Dead End Job

The Pirates are reportedly looking into whether or not they should fire manager John Russell. The team is 23-41, worst in the National League, and they are riding a 9-game losing streak. They are also a shoe-in for their record 18th consecutive losing season.
Why fire Russell now? If the Pirates un-organization had half a brain, they would fire him at the end of the season and have a new, destined-to-fail manager start fresh come spring training.
You can't blame Russell. Is he a good manager? Who knows? It's like taking a carpenter and asking him to build some furniture but then giving him only a hammer and a few nails to do the job. He'll probably try but he doesn't have the tools to do the job effectively. That's the Pirates for you.
Last year, I was sitting in the Rockies dugout at Coors Field chatting with former-Bucs manager Jim Tracy. I asked him what is the problem in Pittsburgh for this once-proud franchise. Tracy simply rubbed his thumb against his fingers, implying that money was the problem.
The Pirates are cheap, incompetent and completely inept. They blame everything and everyone except themselves.
They claimed they needed a new ballpark to compete. The got a new park, beautiful PNC Park, yet they still stink. They blame being a small market team. Well, other small market teams have been successful because they have a plan and are forced to work smart. The other teams draft well, the Pirates don't.
Now, if they fire Russell, they'll be blaming another manager. Guess what, it's not his fault. Pirates managers have no chance to succeed.