pirates. But I'm betting that if I commissioned a Gallup poll, that's exactly how it would turn out.”

First of all, I am personally amazed that Mr. Stark is willing to admit that he isn’t able to do his job.  As he describes above, he covers baseball for a living.  How is he not able to identify the Pirates’ roster?  Above anything else, the answer to this question is that he’s not interested in what the Pirates are doing in the offseason.  At numerous times throughout his recent columns, he has drawn comparisons between the Red Sox and Yankees to clubs like the Pirates.  It doesn’t take an ESPN “expert” to realize that these organizations are in completely different situations, both on and off the field.

Furthermore, he mentions that other than Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez, the rest of the lineup is unrecognizable.  This team lost 105 games last year and hasn’t had a winning season in nearly two decades.  Given those facts, from a national standpoint, the lineup shouldn’t be the same as past years.  Clearly, changes need to be made, and they have been, little by little, year after year. 

I hope the Pirates’ management and players read these types of articles.  While most of the time, it is never recommended for players and coaches to pay attention to what they read/hear in the media, I don’t think this applies to the Pirates, given the current situation.  The bottom line is, people don’t recognize the Buccos because they’re not winning.  If the team is still in contention in the N.L. Central by June and July, this lineup will become much more recognizable, and not only the names of Alvarez and McCutchen. 

While articles like this are difficult to read, we can’t say they are totally underserved.  The only way to end these types of comments is to be competitive deep into the season and to make vast improvements from last year.  While the core group is there, it will take leadership from new manager Clint Hurdle as well as the veteran members of the club as well as considerate player improvement.  And it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Jayson Stark has his own section on the Pirates’ bulletin board on Opening Day.

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs! 

Former Pirates' Manager Chuck Tanner Dies at 82

Chuck Tanner, the last Pirates’ manager to lead the team to a World Series championship, passed away on Friday.  The celebrated Bucs’ skipper led the 1979 “We Are Family” club to a come-from-behind World Series victory, but, as everyone close to the game and close to Tanner himself remembers, he was one of baseball’s nicest guys.

Tanner died of a long illness in his hometown of New Castle, PA after spending time in hospice care.  He was 82 years old.  Management, players, and fans of the Pirates and Major League Baseball in general are grieving the loss of one of the game’s good guys, both on and off the field.

He was known for his never-wavering confidence and an inherent belief that no deficit was too large to overcome.  Tanner managed the White Sox, Athletics, Pirates, and Braves, finishing with a record of 1,352-1,381 from 1970-88, winning one division title while finishing in second place five times. 

Of course, the most famous story displaying his irrepressible faith occurred on the day of Game 5 of the World Series in 1979 with the Pirates trailing 3-1 in the series.  He woke that morning to learn that his mother had died in a nursing home in New Castle.  Tanner stuck with the team, made some difficult decisions surrounding the pitching rotation and lineup, and saw his team, led by Willie Stargell, sweep the final three games and clinch the series.

Media outlets, fan sites, and blogs from all across the country are mourning the death and celebrating the life of Chuck Tanner.  For reactions to his passing from players, managers, and more, check out the Pirates Offical Website. 

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!