The Pittsburgh Pirates have been consistently pathetic in the last few years. With very few high spots in the last couple of years, their fanbase is tired of dealing with the misery of constant sucking. Starting with the least problematic person, a change in who leads the team is the first step. 

Clint Hurdle has been a good manager for many years, but he is losing his touch. There have been many times, especially this season, where Hurdle’s mismanagement of personnel has caused key losses. He has run out of pitchers in extra innings and has had to pinch hit pitchers who aren’t good hitters. Hurdle can’t even control his own players. In early September, pitchers Kyle Crick and Felipe Vasquez got into a physical altercation, injuring Crick’s hand and taking him out for the rest of the season. Though he needs to go, arguably the biggest problem with this franchise is the general manager, Neil Huntington.

 Huntington has made numerous dumb decisions during his tenure, most notably the Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole trades in January 2018. McCutchen was a great player and the face of the franchise, and Huntington just shipped him off for mediocre players, like Kyle Crick and Brian Reynolds. The Gerrit Cole trade may have been an even worse move. SInce being traded, Cole has been unbelievable, putting up career numbers, and the Pirates got nobodies, like Colin Moran and Joe Musgrove. Also, his laid back approach near the trade deadline, continuously not attempting to trade for better players, has caused the Pirates to miss the playoffs during the last few years. The lack of recent playoff appearances has caused the Pirates fanbase to be upset with management, more specifically Huntington. 

Some fans have said the problem with the Pirates is not the coaches or management, it’s ownership. Robert Nutting has shown that he does not care what the fans think: He only cares about the money. His approach of trying to solve the problems with his franchise have been pathetic. You can tell by the promotions and other aspects of the game experience that Nutting only cares about making his money, regardless of the success of his team or the happiness of the fans. If he sells the team, the Pirates have a chance to reset and enter a new era. 

The current management, coaches, and ownership have lost their touch and are killing a once great organization. This city needs a baseball team that can compete for a World Series, not a team that is always at the bottom of their division. The regime in charge of the Pirates will never lead this team success, unless something changes inside themselves. A complete turnover of Pirates leadership would improve the success of the franchise and make this team great once again.