Clint Hurdle had to know what a tough job he was taking when he agreed to manage the Pirates. They’d had 18 straight losing seasons and during that time six other managers had tried and failed to turn things around.
Hurdle probably thought he could do what the six before him couldn’t and if not at least he’d be earning around $1 million per year. What he likely didn’t count on was that the mainstream media in Pittsburgh might turn on him three weeks into the job.
Andrew McCutchen made the final out of last night’s loss to the Nationals by unsuccessfully tagging up from third base on a fly out to right field. His run would have merely cut the deficit from 6-3 to 6-4, yet afterward Hurdle declined to blame McCutchen for making a tactical mistake.
Instead he opined that “the only reason that we’re asking that question is because he was out ... I bet everybody in the ballpark including [the media] thought we were going to send him.” Or as Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Bob Smizik put it, Hurdle “took a small first step toward damaging his credibility in Pittsburgh” and “spoke nonsense.”
Here’s more from Smizik:If Hurdle really believes that, he’s not as smart as he’s been given credit for being. ... It’s baseball 101 and Hurdle knows it. He compounded his malarkey with the following: “That’s going to win us more games than it’s going to cost us.” ...
First of all, stupid baseball, which is what the play was, is not going win more games than it loses. There was no reason--none--to send McCutchen and Hurdle and Leyva know that. Playing aggressively is admirable. But it’s a fine line between being aggressive and being reckless. McCutchen’s play was reckless, particularly since he challenged such a strong throwing arm. If Hurdle is trying to set a tone, he’s setting the wrong one. He’s setting a tone for stupid baseball, not aggressive baseball. ... And if Hurdle wants to maintain a semblance of credibility, he shouldn’t treat the fans like they don’t understand the game.It’s a very long rant, so I had to cut out some sections for the sake of brevity, but you get the idea.