Neal H. speaks
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:47 pm
527F72636475622221100 wrote: Neal has taken alot of heat over the years, but I respect him for taking the blame for how his season has gone. Bottom line we all know that he has an owner who gives him a very limited budget each year. Bob Nutting wants to run this team on a shoestring, and there is no way you can compete under those restrictions. Changes to this team should be made, because they are fundamentally weak. Hopefully some trades are made this week which will bring in some prospects that will upgrade of system. I think at seasons end, or if not sooner ownership should evaluate whether they want to continue to have Clint Hurdle lead this team, and Ray Searage remain pitching coach. I think a younger manager , and pitching coach should lead this team. Hurdle and Searage will always be remembered for leading this team from the years of losing, but for the good of the organization changes should be made.
I have a very different take on Neal, my respect has totally disappeared. I think he lacks integrity. He talks about being competitive but is willing to work for an owner that sets conditions were NH can't produce what he says he wants to do. He should resign or take a job elsewhere rather than continuing to attempt to lead Pirate fans into thinking he can produce a good team (and do it repeatedly with no window needed.
I don't see this. There are only 30 MLB GM jobs in baseball. It's not like NH can just go to a place has has unlimited funds (there are only a couple of those in baseball). Every GM has to be able to build a team (and whole organization) within a certain financial boundary. The Pirates are particularly limited because of ownership. You say that, because of those financial limitations, he can't do what he wants to do. I'd posit that almost every other GM feels the same way.
To give NH some credit, he actually did it for a 3-5 year window. Then he has kept them pretty competitive over the following years on a laughable budget. He absolutely has some flaws (drafting, development, etc.) but with such limited funds, his margin for error is pretty much non existent. Again, to his credit, he has been willing to acknowledge his mistakes along the way. The above quotes are not the first of their kind.
IMO, this is a new moment for NH. He has been able to play the "we are just a few games out" at every trade deadline. He has been able to waffle on the line of adding a little and letting go of some small pieces. Last year, he went pretty big getting Archer (a move which most of Pittsburgh and MLB applauded). This is a different moment altogether. They are not competitive at the moment. And there is reason to be suspicious for the next year or two. I think he needs to make major trades. Vazquez for sure. Maybe Marte. They need to restock AA and AAA. Minor moves, IMO, will not suffice at this moment.
I would disagree with the bolded comment. After 2015 they dropped from 98 wins to 78 in 2016 and fell further to only 75 wins in 2017. Last year they were still under .500 as of September 15 and only a strong final 2 weeks allowed them to finish over .500. I think the only reason we could find them competitive with such weak records is because the 2 WC team format allows essentially all teams to consider themselves in the hunt even when they are below .500, countless games behind the division leader and with numerous teams ahead of them for the 2nd WC spot. Even the Mets right now at 50-55 can point to being only 6 games out of the 2nd WC spot (of course they'd have to leap frog over 5 other teams to get there). This is what MLB wanted: to keep fans of all teams feeling they have a shot. The format works in that regard but I don't think GMs of losing teams should be credited with making them competitive after a format change practically ensured that they would be.
I agree with what you wrote. The WC dynamic makes most teams still feel as if they were in the race until late. There also have been many teams who weren't competitive in these last few years. There was an era about 20 years where the Pirates weren't competitive and wouldn't have been even with 2 WC spots. NH definitely changed the tides around here. The question is, can he continue to adapt and be at the head of his field right now. The Pirates have to have a top flight GM if they are going to win with their low budget.
I know many have already written him off. As I argued above, this moment for the Pirates is unlike any other for NH. I want to see what he does in the next 2-3 day.
I have a very different take on Neal, my respect has totally disappeared. I think he lacks integrity. He talks about being competitive but is willing to work for an owner that sets conditions were NH can't produce what he says he wants to do. He should resign or take a job elsewhere rather than continuing to attempt to lead Pirate fans into thinking he can produce a good team (and do it repeatedly with no window needed.
I don't see this. There are only 30 MLB GM jobs in baseball. It's not like NH can just go to a place has has unlimited funds (there are only a couple of those in baseball). Every GM has to be able to build a team (and whole organization) within a certain financial boundary. The Pirates are particularly limited because of ownership. You say that, because of those financial limitations, he can't do what he wants to do. I'd posit that almost every other GM feels the same way.
To give NH some credit, he actually did it for a 3-5 year window. Then he has kept them pretty competitive over the following years on a laughable budget. He absolutely has some flaws (drafting, development, etc.) but with such limited funds, his margin for error is pretty much non existent. Again, to his credit, he has been willing to acknowledge his mistakes along the way. The above quotes are not the first of their kind.
IMO, this is a new moment for NH. He has been able to play the "we are just a few games out" at every trade deadline. He has been able to waffle on the line of adding a little and letting go of some small pieces. Last year, he went pretty big getting Archer (a move which most of Pittsburgh and MLB applauded). This is a different moment altogether. They are not competitive at the moment. And there is reason to be suspicious for the next year or two. I think he needs to make major trades. Vazquez for sure. Maybe Marte. They need to restock AA and AAA. Minor moves, IMO, will not suffice at this moment.
I would disagree with the bolded comment. After 2015 they dropped from 98 wins to 78 in 2016 and fell further to only 75 wins in 2017. Last year they were still under .500 as of September 15 and only a strong final 2 weeks allowed them to finish over .500. I think the only reason we could find them competitive with such weak records is because the 2 WC team format allows essentially all teams to consider themselves in the hunt even when they are below .500, countless games behind the division leader and with numerous teams ahead of them for the 2nd WC spot. Even the Mets right now at 50-55 can point to being only 6 games out of the 2nd WC spot (of course they'd have to leap frog over 5 other teams to get there). This is what MLB wanted: to keep fans of all teams feeling they have a shot. The format works in that regard but I don't think GMs of losing teams should be credited with making them competitive after a format change practically ensured that they would be.
I agree with what you wrote. The WC dynamic makes most teams still feel as if they were in the race until late. There also have been many teams who weren't competitive in these last few years. There was an era about 20 years where the Pirates weren't competitive and wouldn't have been even with 2 WC spots. NH definitely changed the tides around here. The question is, can he continue to adapt and be at the head of his field right now. The Pirates have to have a top flight GM if they are going to win with their low budget.
I know many have already written him off. As I argued above, this moment for the Pirates is unlike any other for NH. I want to see what he does in the next 2-3 day.