Fiery Terry Francona quote will further enrage Pirates fans over complacency

Terry Francona has officially come out of retirement and is once again an MLB manager. And if it wasn't already bad enough that the pride of Beaver County, Pa., isn't managing his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates, he's managing their division rivals just one state over.

Once word got around that Francona was considering coming out of his one-year retirement, the Cincinnati Reds jumped at the opportunity to bring a future Hall of Famer into the fold (honestly, who wouldn't?).

The Pirates, meanwhile, decided to stay on brand and commit to another year of Derek Shelton, the guy whose only contributions to Pittsburgh have been five straight losing seasons. Sounds about right.

Shelton has a managerial record of 294-414 (.415) over his five seasons with the Pirates. Francona, who will be in the opposing dugout for 13 of Pittsburgh's 162 games in 2025 – and yes, it will be precisely 162, because Shelton has already shown that he is not the guy to lead this team to the playoffs – is 1,950-1,672 (.538) in an illustrious managerial career that includes two World Series championships, three American League pennants and three AL Manager of the Year Awards.

Fiery Terry Francona quote will further enrage Pirates fans over complacency

As a National League Central Division rival, Pittsburgh will get a front-row seat to the Francona era of Cincinnati baseball. And from the sound of it, the Pirates will end up on the receiving end of some tough losses and some harsh truths.

"I think players like being coached," Francona said in his introductory press conference Monday. "I think they enjoy working hard. But you have got to be organized, and we will be; we'll get after it ... What I think is enjoyable is playing the game right and, to be honest, trying to kick someone's ass."

Now, compare that to what Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said to reporters last week about Shelton:

"I believe he can help lead us toward winning in 2025."

Shelton (and Cherington, for that matter) have had five years to show that they are, in fact, capable of winning. But they simply haven't. Making a push to hire Francona could have changed that; but at this point, we can't even be surprised by the Pirates' complacency.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter