John Russell now at Bucs helm

Maybe Russell is the right hire. Maye his job last year keeping the Ottawa Lynx playing hard despite going 55-88 is a positive sign that he can manage. To me, it sounds a lot like what he'll be trying to do with the Bucs over the next few years: keeping a team that is clearly lacking the talent that others have playing hard even after their season has been decided. Sadly, after the players quitting on Lamont and Tracy, playing hard in August and September when they're 20+ games out of first is more than we've become accustomed to.

But that is obviously not the goal. The goal is to win. And the interesting, perplexing thing, is that there were candidates available to at least talk to who have won and who have ties to the Pirates and as Bob Smizik points out, weren't even in the conversation. Why not? Why not talk to Pena, Garner, Macha or Howe, all of whom have had success on the major league level in similar situations as the Bucs?!?!

And with an apparent renewed focus on re-establishing the Pirates tradition and identity, bringing back Chuck Tanner was the first step, why not think about Tony Pena, maybe the greatest catcher in Pirate history and a former manager of the year?

Why? Probably because Frank Coonelly is doing his job, which can be described as nothing more complicated than guarding the Nutting's bank accounts. And until that changes, having a team play hard in September is about all we can expect.