Huntington deserves credit for pitching depth
It became very fashionable when the Pirates were suffering a second consecutive late-season collapse last September to call for Neal Huntington’s head.
The critics said the general manager didn’t construct a deep enough roster to keep the Pirates competitive for six months. Those who wanted him fired also felt he did not do enough at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline to help the Pirates’ playoff chances.
The naysayers had a valid point about the Pirates’ depth. However, the criticism of Huntington’s trade deadline work wasn’t fair as he did acquire left-hander Wandy Rodriguez and ownership was never going to let him take on a second player with a big contract likes outfielders Shin-Soo Choo or Hunter Pence.
However, it is hard to knock Huntington on the depth issue this season. The Pirates have already used 11 starting pitchers in 2013 after using 10 all of last season.
“It’s like I said in the spring, eleven strong,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, referring to the old Army slogan. “Little did we know that we’d have to pull in all 11 in the first half.”
The Pirates have not only survived myriad pitching injuries, but have thrived despite left-hander Jeff Locke being the last remaining member of the season-opening rotation. The Pirates were 42-29 going into Wednesday night’s game at Cincinnati, good for the fourth-best record in the major leagues, and their starters were fourth in the National League with a 3.48 ERA.
Rodriguez and right-handers A.J. Burnett and James McDonald are all on the disabled list, while right-hander Jonathan Sanchez was released May 8. Right-handers Jeanmar Gomez, Phil Irwin and Jeff Karstens are also on the DL.
Joining Locke, who was 6-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 14 starts going into Wednesday, in the new-look rotation is left-hander Francisco Liriano and right-handers Charlie Morton, Gerrit Cole and Brandon Cumpton. Cole made his major-league debut June 11 and Cumpton followed suit last Saturday.
Hurdle says Huntington deserves much of the credit for building such a deep pool of pitching.
“It’s tangible evidence of what Neal and his staff had been able to do before,” Hurdle said. “A lot of hard work for three years went unnoticed because there was no tangible evidence of success at the major-league level.”
The Pirates also believe they go deeper than 11 if the need arises for even more starters. Right-hander Stolmy Pimentel was just bumped up to Class AAA Indianapolis after going 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA in 13 starts with Cass AA Altoona and right-hander Jameson Taillon — considered the organization’s best prospect now that Cole has been promoted to the major leagues — is in the rotation at Altoona.
“They are banging the drums,” Hurdle said. “They’re coming.”
And it’s time to give Huntington some credit for that.