Fascinating look at how advanced defensive metrics are being put to use in Pittsburgh, in an article byPirates beat writer Travis Sawchik:
A week after last season ended, after the Pirates completed their second consecutive collapse, general manager Neal Huntington met manager Clint Hurdle at his Hampton home.
With little money to spend on free agents, few impact prospects ready for 2013 and many outside the organization calling for a regime change, Huntington and Hurdle discussed how to get more production from their returning roster.
The meeting led to the success behind the Pirates’ first winning season since 1992: an agreement to adopt perhaps the most aggressive, systematic approach to run prevention — from alignment to pitching strategy — in baseball history.