Monday, November 15, 2010

Pirates hire Clint Hurdle

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally tabbed their new bench boss in former Colorado skipper Clint Hurdle.
Hurdle had been the hitting coach with the Texas Rangers since being fired by the Rockies.

Pittsburgh apparently had Hurdle either at or near the top of the list of potential managers after a flurry of interviews immediately following the seasons end,but a Hurdle interview would cause the process to stop until the Rangers were eliminated from the post season.

I like the hire even though Hurdle only had one winning season in his Colorado tenure,he is used to rebuilding programs as the Rockies needed renovating from the ground up and he is supposedly an excellent teacher of the fundamentals,which lord knows the Pirates could use.
Hurdle is also a manager that is used to dealing with a limited pitching staff as the Rockies weren't exactly loaded with aces on the mound in the time that he was in Denver.

Pittsburgh also adds a manager with intensity with the addition of Hurdle as the Pirates have not had a manager with fire since Lloyd McClendon,who for all of his warts as a manager,intensity and passion were not problems.
I recall seeing a Hurdle temper tantrum when he managed against the Suns with I believe a Mets team,although I am not sure on that and he will not be afraid to argue such as Jim Tracy and John Russell were,that's for sure.

All considered,I really like the hire and I fail to see who the team could have hired that would be any better considering the limitations of finances and the lack of success recently.
Now,lets watch the upcoming GM meetings and see if the Buccos make any moves there!

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