Pittsburgh looking to follow... The Giants Way

[Upton]

THE GIANTS WAY: The Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992, and manager John Russell suggested to Pittsburgh writers that a good model to follow if they want to win again is the Giants, particularly their development of young pitching.

"It all starts on the mound," Russell said. "When you have the kind of pitching they have, they've got a great chance to win because those are dominant pitchers. You'll see a lot of times where the teams with the great offenses win, but they don't win when it gets right down to it. You win when you pitch and catch the ball. What San Francisco's done is a tribute to that."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/17/SP5I18QTB0.DTL&feed=rss.giants#ixzz0LcYHX9Gw

In all seriousness the Giants model would be an excellent one for the Pirates to follow..the problem is, you can't do that when you keep trading away your young stars. If Pittsburgh had Lincecum or Cain you can be sure they would be looking to cash in on their success by getting rid of them to the highest bidder. That is not the way to run a major league team.

[madinmaryland]

1. That is the model that any small/mid market team follows. It's been that

way for at least the last 30 years. For any team to succeed, they need to have a strong farm system and find a way to hold onto their young stars. Whether the Pirates management actually follows this model is yet to be seen.

It's a model the Giants have appeared to follow since they ended their romance with the Steroid Era.

[Upton]

2. The 'Giants Way'

is a term coined by Bill Keukom, the new (since 2008) Giants' managing general partner...it involves doing things a certain way from the minor league level on up, and so far it's paying dividends.

As for your Pirates, how can you say it has "yet to be seen" whether the Pirates will hold on to their young stars? Do you really have any doubts? Haven't they already made several trades this season that have upset the team?

The Pirates Way appears to consist of... as soon as a young player blossoms, put him on the open market.

[madinmaryland]

3. Your so-called "Giants Way" a term coined by a Giant's owner also

happens to be a standard way of building a club from scratch. Call it what you want, it has been used successfully over the past 30+ years. To call it the "Giants Way" is disingenuous at best. There are twenty or so other MLB teams that it could be named after.

[Upton]

4. The Giants Way

will be, indeed is already proving to be, successful. The model for success outlined in the Giants Way, while encompassing some basic rules for building a major league club, is still specific to the Giants organization itself. Therefore, there is nothing "disingenuous" about referring to it in such a way, a "Giants Way", which sets it apart from the ordinary run of the mill teams.

One more point, the fact that the Pirates manager admires the Giants organization must irk you no end. That much is already clear.

[madinmaryland]

6. What is ironic, is that there have been at least 25 other team PRIOR to

your ginats' gm claiming it to be his own, who had already used that stategery!

Douche!

[Onceuponalife]

8. The "Giants Way"

is to recycle old ideas. OK I get it now. The Giants Way is to not get a world championship which they have recycled successfully for 55 years.

[Upton]

10. This coming from a fan

who supports the Dodgers* way....which can literally be defined as cheating, plain and simple.

Keep on cheering for Manny....you're nothing but a hypocrite.

[madinmaryland]

12. Coming from a GiNat's fan that's pretty funny, considering your team

attached itself to the steroid era for years!

CHEATER!

[madinmaryland]

11. It's the "ginat's way" according to the Frisco Kids!

[ProfessorGAC]

7. You Mean Like Billy Bean, Across The Bay?

Yeah, that's what i thought.
GAC

[Upton]

9. Actually I think it's smart of Keukom

to incorporate certain aspects of Beane's "Moneyball" philosophy into his vision of the Giants Way. Oakland has had one of the most successful farm systems, particularly when it comes to pitching, in MLB...

The Giants though, unlike the A's, have the budget to keep the players they develop.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. You Clearly Missed The Point

The "Giant Way" isn't the Giant way. The guy across the bay is doing the exact same thing, with a lesser budget. So, the Giants are doing things the "Oakland" way, but with more money.
GAC

[Forkboy]

5. The "Giants Way" is the way good teams have been doing it for years.

About time your sad sack organization figured it out.