Time to give Huntingdon his due
Perhaps it’s finally time for skeptical Pirates fans like me to finally get off General Manager Neil Huntington’s back.
While the 46-year-old certainly didn’t give the team’s supporters much reason to trust him during the first few seasons after his hire in 2007, a third-straight trip to the postseason, a fully stocked farm system and the second-best record in all of baseball (95-62 as of Wednesday morning) is more than enough proof for him to have the confidence of the public.
As he has done throughout his tenure with the ball club, Huntington resisted the temptation of trading away prize prospects like first baseman Josh Bell and any of several highly-regarded pitching talents heading into July’s non-waiver trade deadline. Instead, he and his think tank looked for reasonably priced additions that could strengthen the bench and improve the bullpen.
The organization clearly did that and more.
After a slow start at the plate, veteran infielder Aramis Ramirez has made his final season in Major League Baseball one he can be proud of and one that has helped the Pirates in their current position near the top of the baseball world. He is hitting .250 over 52 games with the Buccos, has mashed six home runs and driven in 33 runs.
Ramirez’s presence on the roster has proven invaluable because of injuries to former All-Star Josh Harrison and rookie sensation Jung Ho Kang. Manager Clint Hurdle has also been able to experiment with Ramirez at first base during games in which Pedro Alvarez has been taken out of the lineup due to a lefty starter being on the mound.
Speaking of right-handed help at first base, Michael Morse has come in to the fold this season and quietly become one of the team’s most reliable reserves and pinch-hitters. He is 19-of-60 (.317 batting average) over 41 games played with a home run and six RBI. Morse has also shown good patience at the plate, resulting in nine walks that have helped bump his on-base percentage to .423.
Another bonus that comes with acquiring Ramirez and Morse is a reduction in relying on defensive specialist Sean Rodriguez as a righty bat off the bench.
The Pirates almost have an everyday system they use with their fielders that is very similar to how most team’s handle a bullpen. Step 1: Get a lead. Step 2: Get to the sixth/seventh inning with said lead. Step 3: Take out Alvarez, insert Rodriguez at first while using a talented right-handed bat to pinch-hit.
Speaking of the bullpen, and pitching in general, the Pirates added a trio of arms that have all made an impact on the second half of the season. Surprisingly, the biggest name of the three, former Detroit closer Joakim Soria, has had probably the smallest impact on the franchise.
While Soria has been effective for the most part as the team’s seventh-inning righty, veteran Joe Blanton and his flexibility as a guy who can start, go long innings out of the pen or come in to get his team out a jam., seems to have been the more valuable pickup. It’s very easy to miss the spectacular numbers (5-0, 1.76 ERA) he has put up since coming over from Kansas City.
However, the absolute biggest steal pulled off by Huntington was the acquisition of journeyman lefty starter J.A. Happ. After a team debut he would like to forget, Happ has rebounded to become the team’s No. 3 starter. He is 6-2 in 10 starts with a 2.04 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched.
Clearly, it takes dozens, maybe hundreds, of people to allow a season like the one Pittsburgh is enjoying to come to fruition. However, few deserve the amount of credit owed to Huntington and his staff. Not only are the Pirates one of the best teams in baseball in 2015, but with a third-straight postseason berth coming and plenty of highly-prized prospects waiting in the wings, don’t expect this recent run of success to end any time soon.