The 2012-13 off-season was pretty rough for Pirates fans. The team was coming off one of the worst second-half collapses in baseball history. That combined with anger over a Navy SEALs workout routine in the minors that seemed controversial at the time, but would probably seem somewhat normal in today's Crossfit era. There were people calling for Neal Huntington to be fired, and questions about whether the Pirates could ever win again.
That all carried over to the off-season, where the Pirates made some controversial moves. They added Russell Martin before the league had started to fully appreciate defensive value.