Pirates pick up option on Russell

The Pittsburgh Pirates picked up manager John Russell's contract option for 2010 despite going 67-95 in his first season.

General manager Neal Huntington called the decision easy, although the club has been in spring training only a week.

"J.R. met or exceeded expectations in his first year as the Pirates manager," Huntington said Saturday. "His club worked hard to play the game properly and battled from the first out until the last. His leadership, knowledge, attention to detail, ability to see the big picture and passion for things being done the right way made him the ideal choice as our manager a year ago."

Good thing the Pirates goal was to win in 2008