FanHouse FrankCoonelly

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For the better part of the last decade, the Pittsburgh Pirates aimlessly wandered through the wilderness of baseball with Kevin McClatchy and Dave Littlefield at the helm. Finally, they lost their jobs and Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington took over. For more than a year, the new front office has been working on digging out of the hole dug by Littlefield during his reign of terror. There's only one real problem: The hole dug by Littlefield was so deep that it's going to take more than a year to dig out of it.

Despite wrapping up their 15th straight losing season, the Pirates still have a handful of intriguing players that other teams might be interested. As far as COO Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington are concerned, those teams can have 'em -- or at least that's what they seem to be saying when you read between the lines.

Coonelly described his plans for next year as one for "rebuilding" the roster and "reallocating" assets to focus on developing minor league talent. What does that actually entail? Most likely, trading some of the team's more expensive players for cheap prospects, which means a guy like Jason Bay might be on the move. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"I expect there to be a shakeup," he said yesterday. "Simple mathematics will tell you it's not just going to be a non-roster invitee getting moved here or there. It's going to be something that makes a difference in payroll, and I certainly could fall into that category. If it happens, so be it."

Bay was asked if he would prefer to stay.

"Yeah, I've said all along that I'd love to be here when it turns around. It's one thing to just go somewhere to a winner, but it's something else if you do it like the Detroit Tigers did and get to enjoy it."

Bay's numbers were down across the board this year, but he's still an extremely talented corner outfielder that just about any team would love to have. And while he may be expensive by Pittsburgh's standards, his salary (he made $3.5 million this year) is still quite modest by big league standards. As much as it sucks to see any team sell off talented players in their prime for prospects, if done correctly it can be a very effective way to ensure long-term success. Now here's to hoping Coonelly and Huntington have a better eye for talent than the previous regime.

Last week, reports started circulating that the Pirates had hired Neal Huntington to be their new general manager. Before the words "Neal who?" were even out of our mouths, the team disputed the news, saying the search was anything but over. Today, not surprisingly, we find out the initial news was in fact correct: Pirates COO Frank Coonelly announced to the fans on the team's official site that Huntington has in fact taken the job:

After a comprehensive search for a baseball executive who can restore the culture of success within the Pirates organization, Neal is absolutely the right choice to lead our baseball operations department and to build a winning organization of which all Pirates fans can be proud.

As you get to know Neal and hear from him personally, you will see that he is extremely intelligent, analytical and driven to succeed. Neal is highly regarded throughout the game as an outstanding evaluator of talent and as one of the young executives who understands and utilizes the most sophisticated statistical and analytical tools of the trade.

Coonelly goes on to cite Huntington's track-record with the Indians, crediting him with the decisions to draft C.C. Sabathia and signed Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta, as well as trading for Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner. It's awfully generous to credit Huntington for those moves simply because he happened to work in the front office at the time -- by that measure, should Huntington be held accountable for the Tribe giving up on Brandon Phillips too early or and trading Coco Crisp for Andy Marte? Either way, Pittsburgh has their man, for better or worse. If Huntington is a bit overwhelmed by the job, Baseball Prospectus lays out a plan for turning the franchise around.

Previously on FanHouse:
What, Exactly, Are the Pirates Doing?
Pirates Denying GM Reports
Report: Pirates Pick Neal Huntington to Be GM

Hooray, we all said: the Pirates found a GM! And a seemingly smart, unconventionally thinking one, to boot, just what the Pirates need to compete with a tiny payroll and history of crippling trades. Neal Huntington: Woo!

Not so fast. The Pirates are denying that new COO Frank Coonelly hired Huntington, and are apparently still considering candidates:

"It is too early to comment on possible candidates for our general manager position," Coonelly said. "We have had numerous interviews with multiple candidates, all of which would make for an excellent choice.

"As I have stated in the past, this is an extremely critical hire. It is important that we find the right person for the general manager position who can move our baseball operations forward."

To be honest, I'm not sure if that person is Neal Huntington or not. I know very little about Huntington because he has no track record of running a front office, merely experience as an assistant GM and special assistant to Indians GM Mark Shapiro. The Indians run a successful operation (seriously, how quietly good are the Indians this year?) and one could reasonably surmise that Huntington has been a large part of that success ... but you never really know.

So kudos to the Pirates for waiting and trying to find the right guy. Huntington looks like a great choice, but it can't hurt to shop around a bit. And as long as Dave Littlefield doesn't come walking back through that door, by default, the Pirates front office will improve. That's got to be a good feeling.
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After settling on Frank Coonelly to be the new COO last week, the Pirates appear to be on the verge of announcing a new general manager: Neal Huntington, currently a special assistant to Indians GM Mark Shapiro.

Huntington's name is a bit of a surprise, even among those who have been closely following the search. The Pirates have been tight-lipped about the entire process, but no one even knew Huntington was in the running until the Beaver County Times reported as much this afternoon:

Huntington is considered one of the bright young minds in the game but there had been no inkling before Thursday that he was even under consideration to join the Pirates as a replacement for Dave Littlefield, who was fired Sept. 7 after a little more than six years as GM.

The Pirates have declined comment throughout the process and have also forbidden any candidates from speaking with the media.

An official announcement is expected to come during a press conference on Monday. Huntington, 37, got his start in baseball working with the Expos in 1995 but has spent the last 12 years working with the Indians. He's considered part of the "new guard" of baseball executives, the under-40 crowd who a generation ago might have been an accountant or a college professor instead of someone calling the shots for an MLB team. Will he be successful like Theo Epstein or have a short-lived career like Tim Purpura? Time will tell.
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