Pirates Hire Russell as Manager… Yawn
By Moose
9 Nov 2007 3:52 pm
Well this is a Pittsburgh sports blog so I started feeling bad about not posting this. The Pittsburgh Pirates hired former third base coach they once fired and perennial AAA losing manager John Russell to replace Jim Tracy. Here are some quotes from Russell.
"I think we have a great core of players right now," Russell said. "We have the pieces to win now. It's just a matter of getting the passion, the accountability, the attention to detail. That's what works. My role and the staff's role is going to be huge and we're going to be diligent, but I like what we have."
Translation... The brain-trust of Coonelly, Huntington, and Nutting have told Russell he's screwed with what he's got. So don't ask for anything more.
"I know the system we have will work," said the 46-year-old Russell, known in the minors for getting the most from his teams. "There are a lot of areas in which we can improve, but we have the pieces here to win games. And we're here to win." Yadda, yadda, Yadda.
As for his previous firing by the Pirates, he said: "Two years ago was two years ago. It's a different time. What happened back then was back then."
Meaning no one else wanted the job.
Russell promises no team in the majors will work harder than his, and everyone in uniform will be accountable on a daily basis, from the manager on down. The idea is to stretch the Pirates' arguably thin talent to the maximum and squeeze out victories any way possible.
I see a new slogan, maybe they can license that Kanye West song, Bigger, Faster Stronger... "We Will Work Harder?????"
As you can see just another load of crap from the Pirates front office.
Thanks'
Felix Krynicky
Tags: frank coonelly, jim tracy, john russell, MLB, Moose, neil huntington, ogden nutting, Pirates
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