Just a short entry on the Pirates new manager. For those Pirates fans who may be living under a rock, the team has hired Clint Hurdle to be the new manager.
The good:
. Hurdle brings passion which previous managers (cough.. cough.. John Russell) did not bring. He is willing to defend his team and be an aggressor. Joel Hanrahan says on him, “It sounded to me like he’s not going to take any crap from anyone”.
. The young offense consisting of Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez can blossom under a manager who knows his offense and also was the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers who made the World Series this past season.
. Free agency may not be a bore any more, as according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, they will aggressively go after Jorge De La Rosa, Jeff Francis and Jeremy Bonderman. Any would be a welcome addition to a pitching staff that was decimated by injuries and inconsistencies last season.
. Despite being a hitting first coach, Hurdle does not overload his pitchers. In his time as manager of the Colorado Rockies, the average start was 93 pitches. This means that Hurdle does not give a quick hook to pitchers, but gives them a chance.
. Hurdle has already smiled more than John Russell, and it has only been one day in Pittsburgh for him thus far.
. Hurdle made the World Series managing the Colorado Rockies in 2007 and as previously mentioned when he served as the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers last season, so he is a proven winner; something the Pirates need.
. Since Hurdle possesses an offensive background, there is a chance for more batting practice which is great for a ballhawk such as myself.
The bad:
. At the beginning of his tenure with the Rockies, Hurdle had an affinity for the bunt. He would bunt a lot with his first two hitters. Bunting with Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata will not further them as players.
. With the Rockies he had proven talent such as a Troy Tulowitzki and a Todd Helton. With the Rangers, he had Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz and Vladimir Guerrero; also proven talent. You do not have that type of talent with the Pirates and you can only go so far, a manager does not make the difference.
This is the early scouting report on the hiring of Clint Hurdle. It is a little tough to say whether it was the right hire, as it was only him and Jeff Banister as finalists for the job (at least as far as we know), but out of those two candidates, the Pirates made the right choice.
