[vincesanity82]

John Russell, let go by the Pirates as their third-base coach only two seasons ago, will succeed Jim Tracy as Pittsburgh's manager, a source with knowledge of the hiring told The Associated Press on Saturday night.
Russell, who lost his previous job in Pittsburgh following former Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon's firing in September 2005, will be introduced at a news conference Monday. He managed the Phillies' Triple-A team the last two seasons.
Russell's hiring is the first major move by new Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, who took over with 10 days left in the regular season. The Pirates spent nearly a month looking for Tracy's successor and had been the only remaining team in the majors without a manager following the Dodgers hiring of Joe Torre.

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[EmpireWF]

So, what kind of manager is Russell? How was he as a third base coach?

[Lefty Noob]

What kind of coach is he? Not good.

As the Associated Press puts it, "Russell's hiring was a surprise because he was let go as a coach by the same team that, after only a few weeks under new leadership, now has decided he's a better fit to be their manager than he was to be a coach. Russell was the Pirates' third-base coach and catching instructor from 2003-05... At the time, Russell was unpopular among some Pirates fans because of the frequency of runners he waved home that were thrown out at the plate."

It's a terrible choice. I am immensely dissapointed that this guy is going to be the new manager.

[ThePundit]

When I saw the headline, I thought it was Bill Russell.....Why didn't the Pirates go after a guy with a winning pedigree, like Lee Mazzilli? He would have been a perfect choice. Are there any old wininng Pirates that are interested in the job like Dave Parker?

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

When I saw the headline, I thought it was Bill Russell.....Why didn't the Pirates go after a guy with a winning pedigree, like Lee Mazzilli? He would have been a perfect choice. Are there any old wininng Pirates that are interested in the job like Dave Parker?

I don't know. Up until this, Russell's name hadn't even come up - it was either gonna be Joey Cora, or the Red Sox pitching coach. Heck, I would've even favored bringing up a successful minor league manager ala Eric Wedge than this. Terrible, terrible hiring.

[Lefty Noob]

Well, it's official - they hired Russel. Um, hooray?