Shelton doesn't place sole blame on Haines, says it's 'a collective thing'

When the Steelers offense was abysmal last season, the chants got louder and louder for the organization to fire coordinator Matt Canada.

An MLB hitting coach isn't put under the microscope they way an NFL offensive or defensive coordinator is when a team isn't doing well, but the job Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines has been heavily criticized by many, going back to last season.

Speaking on his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday, Pirates Manager Derek Shelton said he knows how Haines feels, being a former hitting coach himself.

Shelton didn't praise or criticize his hitting coach, instead saying the team needs to be better as a whole.

"I think the first thing is, this is a collective thing," said Shelton.

"It's a chair people like to criticize," Shelton added, talking about the hitting coach. "I don't think casting the blame on one person is fair."

Shelton says that he believes the hitters will start to come around and that it's only a month into the season. The reason there is such a microscope on the Pirates offense at this point, is because no one in the lineup is "we do not have a lot of guys that are hot."

Shelton was asked about the lack of progress from his younger hitters.

"Hitting in the Big Leagues is hard and everybody things that, young players, when they come to the big leagues they're automatically going to be like okay, I got this."

Joe Starkey said that the firing the hitting coach won't fix all the Pirates' offensive problems, but it's at least a start.